ChildrenOnline.org  2010  –  2011  Research  on  Student  Internet  and  Cell  Phone  Behavior  

By  Doug  Fodeman  and  Marje  Monroe  This  article  cannot  be  reprinted  without  permission  from  the  authors.  ©  Copyright  2011  ChildrenOnline.org

 Each  year  ChildrenOnline.org  surveys  two  to  three  thousand  students  from  independent  schools  across  grades  four  through  twelve  from  some  of  the  many  schools  we  visit.  Students  are  all  given  the  same  survey  and  asked  questions  about  their  Internet  activities  and  attitudes.        Readers  will  see  that  throughout  this  report,  we  speak  about  students  at  various  grade  levels,  rather  than  children  at  various  ages.    There  are  two  reasons  for  presenting  the  data  in  this  way.  Firstly,  the  data  was  collected  in  schools  by  grade  level.    Also,  we  are  educators  with  more  than  fifty  collective  years  experience  working  with  children  and  teens.    We  understand  that  peer  influences  in  grade  levels  within  schools  can  impact  behavior  tremendously.  Thus  activities  tend  to  spread  much  more  across  a  grade  level  regardless  of  age  of  those  students  in  a  grade.      What  follows  are  the  results  from  our  2010  –  2011  academic  year  surveys  with  survey  questions  in  bold.    SAMPLE  OF  KEY  FINDINGS    •  The  average  high  school  junior  has  802  Facebook  friends.  About  a  quarter  of  all  students  with  a  Facebook  account  either  have  risky  privacy  settings  (open  to  strangers)  or  don’t  know  what  their  settings  are.  If  a  high  school  junior,  with  about  800  friends,  has  his/her  account  set  to  “friend  of  a  friend”  and  each  friend  has  an  average  of  400  unique  other  friends,  it  means  that  the  high  school  junior  is  exposing  his/her  personal  information  to  as  many  as  320,000  people.  [This  lack  of  privacy  is  especially  important  in  view  of  a  TRUSTe  survey  published  in  October,  2010  which  reported  that  68%  of  teens  admit  to  friending  complete  strangers.1    A  recently  released  study  from  the  PEW  Internet  and  American  Life  Project  found  that  7%  of  the  friends  for  the  average  Facebook  user  are  complete  strangers  and  the  average  Facebook  user  has  229  friends.2]    •  Students  who  shared  their  password  with  a  friend  were  2-­‐3  times  more  likely  to  report  that  someone  logged  into  their  online  account  without  their  permission  than  students  who  had  never  shared  their  password  with  anyone.    •  The  two  most  popular  websites  amongst  students  of  all  ages  are  Facebook  (62.8%)  and  YouTube  (31.9%).    •  Nearly  1  in  5  students  report  posting  a  video  of  him/herself  or  friends  on  YouTube  but  students  with  a  YouTube  account  are  six  times  more  likely  to  post  videos  than  students  without  a  YouTube  account.    •  Nearly  83%  of  all  students  report  having  Internet  access  from  their  bedrooms  but  only  16%  report  having  some  type  of  web  filtering  software  (Parental  control  software)  on  their  computer.  This  means  that  most  children  have  Internet  access  from  behind  the  closed  doors  of  their  bedroom  without  any  parental  supervision  or  oversight.    •  One  out  of  every  ten  students  with  a  cell  phone  admitted  to  receiving  “offensive  or  inappropriate  photos  or  videos.”  

