Teens, Technology & Online Privacy

  Lenhart, A., & Madden, M. (2013, November 6). 9 Things You Need To Know About Teens, Technology & Online Privacy. Retrieved June 13, 2015, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/11/07/9-things-you-need-to-know-about-teens-technology-online-privacy/


Lenhart discusses current trend in teenagers and their sharing of information online.  Most teens have some type of social media. While Twitter and Snapchat are becoming increasingly popular, Facebook remains the most used format.  Teens enjoy sharing information through social media.  Unfortunately, most post private information freely. City or town information, school info, even email and phone numbers can be easily found on many teen's profiles. 
The typical teen has 300 friends. The ones with larger networks have 601+ friends. These teens are more likely to have friends they have never met in person.  I work with high school students and notice that their goal is to have as many followers as possible on Twitter, whether they are friends with the person, know the person, or have even met the person. One girl told me "I don't care if I like them, I just want more followers." Apparently, this is the current trend.  The more followers, the better. I don't understand this trend. With teens posting their every thought and move on social media, why would you want complete strangers to have access to these postings?
As for privacy settings, more than have keep their FB accounts private, but 64% make their tweets public. Again, this follows the new trend of getting as many followers as possible.
I was not surprised with the high percentage of teens, 95%, who use internet. Of those, 74% access it using their mobile phone.  I'm really surprised that the number isn't higher, as almost every student I see at the high school has a phone in their hand at some time of the day.  Students aren't only using cell phones,however, many have several means of access....smart phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. 80% of students have at least 2 forms of access to the internet. 
Teens also have deleted people, removed pictures of themselves, untagged pictures of themselves, and have regretted pictures, videos or postings.  
This current trend of over sharing on social media frightens me.  I have discussed it with my children and with students. They do not realize how these posts, pictures, and videos are permanent.  Once it's out there, it cannot be taken back.  Too many times I have seen students post cruel comments, racy pics, videos of illegal activities, all in (what they think is) fun not realizing that these will haunt them. 

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