Social Networking Safety

Table of Contents

• Definition & Background
• Data & Research
• Similarities & Differences to Offline Behavior
• Harmful Effects
• Helping Children Manage Their Online Friends
• External Resources
• References
• Terms Associated with ‘Online Friends’

Definition & Background

The Internet makes information easily transmittable amongst both strangers and acquaintances for business, educational, and social purposes.  In the earliest days of the Internet, affinity groups quickly formed around common interests; the ability to communicate with others in the group was made possible through message boards, chat rooms, and newsletters.

Soon after, Social Networks (many consider Friendster to be the original) were created to enable real life friends to share information and interact on the Internet, and potentially to expand personal networks through mutual friends.  However, the need for actual friendship or even a common friend was soon trumped by the perceived prestige of having a large online community, resulting in the tendency for people to become “friends” with people they had never met.

The term Online Friends can be used to describe the presence of a real life friend in one’s virtual (online) community, or to describe people who interact online but who may not have met in person.  It’s common for social networking sites to facilitate “friending” – the act of becoming part of one’s online network – through searches or browsing of other community members.  While most social networking websites require that online friendships be mutually agreed upon – that is, the sites are set up so that one person requests the friendship and the other approves it – it is not uncommon to receive friend requests from complete strangers.

It is possible that Online Friends never interact, as having the illusion of a large friend network is all that some people seek.  However, that does not necessarily mean it’s a harmless situation.  When people allow others into their online community, they are giving them access to personal information which may including photos, videos, schools, hobbies and details such as their address or phone number.  With all of this information, an immoral person would be armed to do tremendous harm.

A reference to one’s Online Friend can represent a variety of realities:

• “Suzy from school is my friend on facebook.”
• “ilovebacon2 is my friend from the online game site; we’ve never met in person but ‘talk’ and play cards every week.”
• “I received four friend requests today from people I’ve never met.”

It is wise to not make assumptions that Online Friends are all good or all bad.  If you are curious about the origin of your child’s online friendship, it is best to ask.

Data & Research

As participation in online communities has become more common, so has contact and solicitation by strangers.  The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Cox Communications reported that over 60% of teens had established a presence on social networking web pages where they shared photos and personal information.  While these actions may seem harmless in a secure environment, the following statistics reveal that security and privacy are not the status quo.

• 71% of respondents reported receiving messages online from someone they didn’t know
• 45% of respondents have been asked for personal information by someone they didn’t know
• 30% of respondents have considered meeting someone that they’ve only talked to online
• 14% of respondents have actually met a person they’ve only spoken to over the Internet (9% of 13-15s; 22% of 16-17s)
• Nearly half of respondents who received online messages from someone they didn’t know, reported that they’ll usually reply and chat with that person^[1]

Surprising Differences to Offline Behavior

Even prior to the Internet it was observed that people feel safer using written messages than they do using the telephone or speaking in person. Studies have shown that people are more willing to type secrets into a computer than they are to tell them out-loud to somebody. This sentiment – and practice – has become more prevalent as communicating through the Internet has replaced interpersonal interaction. In a study of 16,000 MySpace users between the ages of 14 and 21, over a third of respondents revealed that they find it easier to talk to online buddies than to people out in the “real world”.  Respondents reported feeling closer to their Online Friends than offline ones, since they had much more frequent contact and more insight into each other’s lives.  Thus, it can be extrapolated that the ease of sharing information enabled by technology, and the candor generated by using the Internet as a medium, results in people sharing more with an Online Friend who they don’t know well than they would if they interacted with this individual in person. ^[2]

While this would not be a problem if one’s online friends were in fact people they knew outside the Internet, we know this is not the case.  Even more harmful is the fact that the sharing of personal information can be further exaggerated with Online Friends who began as online strangers.  While there may be a sense of friendship or trust with one’s new Online Friend, the use of written communication, and the fact that they have not met in person act as a ‘protective’ shield, opening the door for more candid dialogue.  It is through this frank dialogue that strangers can extract personal information from an unwitting new Online Friend.

Harmful Effects

While the practice of engaging in and maintaining friendships online shouldn’t yield harm, the reality can be much different.  Firstly, even if one only engages with “real world” friends, simply having a presence on these Online Social Networking sites puts their personal information on the Internet.  While one can try to control the information they share with others, they cannot control information or potentially damaging content such as photos or videos posted to the Internet by other people.  Additionally, the ability to ‘tag’ content – to label it with the names of the individuals in it – can draw a straight line back to an individual.  It can sometimes seem impossible to prevent others from sharing one’s name or image.

It has also been widely argued that the rampant use of technology as a communication medium between friends is resulting in poor interpersonal skills and less developed writing skills.^[3]