 •  About  one  out  of  every  four  students  reports  having  a  made  a  friend  online  whom  they’ve  never  met  in  person.  Yet  contact  from  a  stranger  was  selected  the  most  as  the  online  event  that  made  students  feel  uncomfortable.    •  Girls  were  more  likely  than  boys  to  report  that  someone  had  posted  something  on  a  website  about  them  that  was  embarrassing,  threatening,  or  demeaning  (a  "put  down").    METHODOLOGY    Internet  surveys  were  collected  from  2576  students  in  fourth  through  twelfth  grade,  who  attended  independent  schools  located  in  New  York,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut  and  Virginia.    36%  attended  urban  schools,  28%  attended  suburban  schools,  and  36%  attended  rural  schools.    Teachers  distributed  paper  surveys  between  September  2010  and  February  2011.  Students  were  told  that  the  surveys  were  to  be  anonymous  and  not  to  write  their  name  on  the  survey.  Teachers  were  instructed  to  have  a  student  collect  the  completed  surveys  and  put  them  into  envelopes.  The  only  personal  information  gathered  was  gender,  age  and  grade  level.  Below,  “N”  refers  to  sample  size.  Sample  size  varied  because  not  every  student  answered  every  question.  Students  were  asked  to  leave  a  question  blank  if  they  didn’t  understand  it  or  were  not  sure  how  to  answer  it.    SURVEY  QUESTIONS  AND  RESULTS    1. Have  you  ever  shared  your  password  to  any  online  account  with  a  friend?  

 On  average,  40.2%  (N=2566)  of  all  students  said  that  they  have  shared  their  password  with  a  friend.  Girls  were  more  likely  to  share  their  passwords  than  boys.  31.7%  (N=1128)  of  all  boys  shared  their  passwords,  compared  to  46.6%  (N=1325)  of  all  girls,  a  statistically  significant  difference.  The  largest  difference  in  sharing  between  boys  and  girls  occurred  in  grades  9  –  11  and  the  least  difference  in  sharing  passwords  between  boys  and  girls  occurred  in  grade  six.    Students  in  grades  four  through  seven  shared  a  password  at  nearly  the  same  percentage  (about  29%  of  students  at  each  grade  level).  Percentages  for  grades  four  through  seven  ranged  from  28.4%  -­‐  29.7%.  Students  in  grades  eight  through  twelve  had  shared  a  password  at  a  higher  percentage,  48.9%  overall.  (Percentages  for  grades  8  –  12  ranged  from  46.6%  to  52.8%  by  senior  year.)    

2. Have  you  ever  thought  that  someone  who  knew  your  password  logged  into  one  of  your  accounts  without  your  permission?    On  average,  27.7%  (N=2564)  of  all  students  thought  that  someone  who  knew  their  password  had  logged  into  one  of  their  accounts  without  their  permission.  As  one  might  predict,  high  school  students  were  more  likely  to  suspect  such  account  breaches  than  elementary/middle  school  students.    Perhaps  most  remarkable  was  the  comparison  of  those  students  who  thought  someone  had  logged  into  one  of  their  accounts  with  those  students  who  had  also  shared  a  password  with  a  friend.    41.9%  (N=1032)  of  students  who  had  shared  a  password  also  thought  that  someone  had  logged  into  one  of  their  accounts  without  their  permission,  compared  to  only  18.1%  

(N=1534)  of  students  who  had  not  shared  a  password.    This  difference  between  student  populations  was  greatest  amongst  sixth  graders,  45.2%  (N=93)  vs.  14.9%  (N=222).      

   

3. Do  you  have  access  to  the  Internet  from  your  bedroom?    On  average,  82.6%  (N=2569)  of  all  students  report  having  Internet  access  from  their  bedroom.  The  response  from  boys  vs.  girls  was  nearly  identical,  82.0%  (N=1131)  vs.  82.7%  (N=1332).  Bedroom  Internet  access  was  lowest  amongst  fourth  graders  (56.3%)  and  highest  amongst  seniors  (96.5%).          

   

4. Do  your  parents  have  some  type  of  filter  at  home  that  prevents  you  from  getting  to  some  websites?    On  average,  16.4%  (N=2487)  of  all  students  report  having  some  type  of  web  filter  installed  at  home.  As  one  might  guess,  a  higher  percentage  of  elementary  students  reported  home  filtering  than  high  school  students.  There  was  no  statistical  significance  between  the  responses  of  boys  vs.  girls,  17.0%  (N=1103)  vs.  16.2%  (N=1275).      If  you  answered  yes  to  the  question  above,  have  you  ever  found  a  way  of  getting  around  that  filter  to  get  to  the  blocked  websites?    26.4%  of  students  who  report  having  a  web  filter  (N=405)  also  report  getting  around  that  filter.  Of  that  population  of  students,  63.7%  were  boys  and  36.3%  were  girls.    

