As part of its ongoing Student Privacy Initiative, led by Executive Director Urs Gasser, the Berkman Center is excited to offer a number of related publications that synthesize diverse conversations, distill next steps and key issues, and provide initial substantive resources for technologists and school officials alike:

• Youth and Media Research Brief, Youth Perspectives on Tech in Schools: From Mobile Devices to Restrictions and Monitoring: This research brief, prepared by the Berkman Center’s Youth and Media project for the co-organized Berkman Center and Consortium for School Networking working meeting on student privacy and cloud computing, presents empirical data on student privacy attitudes drawn from a series of focus groups conducted across the country between February and August 2013.

• Student Privacy & Cloud Computing at the District Level: Next Steps and Key Issues: This report offers recommended next steps and prioritizes open issues in the K-12 edtech space, with a special emphasis on two topics: (1) law and policy and (2) norms, values, attitudes, and practices, as well as an overarching eye to opportunities for collaboration. It builds from and reflects upon a conversation co-organized by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society’s Student Privacy Initiative and the Consortium for School Networking. At this meeting, policymakers and educational technology thought leaders came together to emphasize the view “on the ground” as seen from the district level and identify specific resources for potential inclusion in a toolkit for diverse stakeholders considering the adoption and impact of cloud technologies in K-12 educational contexts.

• K-12 Edtech Cloud Service Inventory: Created for and informed by a co-organized Berkman Center and Consortium for School Networking working meeting, this document aims to provide individuals with a non-technological background with a more concrete survey of the kinds of cloud computing technologies (categorized by the affordances each offers) that may be adopted in K-12 educational contexts.

You may also be interested in our previously published reports and guides, including an initial report, Student Privacy in the Cloud Computing Ecosystem: State of Play & Potential Paths Forward, and a legal analysis of COPPA and FERPA, Privacy and Children’s Data: An Overview of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

We look forward to continuing to develop additional materials in the months to come, with an eye to conducting legal analysis and producing resources for the March 2014 CoSN Annual Conference (after which an updated toolkit with materials targeted at district-level stakeholders will be made publicly available), while also engaging in ongoing collaboration, conversation, and research across both the law and policy and norms, values, attitudes, and practices clusters that have emerged from our initial gatherings.

Please contact Student Privacy Initiative Project Manager Alicia Solow-Niederman at aliciasn@cyber.law.harvard.edu with any questions or media inquiries.

About the Student Privacy Initiative

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society’s Student Privacy Initiative, led by Executive Director Urs Gasser, explores the opportunities and challenges that may arise as educational institutions consider adopting cloud computing technologies. In its work across three overlapping clusters – Privacy Expectations & Attitudes, School Practices & Policies, and Law & Policy – this initiative aims to engage diverse stakeholder groups from government, educational institutions, academia, and business, among others, develop shared good practices that promote positive educational outcomes, harness technological and pedagogical innovations, and protect critical values.

Please visit http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/research/studentprivacy for more information about the project.

The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project conducted focus groups with teenagers in a variety of locales as part of a larger study on teens and online privacy. Click here to access the full report and findings. What follows is a list of some of the most revealing and interesting comments about how teens think about social networking sites and how they navigate issues of identity and privacy.

Female, age 14 — “I think Facebook can be fun, but also it’s drama central. On Facebook, people imply things and say things, even just by a like, that they wouldn’t say in real life.”

Female (age 14): “OK, so I do post a good amount of pictures, I think. Sometimes it’s a very stressful thing when it comes to your profile picture. Because one should be better than the last, but it’s so hard. So… I will message them a ton of pictures. And be like which one should I make my profile? And then they’ll help me out. And that kind of takes the pressure off me. And it’s like a very big thing.”

Friending mom and dad: It’s complicated

Male (age 16): “Yeah, [I’ve gotten in trouble for something I posted] with my parents. This girl posted a really, really provocative picture [on Facebook] and I called her a not very nice word [in the comments]. And I mean, I shouldn’t have called her that word, and I was being a little bit too cocky I guess, and yeah, I got in trouble with my parents.”

Male (age 17): “It sucks… Because then they [my parents] start asking me questions like why are you doing this, why are you doing that. It’s like, it’s my Facebook. If I don’t get privacy at home, at least, I think, I should get privacy on a social network.”

