Risky Online Behaviour by Age Group - Ages 13-14
The web sites and online activities mentioned by children and teens who participated in Young Canadians In A Wired World: The Students’ View paint a picture of Canadian youth who have claimed the Internet as a defining part of their culture. However, as young people embrace this exciting and interactive medium, they may be putting themselves physically or emotionally at risk.
Some “red flags” for potentially risky behaviour include the following:
- Almost three quarters (70%) of youth in this age category visit chat rooms, with slightly more girls (75%) than boys (66%) participating in chat.
- Of those 13-14 year-olds who visit chat rooms, just over half (54%) visit private and adult chat areas.
- Fifty-two per cent have been asked by strangers for their photo, phone number, street address or school. Four out of ten admit disclosing some of the requested information.
- Twenty-eight per cent of kids this age have been asked by someone they've met on the Net to meet in person. Of those 13-14 year-olds who have met an online acquaintance in person (16%), four out of ten brought a friend to the meeting and 15% went alone.
- Eight out of ten adolescents in this age category have e-mail accounts. Half of those surveyed have e-mail accounts that their parents are unaware of.
- Half of young people in this age group use e-mail to correspond with people they've only met on the Net.
- Of the youth in this age category who use instant messaging (69%), six out of ten IM with people who they have only met on the Net.
- Twenty-seven per cent of youth ages 13-14 have received pornography from someone they have met online.
- Nearly two out of ten (18%) of 13-14 year-olds have received e-mail messages that have bothered or frightened them. Of those, sixteen per cent reported this to an adult.
- Half the young people in this age category report having received pornographic junk mail in their e-mail or instant messaging accounts. More boys (61%) than girls (39%) have received this kind of pornographic spam. Eighty per cent do not tell their parents when this happens.
