Two-thirds of all teens who have created a personal profile on a social network site limit access to it (Bet you don't see that lead in the popular press).
A data memo released this weekend from the Pew Internet and American Life Project reports the results of a survey of teens and their use of social network sites [pdf file]. Among their findings:
- 55% of online teens have created a personal profile online, and 55% have used social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook.
- 48% of teens visit social networking websites daily or more often.
- 91% of all social networking teens say they use the sites to stay in touch with friends they see frequently, while 82% use the sites to stay in touch with friends they rarely see in person.
- 72% of all social networking teens use the sites to make plans with friends; 49% use the sites to make new friends.
- Older girls ages 15-17 are more likely to have used social networking sites and created online profiles.
One takeaway from the data may be that teens are more responsible about the use of social network sites than many critics fear, or that they have heard and responded to the coverage about the potential dangers of social network sites. Either way, the social communication benefits carry the day when it comes to their uses.
Note to change agents: sometimes it's worth more to focus on the 'positive deviants' than always obsess about the risks of current behaviors or barriers to engaging in healthy behaviors (see lead). In Social Cognitive Theory they are known as 'coping or mastery models.'
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