   

5. Do  you  have  a  Facebook  account?    As  one  might  expect,  the  percentages  of  students  answering  “yes”  varied  dramatically  across  grade  levels  (7.1%  of  fourth  graders  vs.  96.2%  of  high  school  seniors).  However,  a  statistically  significant  increase  in  Facebook  accounts  occurred  amongst  students  when  comparing  fifth  to  sixth  grade,  sixth  to  seventh  grade,  and  seventh  to  eighth  grade.  Facebook  account  holders  increased  from:  

9.1%  of  fifth  graders  to  25.4%  of  sixth  graders  25.4%  of  sixth  graders  to  46.8%  of  seventh  graders  46.8%  of  seventh  graders  to  84.8%  of  eighth  graders  

Also,  throughout  elementary  and  middle  school  grades  (4-­‐8)  boys  outnumbered  girls  in  having  Facebook  accounts,  though  the  difference  was  only  statistically  significant  in  grades  four  and  six.    

     

   a)  If  you  have  a  Facebook  account,  what  are  your  privacy  settings  primarily  set  to?     (N=1613)  

  5.0%  -­‐  Everyone     11.5%  -­‐  Friend  of  a  friend     73.8%  -­‐  Friends  only     9.7%  -­‐  Either  said  they  didn’t  know  or  left  the  question  blank.  Given  the  above  percentages,  one  can  make  the  argument  that  as  many  as  a  quarter  (26.2%)  of  all  students  who  have  a  Facebook  account,  do  not  have  their  accounts  set  up  to  be  as  private  as  Facebook  allows.    b)  If  you  have  a  Facebook  account,  have  you  friended  one  or  both  of  your  parents?    Percent  of  student  who  reported  friending  one  or  both  parents:     59.3%  of  students  in  grades  four  through  six  (N=113)     56.6%  of  students  in  grades  seven  and  eight  (N=385)     41.0%  of  students  in  grades  nine  through  twelve  (N=1077)    c)  If  you  have  a  Facebook  account,  about  how  many  friends  do  you  have  in  your  

account?    Facebook  itself  reports  that  the  average  user  has  130  friends  and  a  recent  Pew  Internet  and  American  Life  Project  study  put  the  average  at  2292.  Students  typically  have  many  more  friends,  rising  into  the  many  hundreds.    The  highest  average  number  of  friends  was  802,  reported  by  high  school  juniors.  (Median  =  700;  N=246).  Below  is  a  list  of  the  range,  average  and  median  number  of  friends  per  grade  level.  The  fifth  column,  Alternative  Avg,  represents  the  average  number  of  friends  calculated  after  discarding  both  the  lowest  and  highest  value  reported  per  grade.         Sample  Size   Range   Average   Median   Alternative  Avg  4th  Grade   (11)   3  –  210   69   27   61  5th  Grade   (16)   2  –  200   55   40   49  6th  Grade   (66)   13  –  1000   177   130   167  7th  Grade   (117)   1  –  886   223   189   219  8th  Grade   (205)   7  –  2000   341   300   334  9th  Grade   (208)   5  -­‐  1900   439   400   434  10th  Grade   (275)   14  -­‐  2560   569   550   563  11th  Grade   (246)   20  -­‐  7000   802   700   780  12th  Grade   (227)   10  -­‐  2000   721   700   719                    

   

   

