Follower, Faithful or Functional?


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Home \| Social Health Follower, Faithful or Functional? By: Ted Hastings British telecoms regulator Ofcom published a report on 2nd April 2008 suggesting that 49% of children from 8 to 17 years of age who have Internet access have their own personal profile on a social networking site. The minimum age permitted by major social networking sites is normally 13 or 14, but 27% of the 8-11 year olds who are aware of social networking sites claim to have a profile on one. Ofcom's figures highlight some astonishing discrepancies between what parents think is happening and what is actually taking place. 66% of parents claim to set rules on their children's use of social networking sites, but only 53% of children agreed that their parents set such rules. Half of parents have installed some kind of content blocking, and 80% of them believe it works, but 67% children think that they can get round it and access any content they want. However, since 24% of teenagers have computer in their bedroom, parents can't see what they're doing anyway. 22% of adult internet users 16 and over admit to having an own online profile and many have a profile on more than one site. Half of adult social network users claim to access their profile every second day. Facebook is the most popular site for adults, followed by MySpace and Bebo. Adults in lower socio-economic groupings are more likely to use MySpace, but Bebo is the site used most by children from 8 to 17 years of age. Social networking sites are expanding the traditional meaning of 'friends' to mean anyone a user has an online connection with, including people that they have never met or spoken to offline. Online friendships are displayed publicly via friend lists, meaning that users ar sharing personal details like religion, political views, sexuality and date of birth online with people they hardly know. Ofcom's research, which involved 5,000 adults and 3,000 children, suggests that there are five distinct groups of people who use social networking sites: * Alpha Socialisers - generally males aged under 25, who use sites in intense short bursts to flirt, find new friends and seek entertainment. * Attention Seekers - generally females looking for attention and comments from others, often by posting photographs and customizing their profiles. Some younger women claimed to create fake profiles for fun. * Followers - males and females of all ages who join sites to keep up with what their peers are doing. * Faithfuls - usually older males and females, aged over 20, who use social networking sites to make contact with old friends, often from school or university. * Functionals - mostly older males who tend to be single-minded in using sites for a particular purpose. The research also suggests three distinct groups of people who do not use social networking sites: * Worried about safety - often older people and parents concerned about safety online, especially making personal details available online. * Technically inexperienced - these are often people aged over 30 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. Privacy and safety are often quoted as major reasons for avoiding social networking sites, but they do not appear to be a major concern for those who do use such sites. The Ofcom research found that: * 41% of children and 44% of adults are content to leave their privacy settings at the default setting of 'open', making their profiles are visible to anyone * 34% of 16-24 year olds are willing to give out sensitive personal information such as their phone number or email address * 17% of adult users admitted that they talked to people they didn't know on social networking sites that and 35% spoke to people who were 'friends of friends'. Some teenagers and young adults admitted that they felt 'addicted' to social networking sites and realized that their use was reducing the time available for studying. Some users had heard of bullying through social networking sites and a minority of younger users admitted that they had used social networking sites to get back at people they had fallen out with. Article Source: http://www.HealthArticleBank.com Ted Hastings has 35+ years of experience of IT and education. 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