Teens and Online Stranger Contact

Report Read time:
Teens and Online Stranger Contact

The Pew Internet & American Life Project found that fully 32% of online teens have been contacted by someone with no connection to them or any of their friends, and 7% of online teens say they have felt scared or uncomfortable as a result of contact by an online stranger.

Several behaviors are associated with high levels of online stranger contact, including social networking profile ownership, posting photos online and using social networking sites to flirt.

Although several factors are linked with increased levels of stranger contact in general, gender is the only variable with a consistent association with contact that is scary or uncomfortable--girls are much more likely to report scary or uncomfortable contact than boys.

MORE FROM PEW

A person in green pants and a brown shirt, wearing a backpack, sits on stairs to the left of another person wearing orange pants, sneakers, and a light blue shirt while holding a phone in one hand, with a red basket between them. Their faces are not shown. Can Philadelphia Address People Suffering From Addiction?
The base of a metal transmission tower stands in a green field surrounded by tall trees. A small panel and a metal box are mounted on the tower’s front-most leg. Puffy clouds punctuate a light blue sky in the background. Advanced Transmission Technologies
Two people stand behind a wooden work bench, adjusting electrical wiring. Increasing Economic Mobility, Quality Jobs in Philadelphia
A person stands in the ocean surf with a fishing net. California Tribes Advance Marine Stewardship