6. Do  you  have  a  YouTube  account?    For  at  least  the  last  five  years,  ChildrenOnline.org  has  found  YouTube  to  be  one  of  the  most  popular  websites  amongst  all  children  and  teens,  from  fourth  graders  through  high  school  seniors.  31.9%  (N=2555)  of  all  students  report  having  a  YouTube  account.    Most  adults  don’t  realize  that  YouTube  is  also  a  social  networking  site  and,  along  with  Facebook,  is  a  common  location  for  bullying,  harassment,  scams  and  increased  risk  for  malware  infections.  38.9%  of  all  boys  (N=1117)  report  having  a  YouTube  account  versus  25.3%  (N=1326)  of  all  girls,  a  statistically  significant  difference.    At  all  grade  levels,  except  fifth  grade,  the  percentage  of  boys  who  report  having  a  YouTube  account  is  statistically  higher  than  girls.  

   

   

7. Have  you  ever  posted  a  video  of  yourself  or  your  friends  on  YouTube?    18.1%  of  all  students  (N=2530)  report  posting  a  video  of  themselves  or  friends  on  YouTube.  Eighth  graders  report  the  highest  percentage  of  posting  at  25.1%  (N=280)  and  fifth  graders  the  lowest  at  6.6%  (N=226).  However,  students  who  report  having  a  YouTube  account  were  

found  to  post  videos  at  a  significantly  higher  percentage  (40.9%;  N=814)  than  students  who  did  not  have  a  YouTube  account  (6.8%;  N=1741).  This  difference  was  statistically  significant  at  every  grade  level.    

   

 

 8. Have  you  ever  taken  a  survey  or  quiz  online  that  asked  for  personal  information  and  to  

which  you  gave  real  information  rather  than  fake  information?    Over  the  last  six  to  eight  years  Children  Online  has  found  that  many  online  scams  target  children  (and  adults)  by  enticing  them  to  take  surveys  or  quizzes.    Scammers  collect  personal  data  and  use  it  for  criminal  financial  gain,  identity  theft  and  direct  marketing.  Marketers  trick  participants  into  accepting  fraudulent  cell  phone  charges  (a  phenomenon  called  “cramming”).  For  many  years,  it  was  easy  to  find  scamming  quizzes  and  surveys  on  most  children’s  gaming  sites.    Beginning  in  the  spring  of  2010,  the  number  of  these  scams  has  decreased  on  children’s  gaming  sites  but  has  increased  on  Facebook  and  other  social  networking  sites.    Overall,  16.0%  of  children  and  teens  report  having  taken  a  survey  or  quiz  online  in  which  they  provided  factual  personal  information  (N=2563).    Across  all  grades  surveyed  boys  were  more  likely  to  use  real  personal  information  in  online  surveys  and  quizzes  (18.0%;  N=1125)  than  girls  (14.0%;  N=1326),  a  statistically  significant  difference.      

   

9. Do  you  have  friends  online  that  you  have  never  met  in  person?  (Include  Gaming.)    

27.1%  of  all  students  (N=2488)  report  having  a  friend  online  whom  they  have  never  met  in  person,  up  from  our  16.7%  from  the  2008  –  2009  academic  year.  Boys  were  more  likely  to  report  such  online  friends  (31.8%;  N=1079)  than  girls  (27.7%;  N=1300),  a  statistically  significant  difference.          

   

   Students  report  making  friends  in  many  places,  and  via  many  methods,  across  the  Internet.    The  most  common  places  and  methods  for  making  virtual  friends  were  children’s  social  networking  sites  such  as  Club  Penguin  and  WebKinz,  adult  social  networking  sites  such  as  

Facebook  and  MySpace,  through  a  “friend  of  a  friend”,  and  through  online  gaming  via  gaming  sites  such  as  Runescape,  and  using  the  Playstation  3  or  Xbox  Live.  Other  less  common  methods  and  locations  included  the  following:     ChatRoulette.com     Email       Instant  Messaging     Online  blogs/forums     YouTube     Skype     Omegle.com       Tumblr.com        

   