Friending teachers and preachers

Female (age 14): “I think I wouldn’t [become Facebook friends with my teachers]. Just because I’m such a different person online. I’m more free. And obviously, I care about certain things, but I’m going to post what I want. I wouldn’t necessarily post anything bad that I wouldn’t want them to see, but it would just be different. And I feel like in the classroom, I’m more professional [at] school. I’m not going to scream across the room oh my God, I want to dance! Or stuff like that. So I feel if they saw my Facebook they would think differently of me. And that would probably be kind of uncomfortable. So I probably would not be friends with them.”

Male (age 18): “Yeah, I go to church and all, so I don’t want to post certain things because I don’t want the preacher looking at my Facebook. Because I go to church with her. So then if she sees me, yeah, baby, and yeah. I feel like it does affect the way you use social [media]. You have that respect for something or for a group that you’re into or anything, like… yourself, because maybe that’s who you are, but at the same time, you love that group and you never want to disrespect them. So at that point, I feel like it does affect you. Sometimes affecting you doesn’t always mean negatively. It can sometime[s] be positively, you know?”

Party tweets might get you busted

Female (age 16): “And our SRO [School Resource Officer] Officer [sic], he has information. He can see anything that we do, basically, because he’s part of the police department. And so he’s talked to my friends and I before. And he was like, anything you do, I can pull up. So if y’all tweet about a party, while you’re there, just don’t be surprised when it gets busted.”

College admissions officers can find out things

Male (age 18): “So honestly, the only time I’ve ever deleted for a picture is because I’m applying for colleges. You know what? Colleges might actually see my pictures and I have pictures like with my fingers up, my middle fingers up. Like me and my friends have pictures, innocent fun. We’re not doing anything bad, but innocent fun. But at the same time, maybe I’m applying for college now. Possibly an admission officer’s like, you know, this kid’s accepted. Let’s see what his everyday life is like. They’re like, um–”

Snapchat is catching on with teens because it enables speedy exchanges, many schools haven’t yet blocked it, and, most of all, because photos vanish after a limited amount of time

Female (age 16): “Yeah, [Snapchat] it’s faster. And you can use Snapchat at school with the school’s website.”

Female (age 16): “Well, because Facebook, everyone sees what I’m doing. But Snapchat is just to one person, unless they’re a jerk and they screenshot it and post it on Facebook. But mostly it’s just the person that you’re sending it to, so it’s like a conversation.”

Female (age 17): “And it’s just kind of fun. Because it’s like texting, but you get to use your face as the emoticon instead of an actual emoticon.”

Different social media services are used for different social purposes

Female (age 16):  I am basically dividing things up. Instagram is mostly for pictures. Twitter is mostly for just saying what you are thinking. Facebook is both of them combined so you have to give a little bit of each. But yes, so Instagram, I posted more pictures on Instagram than on Facebook. Twitter is more natural.”

Female (age 15): “I mean Instagram is just basically like letting everybody else see what you’re seeing.”

Female (middle school): “I use it [Twitter and Facebook] differently.  Twitter is more for me to see what my favorite celebrities are doing.  Facebook is more for family and friends.  Twitter feels more public to me.”

Looking good – physically and reputationally – is a big deal

Male (age 18): “Yeah, I have some teachers who have connections that you might want to use in the future, so I feel like you always have an image to uphold. Whether I’m a person that likes to have fun and go crazy and go all out, but I don’t let people see that side of me because maybe it changes the judgment on me. So you post what you want people to think of you, basically.”

Managing pictures on Facebook’s timeline takes some work

Female (age 14): “Yeah [I’ve taken down photos from my timeline], some embarrassing pictures that me and my friend took, and sometimes I don’t like that photo. And I just wanted to take it down so people won’t see them. Obviously they should ask first.”

Facebook is important as a kind of social broadcasting space

Female (age 15): “And so after school the day before, someone said ‘oh, the assembly’s sure going to be fun.’ And I’m like, ‘what assembly?’ And they’re like, ‘the assembly that we’re performing in.’ ‘What assembly that we’re performing in?’ No one had remembered to tell me, because they had only posted it on Facebook. So after that I just got a Facebook to know what’s going on.”

Facebook is a challenging space because so many others are there and watching and judging

Female (age 13): “I feel like over Facebook, people can say whatever they want to. They can message you. And on Instagram you can delete the comment really easily, and you don’t have to live with it, kind of. Whereas Facebook, if they say something mean, it hurts more. I don’t know why it does. And also [Instagram] it’s not public, so people tend to not come off so mean. Because all they really want is for people [to] like their photos.”

