It’s clear that teenagers’ cruelty to each other online is resulting in some tragic outcomes. A security software company has set out to discover how teens are using social networking sites, and how cruel their online world is.
20% of teenagers interviewed said people are mostly unkind on social networking sites. Girls are the bigger culprits, with 26% accused of largely unkind behaviour, compared with 14% of teenage boys.
The same study found that 60% of teenagers say their parents have the most influence on their online behaviour. So it pays to pay attention and stay involved to help stem online cruelty, despite what flack your teen may send your way. A new website by the Australian Government is aiming to help parents better understand social networking sites.
The study was undertaken by US security software company ZoneAlarm. They’ve put together a great infographic on all the results, including how teens use social networking.
View the original full size graphic on the ZoneAlarm website
Both our teenage daughters have had issues with their Facebook accounts. They both closed their accounts and after some time passed restarted with new accounts, limiting the number of friends and being much more selective with information they shared. Not being on FB at all cuts you off from group events so teenagers can become isolated without it. Having my own FB has helped as I can ‘speak the language’ with my daughters and they have taught me so much. I think a lot gets said on FB, Skype (typing messages only) and when texting that people would never say if face to face. Sometimes it is intentionally malicious. Other times there are major misunderstandings just because without hearing the tone of voice a joke is missed and offence is taken.
Lots of good points there – be careful about who you friend; ask yourself if you’d dare say in person what you are about to write; check with friends if they intended their message to come across how it did.
Children nowadays are almost always connected or wired, and they are able to communicate in various ways that parents are not always able to supervise. While social networking technology encourages increased openness and honesty about personal issues, it is highly accessible making it open for misuse and abuse.