10. During  the  last  few  months,  have  you  felt  uncomfortable,  hurt  or  scared  online  from  something  that  you  saw,  something  that  happened  to  you  or  something  someone  said  to  you?    17.3%  of  all  students  (N=2566)  report  having  felt  uncomfortable  online  during  the  last  few  months.  This  percentage  is  down  from  23.5%  of  students  in  the  2008-­‐2009  academic  year.  Girls  were  more  likely  to  report  such  feelings  (19.9%;  N=1328)  than  boys  (14.6%;  N=1125),  a  statistically  significant  difference  overall,  though  there  was  no  statistical  significance  at  individual  grade  levels.    We  asked  this  same  question  of  students  in  previous  years.  Schools  consisted  of  a  similar  mix  of  independent  schools.  Here  are  overall  percentages  of  those  students  who  said  yes  to  the  above  question.    

2005  –  2006  Academic  Year,  Grades  4  –  8  only:      %  overall:              14.5%  (N=2074)  %  of  all  boys:  12.9%  (N=918)  %  of  all  girls:  15.7%  (N=939)  

 

2008  –  2009  Academic  Year,  Grades  4  –  12:      %  overall:              23.6%  (N=2729)  %  of  all  boys:  20.4%  (N=1131)  %  of  all  girls:  28.7%  (N=1138)  

 

   

   a)  We  asked  students  who  answered  yes  to  check  from  a  list  of  reasons  those  that  best  described  what  made  them  feel  uncomfortable  online.  (Percentages  do  not  total  100%  because  students  were  able  to  select  multiple  reasons.)  Of  those  students  who  selected  a  reason  (N=395),  their  responses  were:    

Contact  from  strangers     38.0%        -­‐-­‐Contact  from  strangers  was  also  the  most  common  reason  cited  in  2008-­‐2009.  Offensive  language       32.7%  Offensive  photos/videos     32.2%  Scam/Virus/malware     26.8%  Being  made  fun  of  online     25.8%  Bullying/Harassment     25.3%  Being  tricked  or  fooled  online   18.5%  Being  threatened  online     12.9%  Offensive  advertising     12.9%    

   b)  If  you  answered  yes,  did  you  tell  an  adult  what  happened?    45.6%  of  those  who  indicated  they  had  felt  uncomfortable  online,  said  that  they  did  not  tell  an  adult  about  the  event  that  made  them  feel  uncomfortable  (N=373).  This  percentage  is  unchanged  from  that  reported  in  2008  –  2009  (45.4%).    Of  the  boys  who  indicated  they  had  felt  uncomfortable  online,  53.7%  (N=134)  did  not  tell  an  adult  about  the  event.  Of  the  girls  who  indicated  they  had  felt  uncomfortable  online,  40.9%  (N=225)  did  not  tell  an  adult  about  the  event.  This  difference  between  boys  and  girls  is  statistically  significant.  Girls  are  more  likely  to  report  such  events  to  adults  than  boys.    

11. Do  you  have  a  cell  phone?    82.5%  of  all  students  (N=2559)  report  having  a  cell  phone.  Of  those  who  report  having  a  cell  phone  95.8%  (N=2084)  report  being  able  to  send  texts  from  their  cell  phone.  Of  those  students  who  report  having  a  cell  phone  67.0%  (N=2034)  report  being  able  to  access  the  Internet  from  their  cell  phone.  

 

