It has been estimated that 82% of children aged 8 to 18 live in households that have video games and that the average playing session exceeds an hour. Given this large amount of viewing time, these researchers aimed to learn more about the content of video games that were rated as appropriate for teens by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). Researchers randomly selected 81 of the 396 teen-rated games on the market in April 2001, and an experienced video-gamer learned the games and played each for an hour. Researchers observed videotapes of play and provided content descriptors for each game (e.g., violence, profanity). The content descriptors assigned by the examiners and the ESRB were then compared.
The percentages of games given specific descriptors by the ESRB versus the researchers were: violence, 95% vs. 98%; blood, 27% vs. 42%; sexual themes, 20% vs. 27%; profanity, 17% vs. 27%; and substance use, 1% vs. 15%. Investigators assigned more content descriptors to 39 games (48%) than had the ESRB. Investigators found that 90% of games overall rewarded or required injuring characters and that 69% rewarded or required killing a character to win; violence averaged 36% of game time in violent games.
Comment: Recently, attention has focused on whether television and movie depictions of violence, smoking, and alcohol use affect teen behavior (Journal Watch Psychiatry Sep 3 2003 and Jul 24 2003). Unlike passive viewing of maiming or homicidal acts in movies or on TV, video games require active participation by child players. A natural next step would be research into the behavioral consequences of interactions involving violence and sex in video games.
— Barbara Geller, MD
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Comment to Peter from Chloe
Hey Peter,
I really like how you included the statistics in your blog. I think it really enforces the point you are trying to convey. You hear about technology and teens all the time. But, lately, you have been actually able to see the changes. I notice it in my daily routines, as well as my family's. But, the Internet isn't good. Like you said, people are afraid to post their pictures, there are risks, and many vulnerabilities. I think this is a very interesting topic because it is very psychological. This aspect of human beings has always fascinated me.
I think that you need to include more information about the actual psychology of technology's effects on teens. To me, this seemed like the approach you wanted to take. I think that if you explore a little more and delve deeper into this aspect, the reader, and maybe yourself, will have a better understanding of the answer to your question.
Your blog is coming along really well. Since the last time I looked at it, you've added a lot. Keep it up.
Chloe
I really like how you included the statistics in your blog. I think it really enforces the point you are trying to convey. You hear about technology and teens all the time. But, lately, you have been actually able to see the changes. I notice it in my daily routines, as well as my family's. But, the Internet isn't good. Like you said, people are afraid to post their pictures, there are risks, and many vulnerabilities. I think this is a very interesting topic because it is very psychological. This aspect of human beings has always fascinated me.
I think that you need to include more information about the actual psychology of technology's effects on teens. To me, this seemed like the approach you wanted to take. I think that if you explore a little more and delve deeper into this aspect, the reader, and maybe yourself, will have a better understanding of the answer to your question.
Your blog is coming along really well. Since the last time I looked at it, you've added a lot. Keep it up.
Chloe
Internet Statistics for teens
"Produced in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center, this second groundbreaking national survey of 1,500 youth aged 10 to 17 documented their use of the Internet and experiences while online including unwanted exposure to sexual solicitation, sexual material, and harassment."
"A survey commissioned by Cox Communications and NCMEC2 found that
Teen Internet Usage and Attitudes about Safety Present Potential Risks but also Opportunities for Education and a Role for Watchful Parents and Guardians
Online Behavior:
Teens have established significant presence on social networking web pages: 61% of 13- to 17-year-olds have a personal profile on a site such as MySpace, Friendster, or Xanga. Half have also posted pictures of themselves online.
Older teens (16-17s) and girls especially use the Internet for social interaction, meeting friends, and networking.
However, many have also been exposed to the Internet’s accompanying potential risks.
71% reported receiving messages online from someone they don’t know.
45% have been asked for personal information by someone they don’t know.
30% have considered meeting someone that they’ve only talked to online
14% have actually met a person face-to-face they they’ve only spoken to over the Internet (9% of 13-15s; 22% of 16-17s).
When teens receive messages online from someone they don’t know, 40% reported that they’ll usually reply and chat with that person.
