THINK! Before you hit send and other social media and internet safety message that adolescents ignore:

Transcription

1 THINK! Before you hit send and other social media and internet safety message that adolescents ignore: Identifying those most vulnerable to exploitation and victimization Jennie Noll, PhD Professor, HDFS Director Research and Education, Network on Child Protection & Well-being PRC Colloquium; Spring 2014

2 Teen Internet Use 90% of US adolescents aged have regular internet access 50% (over 10 million teens) reporting daily usage 84% of whom gain access via home computers Teens spend an average of 7.5 hrs/day plugged in Narrowing of the digital divide Youth Internet Safety Survey, 2011; Pew Trust Internet Use Survey, 2011

3 Exposure to Sexual / Adult Content 50-60% of households lack monitoring software 40% of teens surveyed report unwanted or accidental exposure to sexual content 20% admitting to intentionally seeking X-rated materials Access to SnapChat and other temporary-image venues Technology developed for sexting Youth Internet Safety Survey, 2011; Pew Trust Internet Use Survey, 2011; Noll et. al., 2012

4 Social Networking Social networking venues (Facebook, MySpace, Instagram, Kik, Tumbler, Twitter) fastest growing aspects of activity for teens Under-age restrictions recently lifted by Facebook 30% of teens reports online sexual solicitations highest rates for African Americans & Females Privacy settings difficult to manage #legs Youth Internet Safety Survey, 2011; Pew Trust Internet Use Survey, 2011; Noll et. al., 2012

5 Cyber Bullying / Slut-shaming Via Social Networking (Instagram) Connects EVERYONE Bullying brought to new heights Anonymous Posting Sites Ask.FM allows users to post and answer questions anonymously Crush sites Texting / Sexting shared with others Catfishing Suicide Attempts

6 MOST Internet activity is benign so why be concerned??? We don t know much.. Most definitive research comes from: estimates from Providers (e.g., Yahoo, FaceBook) random digit dialing of 1500 teens (YISS) self reported activities 76% White, middle class

7 Impact on Teen Development?? proliferation of the Internet is historically unprecedented exposures to sexually explicit materials potential for exploitation Impact of pervasive social connections we do not have an adequate understanding the impact sexual development?? victimization potential?? which teens are most vulnerable?? how to protect vulnerable teens??

8 Internet Sex Crime Perpetrators Perpetrators search for vulnerable teens: online late at night willing to divulge personal information willing to chat about sex PROVOCATIVE SELF PRESENTATIONS publically available profile pages photos personal narratives sexual utterances

9 Profile Pictures

10 Profile Pictures

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12 Potential for Internet-initiated Victimization Social networking sites are where the majority of Internetinitiated sex crimes originate Perpetrators locate teens online, friend, make frequent contact, in order to engage in: Sexual solicitations (titillating sexual discourse) Sexual exploitation including Exchange of sexual photos Luring teens to porn sites Lure teens offline

13 Why be especially concerned about sexual abuse victims? Sexual abuse renders teens especially vulnerable given implications sex-specific victimization: severe sexual boundary violations betrayal victim stigma shame powerlessness

14 Why be especially concerned about sexual abuse victims? already vulnerable to aberrant sexual development 2 to 3 times more likely to be re-victimized more preoccupied with sex more vulnerable to the effects of pornography low quality parenting / low parental monitoring more likely to visit chatrooms solicited sexually online receive aggressive sexual solicitations

15 Online Self-representations Preoccupied w/ sex High-risk Peers Abuse Status On-line Sexual Advances Off-line, In-person Encounters Substance Use

16 Proteus Effect Berkley Virtual World Studies Those assigned a sexually provocative avatar acted more flirtatious and engaged in sexually charged interactions more readily than those assigned a less provocative avatar

17 Risk for internet-initiated victimization Provocative Avatar.21* Preoccupied w/ sex.19* High-risk Peers.26* Abuse Status.17* On-line Sexual Advances.17* Off- line, In- person Encounters Substance Use.25* -.19* Caregiver Presence 2 =43, df=19; GFI=.94; RMSR=.07 Noll, JG, Shenk, CE, Barnes, JE & Putnam, FW. Childhood abuse, avatar choices and other risk factors associated with internet-initiated victimization for adolescent females. Pediatrics 2009; 123(6):e

18 Offline meetings: testimonials The majority of offline encounters are benign Arguably one of the most dangerous social interactions for teen girls Cannot confirm the identity 12 yr old Amy met at the mall 14 yr old Keesha had cell phone # listed on facebook

19 Example Self of Presentations MySpace Profile Name: Stacey Martin Age: 16 goin on 21! City; Florence, KY; I am a junior at Madison High Call me or txt me at ; I ll pick up, no prob

20 High-risk Internet and Social Networking Behaviors: Results from pilot work on 251 females Noll, et al., Pediatrics, 2013

21 R01 HD PI: Noll New R01; Teen Internet and Social Media Behaviors

22 Procedures for New Internet R adolescent females (12-15) and caregivers 150 sexually abused; 150 matched controls; 150 census-matched controls Annual follow-ups 2 hour psychosocial interview Quantify Social Networking activity for 2 months (Facebook; Twitter & Instagram Apps) 4 weeks of Internet Footprint Observation R01 HD PI: Noll

23 Internet Footprint Observation First naturalistic study of Internet and social media behaviors MacBook laptop with wireless provided Engineered software records all URL activity Quantify URLs for adult content using blacklisted databases crowd-sourcing, search terms keywords and #hashtags R01 HD PI: Noll

24 Social Media Behaviors Comprehensive Self report, Caregiver report 2 months of Social Networking activity Participant engagement qualitative quanitifcation of conversations/postings Crowd-sourcing of #hashtags Objective Coding of Publicly Available Profile Pages

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30 Authentication Algorithm ARat In The House May Eat The Ice Cream He MAY eat the ice cream, we don t know that he WILL eat the ice cream. It s simple arithmetic.

31 Clustering of key-stroke indicators from separate individuals after training

32 Current Safety Campaigns (onguardonline.gov; safekids.com; NetSmart.org) Rely heavily on parental monitoring software

33 Current Safety Campaigns (onguardonline.gov; safekids.com; NetSmart.org) DO NOT highlight potentials for online sexual exposures present prevalence of online solicitations address high-risk online social behaviors present implications for provocative selfpresentations provide skills for warding off sexual advances offer means to protect teens whose parents are not internet savvy or are otherwise uninvolved

34 Conclusions Internet safety campaigns have not kept pace with historically unprecedented teen internet access Parental control software is not a substitute for parenting Provocative self-presentations can invite trouble How does child maltreatment exacerbate vulnerabilities and impede protective factors?

35 The media often misses the point Your Teen Has Probably Banged Internet Strangers Is this the Dr. Noll, or just someone pretending to be Dr. Noll? Either way, she ll do!