   a)  If  you  have  a  cell  phone,  have  you  ever  received  offensive  or  inappropriate  photos  or  videos?    10.7%  of  all  student  cell  phone  owners  (N=2111)  admit  to  receiving  “offensive  or  inappropriate  photos  or  videos.”  The  terms  “offensive  or  inappropriate”  were  not  defined  and  students  were  left  to  evaluate  these  terms  for  themselves.      b)  If  you  have  a  cell  phone,  have  you  ever  received  harassing  or  hurtful  text  messages?    Of  those  students  who’s  phones  could  receive  texts,  14.8%  (N=2111)  reported  receiving  “offensive,  harassing  or  hurtful  text  messages”.      c)  If  you  have  a  cell  phone,  have  you  ever  received  text  advertising?    49.7%  of  all  students  reported  receiving  ads  on  their  cell  phones.  (N=2111)  The  reason  for  the  question  is  because  some  companies  fraudulently  target  cell  phone  users  with  scam  ads  that  result  in  charges  to  cell  phone  bills.  (This  fraudulent  practice  is  called  “cramming.”)      d)  If  you  have  a  cell  phone,  have  you  ever  received  a  prank/joke  call?    54.1%  of  students  report  receiving  prank/joke  calls  on  their  cell  phones.  

 12. Do  you  know  any  of  your  parent’s  current  passwords?  Do  they  know  yours?  

 

64.3%  of  all  students  (N=2497)  report  that  they  know  a  parent’s  current  password.  By  contrast,  57.4%  of  all  students  report  that  a  parent  knows  one  of  their  current  passwords  (N=2473),  a  statistically  significant  difference.  

 

   

13. Has  anyone  ever  posted  something  on  a  website  about  you  that  was  embarrassing,  threatening,  or  demeaning  (a  "put  down")?    Overall,  15.8%  of  all  students  (N=2528)  report  that  someone  had  posted  something  on  a  website  about  them  that  was  embarrassing,  threatening,  or  demeaning  (  a  “put  down”).  Additionally,  girls  were  more  likely  to  report  this  than  boys,  17.2%  (N=1315)  versus  13.2%  (N=1104).    By  school  division,  the  incidences  approximately  double:  

 Elementary  Grades  4  –  6   Middle  School  Grades  6  –  8   High  School  Grades  9  -­‐  12  

6.5%  (N=767)   12.4%  (N=596)   24.1%  (N=1130)    The  difference  between  each  division  in  the  table  is  statistically  significant.  

 14. Have  you  ever  posted  something  on  a  website  about  someone  else  that  was  

embarrassing,  threatening,  or  demeaning  (a  "put  down")?    Overall,  10.0%  of  all  students  (N=2535)  report  that  they  had  posted  something  on  a  website  about  someone  else  that  was  embarrassing,  threatening,  or  demeaning  (  a  “put  down”).  There  was  no  statistical  significance  between  boys  and  girls  in  this  behavior.    However,  there  were  statistically  significant  differences  when  comparing  school  divisions:    

 

Elementary  Grades  4  –  6   Middle  School  Grades  6  –  8   High  School  Grades  9  -­‐  12  2.6%  (N=770)   7.8%  (N=595)   16.1%  (N=1135)  

 15. Have  you  ever  been  bullied  on  the  Internet  or  on  your  cell  phone?  

 Overall,  11.8%  of  all  students  (N=2538)  report  that  they  had  been  bullied  on  the  Internet  or  on  their  cell  phone.  “Bullied”  was  not  defined  and  students  had  to  use  their  own  judgment  about  what  it  meant.  Additionally,  girls  were  more  likely  to  report  this  than  boys,  13.9%  (N=1315)  versus  9.0%  (N=1114).    By  school  division,  students  reported  a  larger  increase  in  this  behavior  from  elementary  to  middle  school,  than  middle  to  high  school.  

 Elementary  Grades  4  –  6   Middle  School  Grades  6  –  8   High  School  Grades  9  -­‐  12  

5.7%  (N=771)   11.6%  (N=597)   15.9%  (N=1135)    The  difference  between  each  division  in  the  table  is  statistically  significant.    

