Pew Research - Information Sharing, Friending, and Privacy Settings on Social Media

Madden, M. & Lenhart, A. (2013). Part 2: information sharing, friending, and privacy settings on social media. Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/05/21/part-2-information-sharing-friending-and-privacy-settings-on-social-media/

I have now read several articles on the subject of teens’ consideration of privacy settings and am continually and pleasantly surprised to find that they actually think about these things.  I guess I assumed that teens were egg heads who felt themselves to be invincible and in no need of protection. 

Teens share a lot of information about themselves on social media sites.  Most teens, however, do not adopt a fully public style when using social media.  Most of them post their real name. Or else how would their friends find them?  Most of them post a photo of themselves.  Or else how would their friends recognize them?  71% post their school name and city or town where they live.  This may not be the best idea.  53% post their email address.  This is definitely not a good idea.  20% post their cell phone number.  Okay, these are the egg heads.  What are they thinking?  Maybe they are proud to be owners of cell phones and it is an expression of independence.  Boys are more likely than girls to share their cell phone number.  African-American teens are less likely to disclose their real names.  I wonder why that is?  I have read this before.

Reputation management seems to be a big concern of teens.  It is interesting to read the survey comments in this article.  Teens, especially girls, are very concerned about their Facebook profile pictures and other photos of themselves.  One girl said that she would message “a ton” of photos to her friends, asking which one should be her profile. Another said that if her photo had less than 20 likes, she would take it down.  Likes are status symbols apparently, as one teen declared that your social position is determined by the number of likes your picture gets.  Some have discovered that you get more likes by posting a picture at a prime time.  I’m so glad I’m not a teen.  In my day, we only worried about zits and our jeans fitting tight enough!

In addition to choosing privacy settings, teens choose different people to add to their friend network.  Most choose school friends, friends from outside of school, and extended family members.  Older teens tend to be Facebook friends with a larger variety of people, while younger teens are less likely to friend certain groups, including those they haven’t met in person.  I often have my middle school students ask to be friends with me on Facebook and I always tell them no, it’s not allowed.  Sometimes they friend request me later when they’re in high school.  If they had been a very special student whom I remember with fondness, I usually accept their request, though I may later, quietly, delete them.   MY STATUS DOES NOT RELY UPON HOW MANY FACEBOOK FRIENDS I HAVE, NOR HOW MANY LIKES MY PHOTOS GET.

Most teens have checked their Facebook privacy setting relatively recently and keep their Facebook profile private.  Girls are more likely than boys to restrict access to their profiles.  They feel confident in their management of privacy settings, yet relatively few take steps to customize what certain friends can see, or what their parents can see for that matter.

The article also discusses teen Twitter use.  The majority of teen Twitter users have public accounts.  Like on Facebook, teens are confident in their own privacy regulation.  The typical teen Twitter user has 79 followers, far fewer than Facebook friends.

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