Location sharing doesn’t feel necessary

One teen wrote in an online focus group: “[I don’t share my location] because it seems unnecessary.  If someone wants to know where you are, they can ask.  I’d share my location if I was at my friend’s house because sometimes they want me to.  I don’t share it definitely if I’m not somewhere that I want people to know I’m at.”

Leaving the drama can be liberating

Female (age 16): “I deleted it [my Facebook account] when I was 15, because I think it [Facebook] was just too much for me with all the gossip and all the cliques and how it was so important to be– have so many friends– I was just like it’s too stressful to have a Facebook, if that’s what it has to take to stay in contact with just a little people. It was just too strong, so I just deleted it. And I’ve been great ever since.”

About the focus groups

In collaboration with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard, this report also includes quotes gathered through a series of exploratory in-person focus group interviews about privacy and digital media, with a focus on social media sites, conducted by the Berkman Klein Center’s Youth and Media Project beginning in February 2013. The team conducted 24 focus group interviews with 156 students across the greater Boston area, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Greensboro (North Carolina). Each focus group interview lasted 90 minutes, including a 15-minute questionnaire completed prior to starting the interview, consisting of 20 multiple-choice questions and 1 open-ended response. Although the research sample was not designed to constitute representative cross-sections of particular population(s), the sample includes participants from diverse ethnic, racial and economic backgrounds. Participants ranged in age from 11 to 19. The mean age of participants is 14.5.

In addition, two online focus groups of teenagers ages 12-17 were conducted by the Pew Internet Project from June 20-27^th, 2012 to help inform the survey design. The first group was with 11 middle schoolers ages 12-14, and the second group was with 9 high schoolers ages 14-17. Each group was mixed gender, with some racial, socio-economic and regional diversity. The groups were conducted as an asynchronous threaded discussion over three days using the Qualboard platform and the participants were asked to log in twice per day. All references to these findings are referred to as “online focus groups” throughout the report.

Teens are sharing more details about themselves on social media profiles, but few do so publicly;
60% of teen Facebook users keep their profiles private

Teen social media users do not express a high level of concern about third-party access to their data;
just 9% say they are “very” concerned

Teen Twitter use has grown significantly: 24% of online teens use Twitter, up from 16% in 2011.

WASHINGTON – (May 21, 2013) – Teens are sharing more information about themselves on social media sites than they have in the past, but they are also taking a variety of technical and non-technical steps to manage the privacy of that information. Despite taking these privacy-protective actions, teen social media users do not express a high level of concern about third-parties (such as businesses or advertisers) accessing their data; just 9% say they are “very” concerned.

These are among the new findings from a nationally representative Pew Research Center survey of 802 youth ages 12-17 and their parents that explored technology use. Key findings include:

Teens are sharing more information about themselves on their social media profiles than they did when we last surveyed in 2006:

• 91% post a photo of themselves, up from 79% in 2006.
• 71% post their school name, up from 49%.
• 71% post the city or town where they live, up from 61%.
• 53% post their email address, up from 29%.
• 20% post their cell phone number, up from 2%.

60% of teen Facebook users set their Facebook profiles to private (friends only), and most report high levels of confidence in their ability to manage their settings.

• 56% of teen Facebook users say it’s “not difficult at all” to manage the privacy controls on their Facebook profile.
• 33% Facebook-using teens say it’s “not too difficult.”
• 8% of teen Facebook users say that managing their privacy controls is “somewhat difficult,” while less than 1% describe the process as “very difficult.”

Teens take other steps to shape their reputation, manage their networks, and mask information they don’t want others to see.

• 59% have deleted or edited something that they posted in the past.
• 53% have deleted comments from others on their profile or account.
• 45% have removed their name from photos that have been tagged to identify them.
• 31% have deleted or deactivated an entire profile or account.
• Focus group participants report that they are able to manage their privacy on social media sites, usually by deciding what content to post rather than by managing its dissemination via privacy settings.

Teen social media users do not express a high level of concern about third-party access to their data. Focus group findings suggest teens have mixed feelings about advertising practices, ranging from ignorance, indifference, to annoyance. Some teens may not realize how their personal information is being used by third parties. Others see them as necessary to provide the service or even as welcomed content about brands they like. Some teens are annoyed by ads and find them “creepy” when they are targeted and highly personalized.

“Far from being privacy indifferent, today’s teens are mindful about what they post, even if their primary focus and motivation is often their engagement with an audience of friends and family, rather than how their online behavior might be tracked by advertisers or other third parties,” said Mary Madden, Senior Researcher for the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project and co-author of the report.