16. Have  you  ever  bullied  anyone  else  on  the  Internet  or  through  a  cell  phone?    Overall,  6.4%  of  all  students  (N=2531)  report  that  they  have  ever  bullied  anyone  on  the  Internet  or  through  a  cell  phone.  Additionally,  boys  were  more  likely  to  report  doing  this  than  girls,  7.3%  (N=1113)  versus  5.0%  (N=1311).    By  school  division,  students  reported  a  larger  increase  in  this  behavior  from  elementary  to  middle  school,  than  middle  to  high  school.    Elementary  Grades  4  –  6   Middle  School  Grades  6  –  8   High  School  Grades  9  -­‐  12  

3.0%  (N=768)   6.2%  (N=594)   8.6%  (N=1134)    The  difference  between  elementary  and  middle  school  grades  is  statistically  significant,  but  the  difference  between  middle  and  high  school  grades  is  not.  

 

   17. Do  your  parents  have  rules  for  your  Internet  use?  

 This  question  is  interesting  to  ask  because  students  sometimes  do  not  consider  the  rules  and  expectations  that  parents  have  of  them  “in  real  life”  for  their  life  online.  We  believe  this  is  related  to  the  effect  of  disinhibition  reported  in  research  by  others.3      Overall,  43.0%  of  all  students  (N=2537)  report  that  their  parents  do  not  have  rules  regarding  their  Internet  use.  Girls  were  more  likely  to  report  having  no  rules  than  boys,  47.0%  (N=1312)  versus  39.3%  (N=1115),  a  statistically  significant  difference.      

   Of  the  1053  students  in  grades  four  through  twelve  who  said  that  their  parents  did  have  rules  regarding  their  use  of  the  Internet  25.5%  admitted  that  they  don’t  always  follow  the  rules.  There  was  no  statistical  significance  in  the  responses  between  boys  and  girls.    

 

18. Students  were  asked  how  much  they  agreed  with  the  statement  “my  parents  know  what  I  do,  where  I  go,  and  who  I  talk  to  online.”    66.5%  of  elementary/middle  school  children  (N=1337)  selected  “all  the  time”  or  “most  of  the  time”  while  51.3%  of  high  school  students  (N=1123)  replied  similarly.    14.8%  of  elementary/middle  school  children  selected  “not  much”  or  “not  at  all”  while  24.1%  or  high  school  students  replied  similarly.      

   CONCLUSION    The  good  news  is  that  most  children  and  teens  online  are  not  behaving  horribly,  taking  excessive  risks,  exposing  private  and  personal  details  of  their  lives,  and  treating  each  other  badly.  For  example,  some  organizations  and  Internet  safety  educators  have  been  saying  that  40%  to  70%  of  children  and  teens  using  the  Internet  are  suffering  from  cyberbullying.    Though  cyberbullying  behavior  is  quite  real  and  horrible  when  it  happens,  we  believe  the  number  of  children  and  teens  who  are  experiencing  cyberbullying  personally  is  actually  closer  to  20%  in  the  population  we  sampled.  Still,  20%  is  a  significant  number  of  children  and  teens,  but  not  the  epidemic  number  others  are  suggesting.  That  being  said,  many  children  and  teens  are  taking  unnecessary  risks  online  and  using  websites  that  are  not  developmentally  healthy  or  appropriate  for  them  to  use.    One  of  our  biggest  concerns  overall  is  the  number  of  younger  children  who  are  using  Facebook  and  the  attendant  risks.4  Also  some  children  and  teens  do  behave  badly  online,  and  their  behavior  can  affect  many  others.    

Throughout  our  fifteen  years  of  talking  to  kids  about  their  online  activities,  there  have  been  two  consistent  axioms  we  can  report:    1. Children  will  under-­‐report  online  activities  that  they  think  adults  would  disapprove  of.  

We  have  seen  this  periodically  when  we  meet  with  the  children  we  survey.  For  example,  40%  of  the  seventh  graders  may  tell  us  they  are  using  Facebook  but  when  we  speak  to  them  in  person,  without  their  teachers  present,  about  75-­‐80%  might  then  admit  to  having  a  Facebook  account.    This  admission  of  having  a  Facebook  account  is  a  remarkably  easy  thing  to  verify  so  it  is  unlikely  that  they  would  raise  their  hand  and  risk  being  called  a  liar  by  their  peers.  

