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Teens Actually Do Protect Their Online Profiles
Thib writes "A study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project reveals that the majority of teens pay attention to what they are revealing about themselves in their online social profiles. For instance, while many routinely use their first name or include a picture, 'fewer than a third of teens with profiles use their last names, and a similar number include their e-mail addresses. Only 2 percent list their cell phone numbers.' The study comes to light just as state legislatures once again begin to mutter about the dangers of online predators. From the article: 'According to Pew, 45 percent of online teens do not have profiles at all, a figure that contradicts widespread perceptions that the nation's youths are continually on MySpace.'"
That's still a huge number of people who have exposed themselves to risk.
Maybe we can finally that prove to the do-gooders everywhere that us teens can actually think for themselves, and don't need condescending legislation to protect us.
between "listing" information and "giving" information. The online predator thing is obviously a problem, no matter what you say. Too many teens are willing to "give" their personal information via personal chats and e-mails. But yes, the truth of the article is that not very many teens will simply list their personal information on profiles.
Why is it that politicians are always addressing the symptoms of societies problems?
How long till they want to simply ban the internet?
What is it that causes people to prey on children in the first place? I think there should be more investigation into that.
I am far more worried about senior citizens being preyed on than any child online.
I suggest you read Slashdot
fewer than a third of teens with profiles use their last names
Is it me, or is 33% a hell of a lot of stupid teens? I don't if I would be crowing that that somehow proves that there isn't a problem with teens protecting their identities.
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
Personally, I think this is fantastic news. People expose themselves on the Internet far too often and quite often volunteer information which they really should not.
--
Geoff Robertson
3304 Celeste Ave.
Dupage, IL 39182
(630) 555-1221
than some politicians want to make them sound, it's a thinly veiled attempt to legislate morality. (again)
How about the politicians concentrate on some more important issues? Trade balance? Fiscal policy.
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
You mean Tipper Gore? Because you can thank her exclusively for "parental advisory" labels.
Maybe you mean Bill Clinton who promoted the "V-chip", which we all must pay for even if we have no children.
Yes, Tipper and Bill... two "right wingers".
widespread perceptions that the nation's youths are continually on MySpace
What widespread group of people actually thinks this? I would love to see them back this up with valid statistical data. I think maybe it's "widespread perceptions [amongst the 4 computer-ignorant soccer moms at our office] that the nation's..."
This depends a lot on the website. On facebook you can choose who can see your profile, so in my case only my friends can see it. Other people can see my name, a picture (I seem to be the only one with a picture of me without alcohol in the shot) and can see who my friends are. However, on my profile, I put all my contact information so my old school friends can contact me if they want to.
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
It can't be worse than high school. You have to go. You don't get paid. You don't get to pick whom you're with. You're not anonymous. The place is regimented, cliquish, and crowded. Being popular is hard work, and being unpopular is a pain.
Myspace is a relief from all that. The worst day on Myspace is better than a moderately bad day of high school. On Myspace people can annoy you, but you can block them. Unlike real life.
Haha! Didn't even notice that, there's a slight chance CNN used a fake name but if they didn't that's a laugh worthy sentence right there. Perhaps we should be more worried about people giving their name to CNN?
Nice catch, worth a good laugh.
There are two kinds of fool One says 'This is old therefore good' Another says 'This is new therefore better'- Dean Ing
And so the stupid are weeded out, and soon only the competent teens will be left.
Revenge Of The Nerds 2: Electric Boogaloo!
Thats a huge number of last name out there even %0.1 is still thousands of kids leaving themselves open. I hardly think this is sufficient to claim that teens are protecting their info.
I may agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to face the consequences of saying it.
Last names aren't exactly the most revealing piece of info evar. Besides which, there is more than one case here: Someone could post their first & last names on a social networking site, such as Facebook, with a "friends-only" profile setting (the default) so that only people they authorize can see it (as I do), or they could just put it out there. There's a big difference, and I would have to wonder if the study took that into account. Also, people might have varying levels of personal info available on different sites (eg. have more info on a Facebook page than a /. or digg page, for the above reason).
SSN: 579 234 889 Visa CC #: 8976 2334 6672 3462 9834 Exp Date: 03/09 There, fixed for you...
