Research on the Internet Behavior of Students
Research results from 2008 - 2009 Internet surveys from 2749 students.Research results from students surveys on the internet behavior of children in grades 4 - 8 from January through April of 2006 were published in the article Internet Safety: Are We Doing Enough in Grades 4 - 8. Fourteen independent schools consisting of nearly 2100 students participated.
Sample Conclusions from Research:
- Whatever children and teens are doing on the Internet this year, they will be doing the same thing next year at a younger age.
- Children and teens will under-report any activity in which they think adults would disapprove of their participation.
- Children who's cell phones have texting ability report a much higher incidence of receiving ads and calls from strangers
- At every school we visit, children as young as fourth and fifth grade now report having accounts at adult social networking sites such as Facebook.
- The single most popular web site for children and teenagers from grades four through twelve is YouTube.com.
- Children and teens at all grade levels (4-12) report having "virtual friends" online whom they've never met in person. Twelfth graders report the least number of virtual friends. "Friend of a friend" is the most common reason cited for developing a friendship.
- The most common reason cited by children and teens as making them feel uncomfortable online is contact from a stranger.