Lenhart, A., Smith, A., Anderson, M., Duggan, M., & Perrin, A. (2015, August 6). Teens, Technology and Friendships. Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.pewinternet.org/files/2015/08/Teens-and-Friendships-FINAL2.pdf
What an interesting read on teens and their online friendships! The data was collected using on-line and some in-person surveys of teens, ages 13-17. It was conducted between 2014 and 2015.
I anticipated the results to be a bit higher than they showed. 57% of the teens surveyed said they had met at least one new friend online through social media or gaming. Boys were more likely to have met someone new online than girls. Social media sites, such as Facebook, continues to be the most popular place to meet new friends, with gaming not too far behind.
One thing that shocked me was the percentage of teens that actually talk on the phone to keep in touch with their closest friends, a mere 13%! Verbal communication is becoming a long lost art and that makes me a little sad. I enjoy and even look forward to my daily talks with my best friend. It's just not the same as texting.
Girls are more likely to communicate by texting and using social platforms, where boys prefer to chat over gaming. Boys did have a large number of online only friends that they have only "met" while gaming. This is alarming, as you know nothing about the people on the other end of the gaming console. I personally know someone who's teenage "met" someone online, whom he thought was a girl. They began sharing inappropriate information and the other person ended up being an older man. Thank goodness the teen confided to his parents and they were able to talk to the police. This is a scary world we live in!
Although I am not a huge fan of gaming, 59% of boys do communicate using microphones and actual talking. This means that they are having actual conversations, not just texting. On the flip side, I have heard some of the conversations when my husband has played with random people and you NEVER know what they may say! This was before he invested in an actual headset with headphones, not just a microphone that played back through the receiver.
Social media is playing a crucial role on teens and friendships. The study shows that most teens feel better connected through use of social media, but have also been hurt through it. They receive support during difficult times in their lives or have seen events that they didn't get an invite too. None of those statistics are shocking to me, as an adult I feel the same way.
76 pages (160/150)
I anticipated the results to be a bit higher than they showed. 57% of the teens surveyed said they had met at least one new friend online through social media or gaming. Boys were more likely to have met someone new online than girls. Social media sites, such as Facebook, continues to be the most popular place to meet new friends, with gaming not too far behind.
One thing that shocked me was the percentage of teens that actually talk on the phone to keep in touch with their closest friends, a mere 13%! Verbal communication is becoming a long lost art and that makes me a little sad. I enjoy and even look forward to my daily talks with my best friend. It's just not the same as texting.
Girls are more likely to communicate by texting and using social platforms, where boys prefer to chat over gaming. Boys did have a large number of online only friends that they have only "met" while gaming. This is alarming, as you know nothing about the people on the other end of the gaming console. I personally know someone who's teenage "met" someone online, whom he thought was a girl. They began sharing inappropriate information and the other person ended up being an older man. Thank goodness the teen confided to his parents and they were able to talk to the police. This is a scary world we live in!
Although I am not a huge fan of gaming, 59% of boys do communicate using microphones and actual talking. This means that they are having actual conversations, not just texting. On the flip side, I have heard some of the conversations when my husband has played with random people and you NEVER know what they may say! This was before he invested in an actual headset with headphones, not just a microphone that played back through the receiver.
Social media is playing a crucial role on teens and friendships. The study shows that most teens feel better connected through use of social media, but have also been hurt through it. They receive support during difficult times in their lives or have seen events that they didn't get an invite too. None of those statistics are shocking to me, as an adult I feel the same way.
76 pages (160/150)
It's kind of a shock to think that kids don't talk on the phone very much. I don't know about you, but when I grew up we had the phone connected to the wall(!) and I never talked on the phone because everyone could hear me... So maybe the rationale is different but the actions remain the same!
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