While Facebook remains the most commonly used social media site, teen Twitter use has grown significantly: One in four (24%) online teens uses Twitter, up from 16% in 2011. But even as nearly eight in ten online teens have Facebook profiles, teen users report mixed feelings about it. The typical (median) teen Facebook user has 300 friends, while the typical teen Twitter user has 79 followers.  And 64% of teens with Twitter accounts say that their tweets are public, while 24% say their tweets are private.

“Our focus group findings revealed complex and often negative feelings about Facebook interactions,” said Sandra Cortesi, Director of the Youth and Media Project at the Berkman Klein Center and a contributor to this report. “Many teens longed for some online place that was free of ‘drama,’ and complex audience management requirements. Instead, some are turning to Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat to avoid these difficult peer dynamics.”

Teens with larger Facebook networks are more frequent users of social media sites and tend to have a greater variety of people in their friend networks—such as teachers, coaches, celebrities and other non-famous people they have never met in person. They also share a wider range of information on their profile when compared with those who have a smaller number of friends on the site. Yet even as they share more information with a wider range of people, they are also more actively engaged in maintaining their online profile or persona.

Teens with more than 600 Facebook friends are more than three times as likely to also have a Twitter account when compared with those who have 150 or fewer Facebook friends (46% vs. 13%). They are six times as likely to use Instagram (12% vs. 2%).

“Teens with larger Facebook networks visit the site more often, share more information about themselves and are friends with a greater variety of people,” said Amanda Lenhart, Senior Researcher, Director of Teens and Technology at the Pew Research Center and a co-author of the report. “But these large networks are also associated with greater engagement in reputation management activities, and these youth are more likely to be spreading their social media energies across a broader portfolio of social media sites.”

The complete findings of the study are detailed in a new report called, “Teens, Social Media and Privacy” that is the result of a collaboration between the Pew Internet Project and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. The data are based on a nationally representative phone survey of 802 parents and their 802 teens ages 12-17, conducted between July 26 and September 30, 2012. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish and on landline and cell phones. The margin of error for the full sample is ± 4.5 percentage points.

This report includes insights and quotes from 24 in-person focus groups conducted by the Youth and Media team at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University beginning in February 2013. The team interviewed 156 students across the greater Boston area, Los Angeles (California), Santa Barbara (California), and Greensboro (North Carolina). Participants ranged in age from 11 to 19. The mean age of participants is 14.5. Although the research sample was not designed to constitute representative cross-sections of particular population(s), the sample includes participants from diverse ethnic, racial, and economic backgrounds.

In addition, two online focus groups of teenagers ages 12-17 were conducted by the Pew Internet Project from June 20-27, 2012 to help inform the survey design. The first focus group was with 11 middle schoolers ages 12-14, and the second group was with nine high schoolers ages 14-17. Each group was mixed gender, with some racial, socio-economic, and regional diversity. All references to these findings are referred to as “online focus groups” throughout the report.

About the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project

The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project is one of seven projects that make up the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit “fact tank” that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The Project produces reports exploring the impact of the Internet on families, communities, work and home, daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life. The Project aims to be an authoritative source on the evolution of the Internet through surveys that examine how Americans use the Internet and how their activities affect their lives.

About the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society

The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University is a research program founded to recognize, study, and engage the most difficult problems of the digital age and to share in their resolution in ways that advance the public interest. Founded in 1997, through a generous gift from Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman, the Center is home to an ever-growing community of faculty, fellows, staff, and affiliates. Fundamental to its work is the study of the relationship between digital technologies and democratic values, including civic participation, access to knowledge, and the free flow of information. More information can be found at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu.

Media contacts

Mary Madden: mmadden@pewinternet.org and 202-419-4515

Amanda Lenhart: alenhart@pewinternet.org and 202-419-4514

37% of all teens ages 12-17 have smartphones, up from just 23% in 2011 

One in four teens are “cell-mostly” internet users – they mostly go online using their phone

WASHINGTON (March 13, 2013) – Smartphone adoption among American teens has increased substantially and mobile access to the internet is pervasive. One in four teens are “cell-mostly” internet users, who say they mostly go online using their phone and not using some other device such as a desktop or laptop computer. These are among the new findings from a nationally representative Pew Research Center survey of 802 youth ages 12-17 and their parents that explored technology use. Key findings include:

• 78% of teens now have a cell phone, and almost half (47%) of them own smartphones. That translates into 37% of all teens who have smartphones, up from just 23% in 2011.
• 23% of teens have a tablet computer, a level comparable to the general adult population.
• 95% of teens use the internet.
• 93% of teens have a computer or have access to one at home. Seven in ten (71%) teens with home computer access say the laptop or desktop they use most often is one they share with other family members.

