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The Wonderful World of Social Networking: What you need to know to keep your child happy and safe
Tuesday May 10, 2011
by Daniel Weiss
We’ve all seen the shocking headline: a teen goes missing, running away with someone she met online. This kind of terrible news makes the front page, but does it paint an accurate portrayal of the world? Are all teens online threatened by sexual predators? Are they in any special danger on facebook or other social networking sites?
The good news is that researchers believe youth face no particular danger of sexual crimes while on social networking sites, but common sense, basic safeguards and a loving relationship are still necessary to keep social networking safe for children. The following gives some basic information about social networking and a few things parents need to be aware of.
What is social networking?
Social networking is primarily an online activity in which individuals create profiles of themselves for the purpose of interacting with others. These profiles are designed to share information, post photos, or allow people to connect with others based on similar interests.
Who is social networking?
Web auditing firm Alexa reports that the most popular social networking website, facebook, is also the world’s second-most popular website in both the United States and the world, reaching 40 percent of the entire global Internet audience every day. 1 facebook stats include:
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more than 500 million active users
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50% of active users log on to facebook in any given day
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the average user has 130 friends
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people spend over 700 billion minutes per month on facebook
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about 70% of facebook users are outside the United States
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about half of the U.S. population uses facebook
Other popular social networking sites with tens of millions of global members include: 2
Bebo LinkedIn MyLife Twitter
Black Planet Mocospace mySpace.com WeeWorld
Classmates.com MyHeritage myYearbook Xanga
Social networking is very popular among teens
Visiting social networking sites such as mySpace or facebook is the most popular computer activity among 8- to 18-year-olds.
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73% of 13- to 17-year-olds used social networking sites in 2010, up from 59% in 2008
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81% of 16- to 17-year-olds report having at least one social networking account3
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40% of young people will go to a social networking site on a typical day
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Youth who visit these sites spend an average of almost an hour a day there4
Social networking in a typical day5
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Percent Who Did Activity
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Average Among Those Who Did Activity
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8- to 10-year-olds
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18%
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:28
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11- to 14-year-olds
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42%
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1:07
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15- to 18-year-olds
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53%
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:48
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Benefits and risks of social networking
The Girls Scouts of America conducted research among more than 1,000 teen girls ages 14 to 17 and reported the following benefits and risks of social networking:6
Benefits
1. Social networking can enable closer relationships.Fifty-six percent of girls say that social networking sites help them feel closer and more connected to their friends.
2. Community involvement is encouraged.Fifty-two percent of girls have gotten involved in a cause they care about through a social networking site.
3. Pro-social behavior is endorsed.Forty-one percent of girls have stood up for someone who was being threatened, harassed, or bullied on a social networking site.
4. More honest communication is enabled via social networking sites. Forty-eight percent of girls believe it’s much easier to be honest with someone through a social networking site than in person.
Risks
1. Social networking can be unsafe: privacy and safety issues.
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Ninety-two percent of girls are friends with someone they don’t know well, if at all.
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Fifty-four percent are friends with someone they have never met.
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Thirty-one percent have profile content viewable by strangers.
2. Gossiping/bullying is common. Sixty-eight percent of girls have had a negative experience on a social networking site, such as being gossiped about.
3. Girls often paint different/unreal pictures of themselves on social networking sites. Sixty-four percent say that girls portray a different image of themselves on social networking sites than they do in person. (Goal is more about popularity—being fun, social—than promoting real, in-person attributes like being smart and kind.)
Sexual solicitation and online harassment on social networking sites
According to a 2008 report in Pediatrics, 15 percent of youth going online reported an unwanted sexual solicitation online in the past year with only 4 percent reporting an incident on a social networking site specifically. Thirty-three percent reported an online harassment (cyberbullying) in the past year with 9 percent reporting an incident on a social networking site specifically.7
Online predators and social networking
While small numbers of youth report being sexually solicited on social networking sites, researchers conclude that youth are not at particular risk for sex crimes while on these sites. According to data from 2006, 503 arrests were made that year in cases with identified victims (as opposed to police stings) that also involved offenders using social networking sites. While any such crime is alarming, the number is low in relation to the approximately 14 million youth that used social networking sites in 2006.8
Offenders used social networking in their crimes in the following ways:
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to initiate a relationship
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to communication with a victim
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to disseminate information or pictures of the victim
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to access information about the victim
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to get in touch with friends of victim
The real risk is not going online, but high-risk behavior
The most common Internet safety rules, such as not talking about sex, uploading racy photos or “friending” people you don’t know, will keep most youth safe on social networking sites. In fact, researchers have found that online threats are not usually attached to any particular online activity (with the exception of using file-sharing programs).
Instead, the youth most at risk for Internet crimes are those routinely involved in high-risk behaviors, such as engaging in a pattern of rule-breaking behavior, depression, and other social problems offline. In addition, youth who engage in at least five of the following online activities have significantly higher risks of encountering dangers online: interacting with unknown people, including sending personal information; making rude or nasty comments; using file-sharing software to download images; visiting X-rated websites on purpose; harassing or embarrassing others; or talking about sex to others.9
Common sense and good behavior
The good news for parents is that social networking sites do not pose serious threats for most youth who use them. However, all youth still need to follow basic safety guidelines and good etiquette to make sure their social networking experience is as safe as it can be.
For more information on guiding children through the world of social networking, see Rules for Social Networking Sites.
Daniel Weiss is ROCK's director of research and national outreach.
Endnotes
5 “GENERATION M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds.
6 “Who's That Girl? Image and Social Media Survey,” Girl Scouts of the USA, 2010.
7 Michele L. Ybarra and Kimberly J. Mitchell, “How Risky Are Social Networking Sites? A Comparison of Places Online Where Youth Sexual Solicitation and Harassment Occurs,” Pediatrics 2008; 121; pp. 350-357.
8 Kimberly J. Mitchell, David Finkelhor, Lisa M. Jones, and Janis Wolak, “Use of Social Networking Sites in Online Sex Crimes Against Minors: An Examination of National Incidence and Means of Utilization,” Journal of Adolescent Health -(2010) 1–8.
9 Janis Wolak, David Finkelhor, and Kimberly Mitchell, “Is Talking Online to Unknown People Always Risky? Distinguishing Online Interaction Styles in a National Sample of Youth Internet Users,” Cyberpsychology & Behavior, Volume 11, Number 3, 2008.
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