The recent Pew Internet report, titled "Social Networking and Teens: An Overview" suggests that the effort to educate teens about online safety is succeeding. A key finding of the study was that 66% of teens who have a profile on a social networking site have set their profile to private. In addition, only 13% of older (15-17 years old) girls use their social networking site for flirting (29% of older boys flirt online).
This is great news for the teens themselves, and should set parents' minds more at ease as well. The nature of the Internet, and the risks entailed through publishing a completely public online presence, are now well understood by most teens.
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