It seems self-exposure, or assertively forgoing privacy, is for teens "as natural as brushing their teeth," writes Janet Kornblum of USATODAY. They seek feedback on themselves constantly, Janet quotes one expert as saying. Another told her that teens understand privacy but simply choose to be "out there" because that's how things happen. It's about marketing. Or just staying in touch, which … [Read more...] about Teen privacy: New standards?
social networking
Teens & stranger contact: New study
Researcher Aaron Smith likens the Internet to a park, mall, or any other public space, where most of teens' encounters with others are fine, but some can be scary or risky. "Just 7% of online teens have ever had an interaction with a stranger that made them feel scared or uncomfortable," though nearly a third (32%) "have been contacted by someone with no connection to them or any of their … [Read more...] about Teens & stranger contact: New study
Fraud potential on social Web
Teens aren't the only people who need to watch what personal information they upload to social Web sites. "Nearly one in three [31%] social networkers on sites such as Facebook and Friends Reunited risk becoming victims of identity fraud because they are negligent with their personal details," reports the Motley Fool, "making them a prime target for phishing and other ID fraud." What happens is … [Read more...] about Fraud potential on social Web
Int’l social-networking numbers
More than half (56%) of Europe's online population is social networking, and 78% of Britain's is, TechnologyNewsDaily reports, citing comScore figures. So Europe has 127.3 million social networkers and the UK 24.9 million. In addition to higher uptake, Britain's usage was heavier "in terms of hours spent, pages viewed, and the number of visits per month. The average visitor to social networking … [Read more...] about Int’l social-networking numbers
Local social networking
Sites like Bebo, MySpace, and Facebook aggregate people from all over the world - they're more about interest community than geographic community. Niche social-networking sites zooming in on narrower and narrower interests are popping up all over the place. Another trend is increasingly focused geographic community online. It has several forms: MySpace's sites for individual countries, … [Read more...] about Local social networking