- 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.