 2. Whatever  children  are  doing  on  the  Internet  today,  they  will  be  doing  the  same  thing  next  

year  at  a  younger  age.  Using  Facebook  is  a  case  in  point.  During  the  fall  of  2007  we  began  to  hear  from  a  small  number  of  5th  graders  (10  years  old  on  average)  who  said  they  had  Facebook  accounts.  For  the  first  time  ever,  fourth  graders  (9  years  old  on  average)  began  to  report  to  us  that  they  had  a  Facebook  or  MySpace  account  in  the  fall  of  2008.  During  the  2008-­‐2009  academic  year,  our  data  showed  that  10%  of  6th  graders  had  an  account  with  an  adult  social  networking  site.  This  past  year  the  percentage  of  6th  graders  (11  years  old  on  average)  with  Facebook  accounts  has  climbed  to  25%.  A  key  issue  that  many  adults  don’t  always  consider  is  that  children  are  not  developmentally  ready  to  handle  the  risks  and  challenges  that  are  associated  with  using  adult  social  networking  accounts.5  And  if  parents  do  allow  their  children  to  have  a  Facebook  account,  we  strongly  recommend  that  parents  have  the  password  to  that  account  until  their  teen  is  a  junior  in  high  school  and  routinely  log  into  their  child’s  account.  

 Though  parental  control  software  is  no  panacea  for  the  risks  children  and  teens  face  when  using  the  Internet,  parental  control  software  provides  parents  with  much  greater  controls  and  monitoring  of  their  children.    And  this  is  still  true  even  though  one  in  every  four  children  who  have  PAC  software,  report  getting  around  it  somehow.  (The  two  most  common  methods  used  by  teens  to  get  around  PAC  is  that  they  know  a  parent’s  password  and  use  it  to  turn  off  the  PAC  software,  or  they  use  an  anonymous  proxy  site  that  the  PAC  may  not  be  blocking.)  PAC  software  should  always  be  one  part  of  the  strategy  that  parents  use  to  keep  their  children  safe  online  and  using  the  Internet  in  developmentally  healthy  ways.  Continual  conversations  about  life  online,  and  parents’  expectations  for  their  children’s  behavior  are  critically  important  strategies  for  parents  to  routinely  employ.    So,  too,  is  an  educational  component!  Schools  must  put  in  place  a  curriculum  that  addresses  a  wide  variety  of  issues  and  content  such  as:  

1. How  to  respond  to,  report,  or  recognize  cyberbullying  and  online  harassment.  2. How  to  decipher  Internet  addresses,  make  use  of  safety  features  on  web  browsers,  and  

identify  fraud  and  phishing.  3. Why  it  is  critically  important  to  protect  your  privacy  online  and  how  to  do  so.  4. How  to  create  strong  passwords  (not  just  one)  and  why  it  is  important  never  to  share  

them  with  anyone  except  a  parent.  5. Why  NOTHING  is  truly  private  online  and  examples  of  real-­‐life  consequences  from  

those  who  have  ignored  this  truism  and  suffered  consequences  as  a  result.    1  www.truste.com/pdf/TRUSTe_SNS_shortdeck.pdf  2  www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Technology-­‐and-­‐social-­‐networks.aspx  3    Additional  information  about  the  Online  Disinhibition  Effect  can  be  found  at:  

John  Suler’s  The  Psychology  of  Cyberspace,  first  published  in  CyberPsychology  and  Behavior  in  2004.  http://users.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/disinhibit.html  

  And  “Six  Causes  of  Online  Disinhibition”,  published  in  PsyBlog,  August  19,  2010  http://www.spring.org.uk/2010/08/six-­‐causes-­‐of-­‐online-­‐disinhibition.php  

4  “Why  Facebook  Has  It  Wrong  About  Our  Kids”,  Published  by  ChildrenOnline.org  and  available  at:  www.childrenonline.org/articles/WhyFacebookHasItWrongAboutKids.pdf  5  Ibid.