“The nature of teens’ internet use has transformed dramatically—from stationary connections tied to shared desktops in the home to always-on connections that move with them throughout the day,” said Mary Madden, Senior Researcher for the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project and co-author of the report. “In many ways, teens represent the leading edge of mobile connectivity, and the patterns of their technology use often signal future changes in the adult population.” Mobile access to the internet is common among American teens, and the cell phone has become an especially important access point for certain groups:

• 74% teens ages 12-17 say they access the internet on cell phones, tablets and other mobile devices at least occasionally.
• 25% of teens are “cell-mostly” internet users—far more than the 15% of adults who are cell-mostly. Among teen smartphone owners, half are cell-mostly.
• Older girls are especially likely to be cell-mostly internet users; 34% of teen girls ages 14-17 say that they mostly go online using their cell phone, compared with 24% of teen boys ages 14-17. This is notable since boys and girls are equally likely to be smartphone owners.
• Among older teen girls who are smartphone owners, 55% say they use the internet mostly from their phone.

“The shift to mobile internet use changes the ways teens access information and creates new challenges for parents who wish to monitor their children’s internet use,” said Amanda Lenhart, Senior Researcher and Director of Teens and Technology Initiatives for the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project. “Given bandwidth constraints and the fact that many websites are not yet optimized for mobile devices, teens who access content primarily on their cell phone may have to work harder to get important information.  On the other hand, for parents who may wish to restrict access to their children’s exposure to certain kinds of content online, mobile devices can make it more difficult for parents to use the passive monitoring strategies they tell us they prefer, instead requiring more technical solutions.” The vast majority of those ages 12-17 are internet users. Still, the teens who live in lower-income and lower-education households are still somewhat less likely to use the internet in any capacity—mobile or wired. However, those who fall into lower socioeconomic groups are just as likely and in some cases more likely than those living in higher income and more highly-educated households to use their cell phone as a primary point of access.

• 89% of teens living in households earning less than $30,000 per year use the internet, compared with 99% of teens living in households earning $75,000 or more per year.
• 30% of teens living in households earning less than $30,000 per year are cell-mostly internet users, compared with just 14% of those in households earning $50,000-$74,999 per year and 24% of those living in households earning $75,000 or more per year.

The findings of the study are detailed in a new report called, “Teens and Technology 2013.”  The report is the second in a series of reports issued by the Pew Research Center in collaboration with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard. The data are based on a nationally representative phone survey of 802 parents and their 802 teens ages 12-17, conducted between July 26 and September 30, 2012. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish and on landline and cell phones. The margin of error for the full sample is ± 4.5 percentage points. Full report: http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Teens-and-Tech.aspx About the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project is one of seven projects that make up the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit “fact tank” that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The Project produces reports exploring the impact of the Internet on families, communities, work and home, daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life. The Project aims to be an authoritative source on the evolution of the Internet through surveys that examine how Americans use the Internet and how their activities affect their lives. About the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University is a research program founded to recognize, study, and engage the most difficult problems of the digital age and to share in their resolution in ways that advance the public interest. Founded in 1997, through a generous gift from Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman, the Center is home to an ever-growing community of faculty, fellows, staff, and affiliates. Fundamental to its work is the study of the relationship between digital technologies and democratic values, including civic participation, access to knowledge, and the free flow of information. More information can be found at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu. Media contacts Mary Madden: mmadden@pewinternet.org and 202-419-4515 Amanda Lenhart: alenhart@pewinternet.org and 202-419-4514

Parents, Teens, and Online Privacy: New Survey Findings from Pew Research Center and Berkman Klein Center

81% of parents of online teens say they are concerned about how much information advertisers can learn about their child’s online behavior; 46% are “very” concerned

November 20, 2012

The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and its Youth and Media Project are pleased to share a new report, the first in a series discussing issues of youth and privacy in collaboration with the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. The Youth and Media Team has put together a fun video sharing data and findings from the report.

