Teens, Social Networks & Safety An Overview Amanda Lenhart Family Online Safety Institute Launch February 13, 2007 Washington, DC

Social Networks February 13, Methodology Interviewed 935 parent – child pairs in Oct-Nov 2006 & 1100 pairs in November 2004 Teens ages Nationally representative sample Focus groups conducted in the summers of 2004 & 2006 Building on previous survey work with teens and parents in 2000

Social Networks February 13, Who is Online? 70% of American adults go online 93% of American teens ages 12 to 17 use the internet 87% of all parents online 73% of all families have home 68% of online Americans have home broadband 7% of teens do not use the internet

Social Networks February 13, Content Creation 57% of online teens have created some kind of content online Includes –Photos –Video –Writing, stories –Artwork –Songs, music 19% have a blog 38% read the blogs of others 76% of social network-using teens leave comments on the blogs of friends Self-expression and feedback

Social Networks February 13, Connecting & Communicating 89% of online teens have ever sent or received 74% of online teens use instant messaging 45% of ALL teens have a cellular phone 38% of teens have sent a text message from a cell phone Other activities of similar popularity – **84% of online teens have visited websites where they could learn more about movies, TV shows, music groups or sports stars **80% of online teens have played online games

Social Networks February 13, Social Networking Websites “Online Social Networks are web spaces where individuals can post information about themselves, usually by creating a profile or website, and where they can connect with others in the same network.” Two main elements to social networking that relate to its appeal to teens (and young adults) –Connecting and communicating with others –Content creation a.k.a. self-expression 55% of online teens use social networking websites 55% have a profile online

Social Networks February 13, Social Networking Websites - Basics Girls, particularly older girls, more likely to use SNS than boys (70% of girls have profile online, compared to 57% of boys 15-17) Age is major factor –12 & 13 year-olds; 37% have an online profile – year-olds; 63% have an online profile Other demographic factors not significant –Income –Race/ethnicity

Social Networks February 13, What are Teens Doing on SNS? Reinforcing pre-existing relationships –91% stay in touch with friends they see a lot –82% stay in touch with friends they rarely see in person Meeting new people & flirting –49% make new friends (more for boys, less for girls) –17% flirt (mostly older boys – 29% of them flirt vs. 13% of older girls)

Social Networks February 13, Communicating on SNS Making plans with friends –72% make plans with friends on SNS Sending messages –84% post message on friend’s wall or page –82% send private messages to a friend –76% post comments to a friend’s blog –61% send a bulletin or mass message to all friends in the system –33% wink, poke, give e-props or kudos to friends

Social Networks February 13, SNS and Protective Measures 66% of all teens with profiles online have in some way restricted access to it –includes hiding it completely –taking it down –making it private 77% of profile-owning teens have a currently visible online profile –Of those with a visible profile, 59% say only their friends can see their profile. –40% say anyone can see profile

Social Networks February 13, Tensions in SNS Use Embodies tension in social networking sites –Teens want to stay safe –Want to connect with friends and with those with similar interests –People need to be able to find you to make new connections –Social networks ask for lots of personal information when you create a profile –Facilitates good and bad “findability”

Social Networks February 13, Protecting Teens Online Filtering—54% of families filter Public computing location—73% House internet rules—64% 62% of parents….33% of teens say they/their parents check up on teens after they go online Filtering up, others stable

Social Networks February 13, Online Behavior: Parent & Teen Attitudes 81% of parents and 79% of teens agree that kids are not as careful as they should be about the information they give out online 62% of parents and 62% of teens agree that kids do things online that they wouldn’t want their parents to know about Overall, most parents believe that the internet is a good thing for their children

Social Networks February 13, Online Safety – Future Challenges Mobility Geography Nature of Teens –looking for new things –generational and personal separation from elders –risk-taking User – Generated Content

Thank You Amanda Lenhart Pew Internet & American Life Project