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
• Roughly 245,000,000 users

Facebook

• Xanga
• Not as commonly used but has a niche with younger
  groups

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Other Virtual Communities

• Second Life

Twitter
YouTube
Forums
Social Network Aggregators
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Mobile Social Networks
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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
• Extension of their off-line social life

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Internet Social NetworksMediated Publics
Environment to gather publicly through mediating
technology.

• Persistence. What you say sticks around
• Searchability.
• Repilicability. Copy and Paste
• Invisible audiences.

Boyd, Danah. 2007 Social Network Sites Public,
Private, or What?
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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
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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 Risk Behaviors

• Posting personal information online, 56 of youth
  Internet users
• Interacting online with unknown people, 43
• Having unknown people on a buddy list, 35
• Using the Internet to make rude and nasty
  comments to others, 28
• Sending personal information to unknown people
  met online, 26
• Downloading images from file-sharing programs,
  15
• Visiting x-rated sites on purpose, 13
• Using the Internet to embarrass or harass people
  youth are mad at, 9
• Talking online to unknown people about sex, 5

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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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Safety Tips
Pairs exercise What could young people do to be
safer on social networking sites? What can
adults do to help keep young people safe?
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Resources

• NetSmartz education resource for all ages about
  children staying safe online - www.netsmartz.org
• CyberTipLine national reporting service for
  child sexual exploitation - www.cybertipline.com
• Center for Missing and Exploited Children
  www.missingkids.com
• HDOP ad campaign about online predatorswww.missin
  gkids.com/adcouncil/cpgn.html
• SafeTeens Resource for teens and parents to
  learn about Internet safety - www.safeteens.com
• Crimes Against Children Resource Center -
  www.unh.edu/ccrc

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Resources Research

• Teens, Privacy Online Social Networks
• Pew Internet American Life Project (2007)?
• Online Predators and their Victims Myths,
  Realities...
• Crimes Against Children Research Center (2008)?
• 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)?
• Social Network Sites Public, Private, or What?
• Danah Boyd UC-Berkeley USC Annenberg Center
  (2007)?
• 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-2008.p
pt