Only 18% said they’ll tell an adult.
Perceptions of Internet Safety:
20% of teens report that it is safe (i.e. “somewhat” or “very safe”) to share personal information on a public blog or networking site.
As well, 37% of 13- to 17-year-olds said they are “not very concerned” or “not at all concerned” about someone using information they’ve posted online in ways they don’t want.
Families Talking to Teens about Internet Safety Helps Reduce Some Youth Exposure to Potential Threats and Encourages Safer Online Decisions Among Teens:
33% of 13- to- 17-year-olds reported that their parents or guardians know “very little” or “nothing” about what they do on the Internet.
48% of 16-17s said their parents or guardians know “very little” or “nothing”
Fully 22% of those surveyed reported their parents or guardians have never discussed Internet safety with them.
On the other hand, 36% of youth—girls and younger teens most notably—said that their parents or guardians have talked to them “a lot” about online safety, and 70% said their parents or guardians have discussed the subject with them during the past year.
Fewer teens whose families have talked to them “a lot” about online safety have an IM name or pictures of themselves on the Internet, compared to kids whose families have not talked to them at all. More teens who’ve talked to parents or guardians also ignore messages from unfamiliar people, refuse to reply or chat, block unknown senders, and report these occurrences to trusted adults.
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the NetSmartz Program: A Study of Maine Public Schools
Click here to view the entire report.
This report is the result of a sanctioned study conducted by the George Washington University to evaluate the effectiveness of the NetSmartz program, an Internet safety educational program from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). The study was designed to determine students’ existing Internet behaviors and their conceptions of safe Internet behavior. The data obtained from surveying Maine students between the ages of 9-14 proved that involvement in the NetSmartz program resulted in more responsible online behavior by children. Prior to participation in NetSmartz:
Fifty-four percent were unsure or believed it was safe to meet someone in person after they had been chatting with them for a long time compared to a post-test result of eighty-three percent saying it was not safe to meet someone in person;
Twenty-five percent were unsure or believed it was safe to post their picture on the Internet compared to a post-test result of ninety-six percent saying it was not safe to post their picture on the Internet;
Twenty percent have told people their real name on the Internet compared to a post-test result of ninety-eight percent saying it was not safe to state their real name on the Internet; and
Twenty-five percent were unsure or believed it was safe to put their address on the Internet compared to a post-test result of eighty-eight percent saying it was not safe to put their address on the Internet.
Participation in the NetSmartz program increased the children’s awareness of Internet dangers and allowed them to be more comfortable and confident Internet users. Overall, eighty-one percent of the students surveyed reported that NetSmartz would change their Internet behaviors, and that they feel safe or very safe when using the Internet.
Parents' Internet Monitoring Study
Click here to view the entire report.
A survey commissioned by Cox Communications and NCMEC3 found that
Over half (51%) of parents either do not have or do not know if they have software on their computer(s) that monitors where their teenager(s) go online and with whom they interact.
42% of parents do not review the content of what their teenager(s) read and/or type in chat rooms or via Instant Messaging.
Teenagers who Instant Message use chat lingo to communicate and parents don't know the meanings of some of the most commonly used phrases. 57% don't know LOL (Laughing Out Loud), 68% don't know BRB (Be Right Back), and 92% don't know A/S/L (Age/Sex/Location).
95% of parents couldn't identify common chat room lingo that teenagers use to warn people they're chatting with that their parents are watching. Those phrases are POS (Parent Over Shoulder) and P911 (Parent Alert).
Nearly three out of 10 (28%) of parents don't know or are not sure if their teens talk to strangers online.
30% of parents allow their teenagers to use the computer in private areas of the house such as a bedroom or a home office. Parents say they are more vigilant about where their teen(s) go online if the computer is in a public area of the household.
58% of parents surveyed say they review the content of what their teenager(s) read and/or type in chat rooms or via Instant Messaging; 42% do not.
Escaping or Connecting? Characteristics of youth who form close online relationships
Click here to view the entire report.
