Susan B. Barnes Rochester Institute of Technology

A Privacy Paradox  Social Networking in the United States  Paradox of collecting information versus freely giving it away

Collecting vs. Giving  Collecting side:  Credit cards  Advertisers  Social networking sites  Commercial organizations

Collecting vs. Giving  Giving  Young people (K-12)  Personal information  photographs  User-generated content

The Internet is NOT Private  Young people think they are sharing information with their friends, not the rest of the world  The Internet is as private as a post card  If you won’t tell your mother, don’t put if on the Internet

Survey of Internet and At- risk Behaviors  Research by Samuel McQuade III at the Rochester Institute of Technology  40,079 students and hundreds of parents  School districts in the Rochester area

Key Findings  Cyber bullying and victimization begins as early as the 2nd grade  Illegal pirating of music, movie and/or software begins for many students in the 4th grade  By middle school students as a group experience and/ or engage in all known forms of cyber abuse

Research Website 

Problem  Young children begin to use the Internet in Kindergarden  Kids prey on each other  Usually occurs by peer group  Young people engage in risky behavior  Sharing nude photographs  Young people don’t get instruction on Internet usage

Solutions  Article  Technical Solutions  Limited by software  Depends on Industry Regulations  Legal Solutions  Government officials don’t understand the Internet  Computer terms are confusing  Social Solutions

Current Solution  Social  We need to teach children how to appropriately use the Internet  Parents, schools, churches--everyone  Relationship Networking Industry Association  Behavior relates to relationships

Future  We need to develop programs that teach children how to safely use the Internet.