Money & society · 2014
Do teenagers really share the most information on social media, or do young adults share more?
In an online survey of 1008 respondents aged 12 to 83, young adults disclosed the most information and adjusted privacy settings most often. Adolescents had the most contacts and were most likely to add unknown contacts.
Details
Young people are often viewed as a generation that shares too much, too openly online. This study supports using a developmental perspective to understand how people share information on social network sites and the types of contacts they have.
The researchers compared adolescents’, young adults’, and adults’ use of social network sites with developmental expectations based on needs for relationship development and identity development. Data were collected through an online survey of 1008 respondents aged 12 to 83.
Adolescents had the most contacts and were most likely to add unknown contacts. Young adults disclosed the most information and adjusted privacy settings most often.
These findings matched expectations based on adolescents’ and young adults’ greater needs for relationship and identity development compared with adults. The paper also discusses the implications of these findings for future regulations of online behaviour.
What do you think?
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