This report used the data from the above-mentioned national sample of Internet users, ages 10 to 17, to explore the characteristics of youth who had formed close relationships with people they first met online4 and found that
Fourteen percent of youth reported close online friendships and 2 percent reported online romances. Girls were slightly more likely than boys to have close online relationships with 16 and 12 percent, respectively.5
Girls aged 14 to 17 were about twice as likely as girls who were 10 to 13 to form close online relationships.6
The two problem characteristics associated with close online relationships were high parent-child conflict and being highly troubled. The girls with high levels of parent-child conflict reported yelling, nagging, and taking away privileges by parents at a higher level than the other girls. The highly troubled girls had levels of depression, victimization, and troubling life events at a higher level than the other girls in the sample. Girls in either of these categories were more than twice as likely as the other girls in the sample to have formed close online relationships.7
Boys who had low communication with their parents, and who also reported that their parents were less likely to know where they were and who they were with than the other boys in the sample were the most strongly associated with close online relationships.8
Girls and boys who reported high levels of Internet use and home Internet access were more likely to report close online relationships.9
Youth with problems were more likely to have formed online romantic relationships, been asked by online friends for face-to-face meetings, and attended face-to-face meetings with people they first met online.10
Youth who communicate well with their friends and family have people to talk with about online encounters; can get advice about behavior they find weird or unnerving; and, therefore, develop a sense of appropriate and inappropriate online behavior. Youth with problems may be less likely to get good advice and feedback.11 "
"A survey commissioned by Cox Communications and NCMEC2 found that
Teen Internet Usage and Attitudes about Safety Present Potential Risks but also Opportunities for Education and a Role for Watchful Parents and Guardians
Online Behavior:
Teens have established significant presence on social networking web pages: 61% of 13- to 17-year-olds have a personal profile on a site such as MySpace, Friendster, or Xanga. Half have also posted pictures of themselves online.
Older teens (16-17s) and girls especially use the Internet for social interaction, meeting friends, and networking.
However, many have also been exposed to the Internet’s accompanying potential risks.
71% reported receiving messages online from someone they don’t know.
45% have been asked for personal information by someone they don’t know.
30% have considered meeting someone that they’ve only talked to online
14% have actually met a person face-to-face they they’ve only spoken to over the Internet (9% of 13-15s; 22% of 16-17s).
When teens receive messages online from someone they don’t know, 40% reported that they’ll usually reply and chat with that person.
Only 18% said they’ll tell an adult.
Perceptions of Internet Safety:
20% of teens report that it is safe (i.e. “somewhat” or “very safe”) to share personal information on a public blog or networking site.
As well, 37% of 13- to 17-year-olds said they are “not very concerned” or “not at all concerned” about someone using information they’ve posted online in ways they don’t want.
Families Talking to Teens about Internet Safety Helps Reduce Some Youth Exposure to Potential Threats and Encourages Safer Online Decisions Among Teens:
33% of 13- to- 17-year-olds reported that their parents or guardians know “very little” or “nothing” about what they do on the Internet.
48% of 16-17s said their parents or guardians know “very little” or “nothing”
Fully 22% of those surveyed reported their parents or guardians have never discussed Internet safety with them.
On the other hand, 36% of youth—girls and younger teens most notably—said that their parents or guardians have talked to them “a lot” about online safety, and 70% said their parents or guardians have discussed the subject with them during the past year.
Fewer teens whose families have talked to them “a lot” about online safety have an IM name or pictures of themselves on the Internet, compared to kids whose families have not talked to them at all. More teens who’ve talked to parents or guardians also ignore messages from unfamiliar people, refuse to reply or chat, block unknown senders, and report these occurrences to trusted adults.
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the NetSmartz Program: A Study of Maine Public Schools
Click here to view the entire report.
