Young Adults Keep an Eye on Their Web Reputation
But 18- to 29-year-olds are more likely than older users of social networks to keep a keen eye on their online profiles and who can access them, says a report out Wednesday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Among findings:
*44 percent of those 18-29 say they take steps to limit information available about them, vs. 33 percent ages 30-49 and 25 percent ages 50-64.
*71 percent of younger users of social networking sites actively change privacy settings to limit what they share online, vs. 55 percent of those 50-64.
*41 percent have "untagged" photos of them posted by others, vs. just 18 percent of those 50-64.
Researchers surveyed 2,253 adults 18 and older by phone; margin of error is plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.
"The prevailing notion of young adults is that they have a radically different perception of privacy," says Mary Madden, the report's lead author. "But this data show they are every bit as concerned with privacy and are more engaged in monitoring their information than older users."
Ari Schwartz of the non-profit Center for Democracy & Technology agrees. "This validates that young people do care about privacy, though it has to be in the context of their online lives."
Madden notes that younger users spend more time on social networks, so may have more data to protect. The survey was done before Facebook's recent privacy tweaks, "but clearly what they've done fits in with concerns of younger users."
Only 4 percent reported having embarrassing or inaccurate information about them released online, unchanged since 2006. About 8 percent reported asking someone to remove information about them; 82 percent said requests were granted without issue.
When self-searchers put their name in...
