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Community => Entertainment and Television => Topic started by: TheL on June 26, 2012, 09:55:33 am

Title: Teens and Social Media
Post by: TheL on June 26, 2012, 09:55:33 am
(Not sure if this goes here (about social media), in P&G (news-type stuff), or in S&T (scientific study).)

Common Sense Media has released a study about how teens view the social media in their lives.  You can find the full report, as well as a handy infographic, here (http://www.commonsensemedia.org/teen-social-media-infographic?utm_source=newsletter062512&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=research).

Good news:
- Despite widespread cyber-bullying, more teenagers feel uplifted by social media than depressed by it.
- Teens understand that offline time and IRL social interaction are important.  Nearly half of them prefer in-person communication over any other form.

Bad news:
- Girls are much more likely than boys to edit photos before posting them online.  This smacks of body insecurity, which is worse in girls primarily because of the horrifyingly-over-Photoshopped images in fashion magazines.
- Most teens who want to quit social networking altogether feel this way because of racist, sexist, or homophobic cyberbullying.

Overall, it looks like most teenagers have a pretty good grasp of what social networking is good for, and that it isn't a substitute for face-to-face interaction.  Yay! :)