New research by Cox Communications in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children(R) (NCMEC) reveals teens are engaging in risky behavior online but that parents and guardians can have an impact on that behavior. One-third of teens surveyed say they are considering meeting face-to-face with someone they've met from the Internet and 14 percent say they've already had such an encounter. While many teens are sharing personal information online and putting themselves in potentially harmful situations, the survey results show that when parents and guardians talk to their teens about Internet safety, their exposure to potential threats decline and they make safer online decisions.
Key findings:
- Teen Internet use and attitudes about safety present potential risks, but they also reveal opportunities for education and highlight a critical role for watchful parents and guardians:
- Teens continue to be active online but some still engage in risky behavior.
- Teens have established a significant presence on social networking web sites:
- 61 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds have a personal profile on sites such as MySpace, Friendster, or Xanga. Half have posted pictures of themselves online.
- Older teens (16- to 17-year-olds) and girls represent the majority of youths who use the Internet for social interaction, meeting friends, and networking
However, many have also been exposed to the accompanying potential risks.
- 14 percent have actually met face-to-face with a person they had known only through the Internet (9 percent of 13- to 15-year-olds and 22 percent of 16- to 17-year olds).
- 30 percent have considered meeting someone they've only communicated with online.
- 71 percent reported receiving messages online from someone they don't know.
- 45 percent have been asked for personal information by someone they don't know.
When teens receive messages online from someone they don't know, 40 percent usually reply to and chat with that person.
- Only 18 percent said they tell a parent or guardian that they received a message from someone they don't know.
- Many teens consider their online behavior to be safe
- One out of five teens reported that it is safe (i.e. "somewhat" or "very safe") to share personal information on a public blog or networking site.
- As well, 37 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds said they're "not very concerned" or "not at all concerned" about someone using personal information they've posted online in ways they haven't approved.
Parents and guardians can impact their teen's online experience through communication:
- 33 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds reported that their parents or guardians know "very little" or "nothing" about what they do on the Internet.
- 48 percent of 16- to 17-year-olds said their parents or guardians know "very little" or "nothing" about their online activities.
- Fully 22 percent of those surveyed reported their parents or guardians have never discussed Internet safety with them.
- On the other hand, 36 percent of youth girls and younger teens, most notably said their parents or guardians have talked to them "a lot" about online safety, and 70 percent said their parents or guardians have discussed the subject with them during the past year.
Fewer teens whose parents and guardians have talked to them "a lot" about online safety have an instant messaging (IM) name or pictures of themselves on the Internet, compared to kids whose parents or guardians haven't talked to them at all. More teens who've talked to parents or guardians ignore messages from unfamiliar people, refuse to reply or chat, block unknown senders, and report these occurrences to trusted adult.
The national teen Internet survey was conducted among 1,160 teens age 13 to 17 during March 2006.
This is the third year in which Putnam City has offered Internet safety education to students and parents. For the past two years, Putnam City Instructional Technologist Terri Pelley has met with