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
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Every school I visit has the same problem - the Dept of Ed's firewall blocks MySpace but all the kids Google: proxy and find a way to bypass it. The complab teacher requests a block of the proxy, but another just pops-up.
l eID=196604312
So, I tell them - why not have a conversation about what MySpace is and what they use it for? Fun things to do, bad things to avoid etc. But I believe there is a such a paranoia of parents and administration (and we're talking New York City DOE administration and parents, not exactly the right-wing stronghold we usually attribute) watching too much CNN (or My9 News), that any healthy discussion could result in a teacher being reprimanded.
Good article in Technology and Learning magazine - "Technology Literacy and the MySpace Generation": http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?artic
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I'll admit it, I have a MySpace account. I also have an account at Stickam, which is sort of a MySpace for webcam users.
I'm amazed at the disparity in personal information revealed by people between both sites. The same folks who are more than willing to put their full name, life story, names of friends and significant others, etc. up on MySpace suddenly get shy on Stickam. It seems that there's a comfort in the presumed disconnect of MySpace, where you can post pictures of yourself, and Stickam, where you're live on camera.
Women on MySpace seem to want to advertise their, erm, promiscuity. Their profiles are full of innuendos, double-entendres, and other sexual references. They post all sorts of suggestive photos of themselves. Yet women on Stickam are quite assertive about their privacy, most profiles over there have bogus location info and don't give any hint of personal information. The funny thing is, I know for a fact that in certain cases, it's the same women. They whore themselves on MySpace but they protect themselves at all costs on the site where they've got a live feed.
It's probably a good study for a psych major somewhere. Why do folks "trust" MySpace, why are they willing to post personal info there, but when it comes to their webcam they get shy?
No, the online predator thing is not a problem. There might be a predator problem, but like bad patents, putting "online", or "computer" on the front does not change what it is. Before you worry about predators "online", you should ask yourself this...
If you had to choose, would you rather leave your child alone for the weekend with the internet, or with a Catholic priest?
Then ask your friends. What you will get is laughter. Why? Because we all know the answer, but are uncomfortable saying it. If you worried about little Sabastian, or little Samantha getting buggered by some old creepy dude, then the internet is just distracting YOU from your goal.
That sir, is the most important part of this entire article.
Computers allow humans to make mistakes at the fastest speeds known, with the possible exception of tequila and handguns
This, of course, is something an idiot kid would say.
I remember a little girly talking to me about how safe she was online. I sent her a google map link to her high school and the approximate location of her house and picture of her self.
She got the idea pretty quick.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
Basically, this is exactly how libertarians think. It's the "Me me me" generation taken to dizzying new heights.
Tell that to Stephanie Michelle Cross
games journalism blog
It only takes one teen to get raped/mollested/etc for a community to start an organization to stop internet predators. Isn't that a common trend with anything? Virginia Tech for example: statistically, the odds of such an event is hugely small. Given that MySpace has so many users, now, there is a higher number of individuals prone to such predators. But the numbers are still low considering the amount of people that actively visit MySpace. It's like saying we should destroy air travel because of one air plane crash.
The word *actually* is only used by teenagers, and it means 'not'. eg
"No teacher, the dog *actually* ate my homework"
"They *actually* had sex in a bush"
"I hear they *actually* published Duke Nukem Forever."
...they have grandchildren. What do you think *they*'re there for?
(Mod up for correct "they're/there" usage!)
Send email from the afterlife! Write your e-will at Dead Man's Switch.
Peeling leeches from your skin is an act of "me me me".
How fascist we are, starving those little blood-suckers!
People who are smart enough to explain how the intertubes work to their offspring will have a better chance to pass on their genes.
The others will be exterminated in the process.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
actually we were attacked in 2001 unless you live in the UK then well i guess you win. Anyway road taxes also pay for streetlights which deter muggers and since you havent been mugged recently then im assuming you are benefiting. The idea of the police isnt to arrest you but to protect you so the same goes for the previous comment. I really dont know about the fire department but if there were a forest fire they put out you could say they saved your house.
Running from the law definitely wasnt as easy as they made it look on the Dukes of Hazzard --Joy, My Name is Earl (2006
Just curious, which nation attacked us in 2001?
Go ahead, I'll wait.
Thanks to proliferation of media, you hear stories about someone getting into trouble for blogging about their work or posting nasty remarks about their teachers/principle. You never know when something you say (albeit being perfectly legal) will be used against you. I think most people, teens and adults alike, would now think twice against using identifiable information in online profiles.
