Ever since the Internet first allowed commercial activity in 1992, companies have been interested in what kids are doing online. Schools, public libraries and even parents were quick to join them, and young peoples' online activities are now monitored, collected, scrutinized and used by a variety of institutions and individuals for a variety of purposes. Educational responses have typically told children not to post personal information online if they want to protect their privacy. But, as our Life Onlinereport shows, kids have increasingly taken up social networking technologies that are based on them sharing their information with others. Adults typically argue that young people don't care about their privacy since they seem so willing to post their personal information on the Internet. However, the qualitative research conducted by MediaSmarts in 2012 indicates that young people seek both publicity and privacy online, and have developed a number of strategies to protect their privacy at the same time that they seek the benefits of online visibility.
Authors
- Pages
- 53
- Published in
- Ottawa, Ontario
