Teens, Social Media, and Privacy

Teens are sharing more details about themselves on social media profiles, but few do so publicly; 60% of teen Facebook users keep their profiles private  

Teen social media users do not express a high level of concern about third-party access to their data;  just 9% say they are “very” concerned

Teen Twitter use has grown significantly: 24% of online teens use Twitter, up from 16% in 2011.

WASHINGTON (May 21, 2013) – Teens are sharing more information about themselves on social media sites than they have in the past, but they are also taking a variety of technical and non-technical steps to manage the privacy of that information. Despite taking these privacy-protective actions, teen social media users do not express a high level of concern about third-parties (such as businesses or advertisers) accessing their data; just 9% say they are “very” concerned.

These are among the new findings from a nationally representative Pew Research Center survey of 802 youth ages 12-17 and their parents that explored technology use. Key findings include:

Teens are sharing more information about themselves on their social media profiles than they did when we last surveyed in 2006:

91% post a photo of themselves, up from 79% in 2006.
71% post their school name, up from 49%.
71% post the city or town where they live, up from 61%.
53% post their email address, up from 29%.
20% post their cell phone number, up from 2%.
60% of teen Facebook users set their Facebook profiles to private (friends only), and most report high levels of confidence in their ability to manage their settings.

56% of teen Facebook users say it’s “not difficult at all” to manage the privacy controls on their Facebook profile.
33% Facebook-using teens say it’s “not too difficult.”
8% of teen Facebook users say that managing their privacy controls is “somewhat difficult,” while less than 1% describe the process as “very difficult.”
Teens take other steps to shape their reputation, manage their networks, and mask information they don’t want others to see.

59% have deleted or edited something that they posted in the past.
53% have deleted comments from others on their profile or account.
45% have removed their name from photos that have been tagged to identify them.
31% have deleted or deactivated an entire profile or account.

Focus group participants report that they are able to manage their privacy on social media sites, usually by deciding what content to post rather than by managing its dissemination via privacy settings.

http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/05/21/teens-social-media-and-privacy-2/