Many teens shrug off risk of meeting strangers online
The MAJORITY of teenagers don’t consider meeting strangers online a taboo, with six in ten saying they have met at least one new friend on the Web.
Teens are also texting and communicating through online games and social networks more frequently than they are spending time together in person. And of those who meet people online, one-third also followed up with an in-person meeting.
These findings are part of a new in-depth study from the Pew Research Centre aimed at understanding how online interactions are shaping the social lives and identities of American teens.
Broadly speaking, the research found that the line between the virtual and real worlds have almost completely blurred — and that kids say they have deep and meaningful relationships with people online and in person.
“The digital world has taken its place alongside school and friends’ houses and extracurriculars as a place where teens go to make and strengthen friendships,” said Amanda Lenhart, author of the report “Teens, Technology & Friendships” and an associate director of research at Pew.
“Like it or not, this is where our teens talk, plot, laugh and fight with some of the most important people in their lives.”
The current generation of digital natives, who hit adolescence just as the iPhone and Facebook took off in popularity, are charting new territory.
And while the implications of online social activity among teens is not yet clear, some parents and child development experts warn that the intensity of online interactions are presenting new pressures for youth and their parents.
“Young people are very aware that people have highly curated images and that text fights can quickly go out of control and they are trying to sort it all out,” said Rosalind Wiseman, author of “Queen Bees and Wannabees” and speaker on youth issues.
“But adults have to respect that these are deep relationships that play out online, and we can’t dismiss them.”
According to the survey of 1,060 teens ages 13 to 17, texting remains the most popular form of digital communication.
More than half of teens say they text friends every day, and three-quarters do at least every few days. Only 25 per cent of teens say they are able to meet with friends in person outside of school hours every day.
For Chasion Adams, 17, gaming friends are as valuable as the friends he’s made at his DC high school and in his neighbourhood.
When he gets home from school, he powers up his Playstation and for the next few hours he’ll play games such as “Call of Duty” against friends from around the world.
There is constant banter, with a lot of smack talk and joking. The conversations drag on for hours.
“It’s like we have the game in common which is cool and then we talk about everything else like what kind of music we like and what’s going on with school,” Adams, 17, said. — WPBloomberg
The digital world has taken its place alongside school and friends’ houses and extracurriculars as a place where teens go to make and strengthen friendships.
– Amanda Lenhart, author of the report “Teens, Technology & Friendships”