A recent UK study on social networks found that many users aren’t that concerned about posting personal information online because the whole point of social network sites is to share details about yourself so you can link up with other people and communicate. This point of view is not surprising because it’s human nature to focus on the benefits and not think through all the possible consequences. Also, people’s comfort level online is directly related to assumptions they make about risk.
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Some of us from the Office attended the MESH Conference in Toronto last month, jumping at the chance to hear a number of thought leaders and innovators in media, technology and society. Privacy, data protection and reputation management were subjects discussed in several of the sessions, but two video clips are available that demonstrate how online users can have wildly different approaches to privacy and the protection of personal information.
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Starting today, young people can turn to youthprivacy.ca, an interactive web site that offers advice about how youth can protect their personal information and take charge of how their identity is being shaped online.
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The Office of Communications in the U.K. has just released a research report on young peoples’ use of social networking sites. Among their findings:
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OK, be honest. When was the last time you read the full text of a website’s privacy policy?
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The Pew Internet & American Life Project released its report on Teens and Social Media last month, which found that an overwhelming majority of American teens are using the Internet for social interaction – namely, sharing creations likes photos and videos, telling stories, and interacting with others.
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In Britain, the National Consumer Council and Childnet have released the results of an extensive series of surveys and interviews with children, youth and their parents. Their work sheds some light into these groups’ activities online, including participation on youth-oriented websites, how they react to advertising aimed at children and youth, and their attitudes towards privacy.
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Today, we’d like to present an excerpt from a recent blog post from Alison Black, titled “respecting digital privacy.”
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Are youth really this clueless about their digital footprint? The Information Commissioner’s Office in Great Britain has just released the results of a survey of British youth ages 14-21. “Six in 10 have never considered that what they put online now might be permanent and could be accessed years into the future.”
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On the second day of our conference, Professor Valerie Steeves spoke about how children interact with popular sites like Webkinz, Neopets and Barbie Girls. We have already provided a brief summary of her presentation and her fellow speakers on the subject, but thought you would like to see her speech. The presentation deck she used for her speech, and to which she refers, is also available online.
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