Being a parent is one of life’s proud privileges. Watching your baby go from infant to adult is satisfying and sad at the same time. In the past, we would share stories with friends and family and maybe show some pictures and home movies. These days parents share everything online and a new Microsoft study finds some teens think parents are sharing too much about them.
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are where many people are living their social lives and sharing photos is as simple as a few taps. But this Microsoft study says some teens are concerned about how much information about them is being shared.
The Microsoft study says that 42% of teens in 25 countries say they have a problem with parents posting about them on social media. The breakdown for that is 11% feel it’s a big problem, 14% say it’s a moderate problem, and 17% consider it a small problem. The Microsoft study also found that 66% of teens claim they have been victims to at least one online risk at some point.
The findings are from Microsoft’s latest research into aspects of digital civility — encouraging safer, healthier and more respectful online interactions among all people. The study, “Civility, Safety and Interaction Online — 2019,” polled teens ages 13-17 and adults ages 18-74 about their exposure to 21 different online risks. This latest research builds on similar studies between 2016 and 2018. The previous years’ projects polled the same demographic groups in 14, 22 and 23 countries, respectively. A total of 12,520 individuals participated in the 2019 study, and we’ve surveyed more than 44,000 people over four years. Full results from this latest poll will be made available on international Safer Internet Day 2020 on Feb. 11.
Microsoft
The Microsoft study didn’t find any direct correlation between parents sharing online and potential risks to their teens but the study finds researchers warned sharing too much could put your kids at risk. These risks include physical safety but more importantly, their privacy and potential identity theft.
The study has some more interesting points and we encourage you to head over to Microsoft’s website to see the complete writeup on the study as well as other points made by the study and researchers.
What do you think? Do you think parents share too much info about their kids online? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, or Facebook. You can also comment on our MeWe page by joining the MeWe social network.
Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
