Do young people care about online privacy?
When you consider the number of racy photos and videos online showing beer-guzzling and scantily clad teens and twenty-somethings, you would think that privacy is far from their minds. However, a recent study from the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania (July, 2009) of 1,000 Americans 18 and older indicates the majority value a degree of privacy when online.
Selena Marie
82% of young adults refused to give out information to a business because they thought it was too personal or unnecessary. Among young adults 18 to 24, 84% agreed that anyone who posts a photo or video of them on the Internet should get their permission first, even if the photo was taken in public.
Young people are more confident than older Americans that the government will protect them in cyberspace. The study showed that they know little about their rights to online privacy or that the U.S. privacy laws offer few safeguards.
How much do you know about privacy rights in the cyber-world? Have you ever read the privacy statement on any web site or socialnetworking site such as Facebook, MySpace or YouTube? Do you agree with asking permission before posting someone’s photo online? Have you thought how it might affect someone’s chance at getting a job or accepted into a college or university? The same goes for you if your Facebook page, for example, shows questionable photos that could be seen by future employers or college admission officers.
Check out this young person’s contract to stay safe online.