Consider this scenario; you're just venting your distress about life, writing about someone that you aren't ready to confront. You're likely unwilling to defend yourself for what you wrote. If so, why not spear yourself the trouble by concealing your identity (and that person's, while you're at it) so that other person won't come around and confront you?
If your intent is communication, it is more effective to talk to the person and make sure he understand how you feel. If you're ready to confront him when he finds out what you wrote, you probably wouldn't be writing about it online in the first place.
Of course, another incentive to hide your identity is to avoid being stalked by someone. Nobody likes being stalked, and most are afraid of stalkers because not many of us know how to deal with them, legally and emotionally. However, somehow adults think they need to protect teens more then themselves, where in fact they don't know better.
If your intent is to meet people online, you would reveal enough about yourself so strangers get to know you and keep in touch with you.
Online privacy isn't just a teens issue. Adults also need to decide whether they want to bear the consequence of exposing themselves online. It depends on what you intend to do and what you're willing to take. This is the same for any ages, so rather than focusing on protecting the teens, we should treat this as common sense for everyone.
I once had a signature.
I'm trying to be surprised by yet another libertarian who doesn't have even a basic grasp of politics.
Put down Atlas Shrugged and go look up "facist". Then, once you've completed college and are in the real world with the rest of us, you can join in the conversation with the adults again.
I'm going to assume that you have some modicum of rational thought and are not referring to the "OMG, teh US architected 9/11!!~!1oneone!!" cry of the tinfoil brigade. I'm just going to assume you're a self-righteous, pedantic prick.
I'm charitable that way.
"This calls for a very special blend of psychology and extreme violence" - Vyvyan "The Young Ones"
I chose the word nation specifically to exclude terrorist attacks. If we were going to include terrorist attacks there are several embassy bombings, the bombing of the USS Cole, the Oklahoma City bombing, and thousands of small domestic terrorist bombings. Also, I think if you look into the history of terrorist plots in America the military was responsible for stopping exactly none. At this point protection from terrorism sits in the hands of the local law enforcement, local SWAT teams, the FBI, the CIA, and Homeland Security.
Could someone explain to me why you are at such an increased risk if your contact details are online? Most abuse is from family or close relatives, or people known to the family. School staff, neighbors, local sports club etc... I mean I'm sure I have given away sufficient information about myself to track me down at some point, but why would anyone bother? The way I see it the real risk is people online persuading others to "meet up" in places where they are more at risk, or easier to exploit. Thus the real danger is not that people will find your contact details passively. Heck, you can use the phone book or just stalk someone from the local school to do that. The real danger is if people are not careful when they meet new people ( in real life or online ). If you do meet up with someone ensure its in a public place, bring a friend ( preferably adult ). Do it during hours when there will be many people around etc... If you happen to have children, explain the risks to them, and tell them not to make contact with people they find online. Really, online profiles are little more of a risk than the phone book is. The problem arises because whereas few people would just go out and hook up with some random stranger who call them on the phone or send them a letter ( tho I'm sure some do ) quite a few people have problems doing so with someone they found on an online web-forum.
Am I a terrible person for laughing at that?
No, just pointing out that bigalexe is either unable to read or doesn't mind ignoring details to get his point across. The original person you replied to specifically said nation. c_forg, in his (obviously facetious) post which bigalexe replied to, said, "Worst of all is the military, I mean we haven't been attacked by a nation since the 1940's!"
n/t
No jokes, please
For those of you that take statistics with a grain of salt, notice the last paragraph. Only 935 people were surveyed.
45% dON'T HAVE PROFILES... 55% dO HAVE PROFILES... mORE THAN HALF OF TEENS HAVE PROFILES, EVERYBODY!!!... sUBSTANTIALLY MORE THAN HALF OF TEENS ARE VULNERABLE TO HAVING PERSONAL INFORMATION TAKEN BY mYsPACE AND fACEBOOK AND all else you allow them to use!!!.. sUBSTANTIALLY MORE THAN HALF OF TEENS ARE VULNERABLE TO SEXUAL PREDATORS... you're kids will be molested if you don't vote republican or hillary!!! SEE?!?!?!?!?!?!? (I reversed uppercase and lowercase purposely)
... that women are sutpid/ prey?
...
its time we stopped implying that men are predators.
equality