Ofcom have just released some significant research into the prevalence of social networking and patterns of use by the public, based on literature reviews, interviews and several surveys. Of those with online access, nearly half of the children (aged 8 to 17) and somewhat less than a quarter of adults (aged 16+) have a social networking profile. Unsurprisingly, amongst adults the number of people with at least one profile is highest for 16-24 year-olds (54%) and then drops off with age.
Some of the children aged under 13 (the supposed minimum for the likes of Facebook) admit to having a profile on sites designed for an older age group. (In Havering this is on sites like Bebo and Piczo)
[From the press release] “The qualitative research suggests five distinct groups of people who use social networking sites:
- Alpha Socialisers – mostly male, under 25s, who use sites in intense short bursts to flirt, meet new people and be entertained.
- Attention Seekers – mostly female, who crave attention and comments from others, often by posting photos and customising their profiles.
- Followers – males and females of all ages who join sites to keep up with what their peers are doing.
- Faithfuls – older males and females generally aged over 20, who typically use social networking sites to rekindle old friendships, often from school or university.
- Functionals – mostly older males who tend to be single-minded in using sites for a particular purpose.
“The qualitative research also suggests three distinct groups of people who do not use social networking sites:
- Concerned about safety – often older people and parents concerned about safety online, in particular making personal details available online.
- Technically inexperienced – often people over 30 years old who lack confidence in using the internet and computers.
- Intellectual rejecters – often older teens and young adults who have no interest in social networking sites and see them as a waste of time.”
It seems that users remain rather lax about security. In the Executive Summary, Ofcom says the qualitative research shows that “privacy and safety issues on social networking sites did not emerge as ‘top of mind’ for most users. In discussion, and after prompting, some users in the qualitative study did think of some privacy and safety issues, although on the whole they were unconcerned about them.”Worryingly, 41% of children (8-17 year olds) leave their privacy options on the default “open” settings, allowing anyone to access personal details, which may include date of birth, religion and sexuality. 34% of 16-24 year olds would go as far as revealing their email or postal addresses and telephone numbers.
The Executive Summary lists a number of reasons for these “risky behaviours”, suggesting that the balance of factors varied between groups of respondents. In particular, there is “a feeling among [some] younger users that they are invincible”.
Nevertheless, many people are evaluating risks and making conscious choices. Therefore, “discussions with children and adults using social networking sites highlighted an important point. This was that there is a clear overlap between the benefits and risks of some online social networking activities. For example, the underlying point of social networking is to share information. However the risk is that leaving privacy settings open means that the user cannot control who sees their information or how they use it.”
A BBC News online report states that “The Home Office has been working with social networking firms and is expected to publish a set of guidelines for the sites around best practice, security and privacy on Friday.” [See below for the Times online report published in advance on Thursday].
There are considerable benefits to Web 2.0 technologies, but it is evident that only a minority of children are actively engaged with the opportunities. This Ofcom report shows that this is true for social networking “profiles” which are, in principle, fairly easy to set up. So how many less children and young people are contributing using more complex tools like blogs, YouTube or Twitter? There are tremendous possibilities for advancing learning using some of these technologies and young people need to be helped to understand how to use them more judiciously. But it would be dangerous to assume (without directly asking your classes) that “everyone is doing it”.
Press release with video briefing and click-through guide to types of social networkers:
www.ofcom.org.uk/media/news/2008/04/nr_20080402
Link to executive summary and full report:
www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/media_literacy/medlitpub/medlitpubrss/socialnetworking/
BBC report http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7325019.stm
