Internet Social Networks

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Internet Social Networks Young People

• Odie Routh
• Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services
• Technology Director

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Internet Social Networking

• Social Networking basics
• circle of friends
• Profiles
• Virtual communities

Wikipedia.org
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Circle of Friends
Stacy
Tim
Judy
Joe
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Profiles

• Representation of you (Account)?
• Name
• Age, location,etc.
• Interests
• Photos
• Central hub for online communication
• List of friends
• Messages and comments posting
• Blogs

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Internet Social Networking

• Popular examples
• MySpace.com
• Roughly 200,000,000 users
• Facebook
• Focused on College experience
• Friendster
• Pioneer of social networking, but fading in
  popularity
• Xanga
• More recent addition seemingly more control of
  privacy

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MySpace sign up
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MySpace sign up
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MySpace sign up
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MySpace sign up
Pairs exercise What are your reactions to the
sign up procedure when thinking about young
people?
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MySpace sign up
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Internet Social Networks Young People

• Strong use among young people
• 93 age 12-17 use the Internet
• 55 of these have profiles
• Young people are Internet contributers not
  consumers like many older Internet users
• Internet Social Networking is an extension of
  their offline social life

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Communication Tool
Pew Internet American Life Project Teens,
Privacy Online Social Networks Report
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Privacy Awareness

• 66 of teens with profiles use privacy settings
• 47 of teens without private profiles use fake
  information
• This leaves 9 of all Internet using teens with
  an open profile containing real identifying
  information

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Internet Social NetworkingConcerns Risks
What risks or concerns do you see for young
people with Social Network profiles?
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Identifying Information
Pew Internet American Life Project Teens,
Privacy Online Social Networks Report
MySpace profile sample
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Contacts from Strangers

• 40 of Social Network users are contacted by
  strangers
• Rate much higher for myspace users than other
  sites
• Same study indicates that 20 of other Internet
  users are contacted by a stranger
• Despite higher rate of stranger contact, actual
  rate of in person meeting is same at roughly 3

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Contacts from Strangers

• Most online sexual solicitations do come from
  someone met online (86)?
• NOT an indication of an increase in stranger
  physical sexual abuse
• More aggressive solicitations have higher rate of
  knowing solicitor in person(35)?

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Internet Social Networks Efforts To Increase
Safety

• Profile protections
• Age restrictions within Terms of Use Agreements
• Filtering and Monitoring
• Legislation
• Deleting Online Predators Act 2006
• States requiring Internet Safety Education

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Internet Social Networks The Future

• Mobile Social Networks

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Safety Tips
Pairs exercise What are some things young
people can do to be safer on social
networks? What can adults do to help keep young
people safe?
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Resources Research

• Teens, Privacy Online Social Networks
• Pew Internet American Life Project (2007)?
• Online Victimization of Youth 5 years later
• National Center for Missing and Exploited
  Children (2006)?
• Stranger Contact in Adolescent Online Social
  Networks
• The Annenburg Public Policy Center (Sept. 2006)?
• Teen Content Creators and Consumers
• Pew Internet American Life Project (Nov. 2005)?
• Online Requests for Sexual Pictures from Youth
• Journal of Adolescent Health (March 2007)?

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Download these slides

• http//www.ccvs.state.vt.us/publications/sn-2007.p
  pt