Data from a joint Pew Internet and Harvard Berkman Center research report, Teens, Social Media and Privacy, identify a discrepancy between the ways teens and adolescents preserve their privacy and their lack of concern about the invasive collection of personal information by third parties.
The May 21, 2013 report also points out that while teens are increasing the amount of sharing they do on social media, many adolescents are tiring of Facebook because so many adults use the site and because of the excessive sharing that Facebook seems to prod people to do. The researchers gathered much their Facebook data through focus groups.
From the Overview of the Report
— 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.
Many of us — parents and grandparents — are acutely aware of past violations of personal privacy — as well as the people injured by them. It may be a responsibility of parents and grandparents, who often see themselves as less digitally able, to pay greater attention to educating digital natives about the importance of privacy in their lives.
Media! Tech! Parenting! 