A full press release follows:

WASHINGTON (November 20, 2012) – Most parents of teenagers are concerned about what their teenage children do online and how their behavior could be monitored by others. Some parents are taking steps to observe, discuss, and check up on their children’s digital footprints, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

Among the survey’s key findings:

• 81% of parents of online teens say they are concerned about how much information advertisers can learn about their child’s online behavior, with some 46% being “very” concerned.
• 72% of parents of online teens are concerned about how their child interacts online with people they do not know, with some 53% of parents being “very” concerned.
• 69% of parents of online teens are concerned about how their child’s online activity might affect their future academic or employment opportunities, with some 44% being “very” concerned about that.
• 69% of parents of online teens are concerned about how their child manages his or her reputation online, with some 49% being “very” concerned about that.
• Some of these expressions of concern are particularly acute for the parents of younger teens; 63% of parents of teens ages 12-13 say they are “very” concerned about their child’s interactions with people they do not know online and 57% say they are “very” concerned about how their child manages his or her reputation online.

“There is a growing policy discussion about how government should act in an environment where personal information—about both children and adults—is widely collected, analyzed and shared as a new form of currency in the digital economy,” said Mary Madden, Research Associate for the Project and a co-author of the report. “Parents are anxious about a wide range of online risks for their children, but it is particularly striking that their current level of worry about data collection by advertisers meets or exceeds other concerns about their child’s online activity.”

A notable number of parents, especially parents of younger teens, are taking steps to act on these concerns:

• 59% of the parents of teen users of social networking sites (SNS) have talked with their child because they were concerned about something posted to their profile or account. (That translates to 46% of parents of all online teens.)
• 39% of the parents of teen users of SNS have helped their child set up privacy settings for a social networking site. (That translates to 31% of parents of all online teens.)

In addition to such direct interventions, some parents are monitoring their children on family computers and in online searches:

• 50% of parents of online teens (not just the teens who use SNS) have used parental controls or other means of blocking, filtering, or monitoring their child’s online activities—a number that has remained almost unchanged since last year.
• 42% of parents of online teens have searched for their child’s name online to see what information is available about him or her.
• In addition to these activities, 44% of parents of online teens say they have taken the step of reading the privacy policies of websites or social networking sites that their child is using.

The survey also finds that a growing number of parents are becoming social media users themselves:

• 66% of all parents who have a child between the ages of 12-17, say they use a social networking site, up from 58% in 2011.
• There is great variation according to the parent’s age; 82% of parents under age 40 say they use SNS, while only 61% of parents over age 40 use the sites.
• Mothers and fathers are equally likely to use SNS, but parents who are college-educated exhibit higher levels of engagement with social media.

While parents may forge connections with their teens on social media in order to passively observe them, many are also actively engaging with their children and making their presence known. Half (50%) of parents who use social media (and who also have teens who use the sites) say they have commented or responded directly to something that was posted to their child’s profile or account. Mothers and fathers of children of all ages and across all demographic groups are equally as likely to engage with their child’s profile in this way.

“Teens, in turn, have mixed feelings about being friends with their parents on social networking sites like Facebook. Some teens like the fact that they are friends with their family members. Other young users prefer not to friend their parents, but do it anyway because it is expected from them. And yet others keep their profiles secret or restrict parents’ access to information,” said Sandra Cortesi, Director of the Youth and Media Project at the Berkman Klein Center and a contributor to this report.

The findings of the study are detailed in a new report called, “Parents, Teens and Online Privacy” that is the result of a collaboration between the Pew Internet Project and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. The data  are based on a nationally representative phone survey of 802 parents and their 802 teens ages 12-17, conducted between July 26 and September 30, 2012. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish and on landline and cell phones. The margin of error for the full sample is ± 4.5 percentage points.

This report includes quotes gathered through a series of exploratory in-person focus group interviews about privacy and digital media conducted by the Berkman Klein Center’s Youth and Media Lab between May and December 2011. The team conducted 16 focus group interviews with roughly 120 students.

About the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project 

The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project is one of seven projects that make up the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit “fact tank” that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The Project produces reports exploring the impact of the Internet on families, communities, work and home, daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life. The Project aims to be an authoritative source on the evolution of the Internet through surveys that examine how Americans use the Internet and how their activities affect their lives.

About the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society

The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University is a research program founded to recognize, study, and engage the most difficult problems of the digital age and to share in their resolution in ways that advance the public interest. Founded in 1997, through a generous gift from Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman, the Center is home to an ever-growing community of faculty, fellows, staff, and affiliates. Fundamental to its work is the study of the relationship between digital technologies and democratic values, including civic participation, access to knowledge, and the free flow of information. More information can be found at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu.

Media contacts

Mary Madden: mmadden@pewinternet.org and 202-419-4515

Access the survey and findings via the Pew Research Center’s website.