This report is the result of a sanctioned study conducted by the George Washington University to evaluate the effectiveness of the NetSmartz program, an Internet safety educational program from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). The study was designed to determine students’ existing Internet behaviors and their conceptions of safe Internet behavior. The data obtained from surveying Maine students between the ages of 9-14 proved that involvement in the NetSmartz program resulted in more responsible online behavior by children. Prior to participation in NetSmartz:
Fifty-four percent were unsure or believed it was safe to meet someone in person after they had been chatting with them for a long time compared to a post-test result of eighty-three percent saying it was not safe to meet someone in person;
Twenty-five percent were unsure or believed it was safe to post their picture on the Internet compared to a post-test result of ninety-six percent saying it was not safe to post their picture on the Internet;
Twenty percent have told people their real name on the Internet compared to a post-test result of ninety-eight percent saying it was not safe to state their real name on the Internet; and
Twenty-five percent were unsure or believed it was safe to put their address on the Internet compared to a post-test result of eighty-eight percent saying it was not safe to put their address on the Internet.
Participation in the NetSmartz program increased the children’s awareness of Internet dangers and allowed them to be more comfortable and confident Internet users. Overall, eighty-one percent of the students surveyed reported that NetSmartz would change their Internet behaviors, and that they feel safe or very safe when using the Internet.
Parents' Internet Monitoring Study
Click here to view the entire report.
A survey commissioned by Cox Communications and NCMEC3 found that
Over half (51%) of parents either do not have or do not know if they have software on their computer(s) that monitors where their teenager(s) go online and with whom they interact.
42% of parents do not review the content of what their teenager(s) read and/or type in chat rooms or via Instant Messaging.
Teenagers who Instant Message use chat lingo to communicate and parents don't know the meanings of some of the most commonly used phrases. 57% don't know LOL (Laughing Out Loud), 68% don't know BRB (Be Right Back), and 92% don't know A/S/L (Age/Sex/Location).
95% of parents couldn't identify common chat room lingo that teenagers use to warn people they're chatting with that their parents are watching. Those phrases are POS (Parent Over Shoulder) and P911 (Parent Alert).
Nearly three out of 10 (28%) of parents don't know or are not sure if their teens talk to strangers online.
30% of parents allow their teenagers to use the computer in private areas of the house such as a bedroom or a home office. Parents say they are more vigilant about where their teen(s) go online if the computer is in a public area of the household.
58% of parents surveyed say they review the content of what their teenager(s) read and/or type in chat rooms or via Instant Messaging; 42% do not.
Escaping or Connecting? Characteristics of youth who form close online relationships
Click here to view the entire report.
This report used the data from the above-mentioned national sample of Internet users, ages 10 to 17, to explore the characteristics of youth who had formed close relationships with people they first met online4 and found that
Fourteen percent of youth reported close online friendships and 2 percent reported online romances. Girls were slightly more likely than boys to have close online relationships with 16 and 12 percent, respectively.5
Girls aged 14 to 17 were about twice as likely as girls who were 10 to 13 to form close online relationships.6
The two problem characteristics associated with close online relationships were high parent-child conflict and being highly troubled. The girls with high levels of parent-child conflict reported yelling, nagging, and taking away privileges by parents at a higher level than the other girls. The highly troubled girls had levels of depression, victimization, and troubling life events at a higher level than the other girls in the sample. Girls in either of these categories were more than twice as likely as the other girls in the sample to have formed close online relationships.7
Boys who had low communication with their parents, and who also reported that their parents were less likely to know where they were and who they were with than the other boys in the sample were the most strongly associated with close online relationships.8
Girls and boys who reported high levels of Internet use and home Internet access were more likely to report close online relationships.9
Youth with problems were more likely to have formed online romantic relationships, been asked by online friends for face-to-face meetings, and attended face-to-face meetings with people they first met online.10
Youth who communicate well with their friends and family have people to talk with about online encounters; can get advice about behavior they find weird or unnerving; and, therefore, develop a sense of appropriate and inappropriate online behavior. Youth with problems may be less likely to get good advice and feedback.11 "
teens are wired
Kids as young as in middleschool are becoming addicted to their computers. Teens and these children sit at home and communicate online, IM'ing, for hours on end. They text instead of call, email, and post on Facebook or MySpace. This form of interaction among peers in unknown to cause either the traditional bonding or a feeling of loneliness due to isolated communication.
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