Where Teens Seek Online Privacy Advice

Lenhart, A., M. Madden, S. Cortesi, U. Gasser, A. Smith. (2013). Where Teens Seek Online Privacy Advice. [Report PDF].  Retrieved from: http//pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Where-Teens-Seek-Privacy-Advice. aspx.

Many teens report that they draw on their own observations and knowledge to manage their privacy online and social media.  I was not surprised that many teens figured out their privacy settings on their own, but I was surprised that the majority of teens looked for outside advice.  According to the report, 42% of teens talked to friends or peers; 41% have talked to a parent; and 37% have asked a sibling or cousin.  The percentage that really surprised me was the 41% who talked to a parent.  Most teenagers whom I have taught in the past did not take advice from their parents.  I believe that they would not ask their parents because the teenagers probably know more about the social media than their parents.  When it comes to Facebook,  the majority of teens put their profile to fully or partially private.  The data found for this report came from a phone survey in collaboration  with  Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard.  According to this survey, the majority of teens manage their own privacy settings.  Whereas, they have found themselves going to outside sources when problems have occurred. Besides the percentages that I mentioned at the beginning, the following percentages of teens went to other sources for help with privacy settings.  13% have gone to a website for advice, 9% have asked a teacher, and 3%  have gone to some other person or resource.  Of the 9% who asked a teacher, they were of lower economic status, because they felt that their parents would not know how to show them the privacy settings because they were not technology savvy.  I found it very interesting that those in the racial and socio-economic backgrounds are equally likely to seek outside help for privacy management generally and white teens and those from high income and education  usually talk with their parents about the privacy settings.