The conversation Snapchat warns every parent should have with their teens
By Naomi White|
Today is Safer Internet Day. A new report global report of more than 9,000 respondents has revealed a fascinating insight into how teens are really spending their time online.
And it turns out some parents are underestimating the less desirable content their kids are accessing, prompting Snapchat to warn parents to sit their teens down and have a frank discussion about who they're talking to and what about, online.
The platform, in which users send each other photos/videos which disappear soon after viewing, today released its first report into the online behaviours of Gen Z and their parents - the Digital Wellbeing Index.
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??The report assessed the results from a survey of 9,000 respondents across Australia, France, Germany, India, the UK and US, aged from Gen Z teens (aged 13-17), young adults (18-24 years)? and the parents of 13 to 19-year-olds.
Undertaking the survey last April/May, respondents were asked about their online habits over the preceding three months across all their apps and devices, not just Snapchat. ?
It? found the top five risks teens were encountering were fake news/misinformation; unwanted contact; online bullying or harassment; hate speech; and unwanted sexual attention. Though ?the lowest of the five, unwanted sexual attention still affected one in five teens.
While 78 per cent of Gen Z believed social media had a positive impact on their lives, 68 per cent of teens had encountered at least one risk over the period.
Bullying accounted for 21 per cent of these, with 49 per cent experiencing either purposeful harassment ?or trolling, 30 per cent exclusion, 24 per cyberstalking and 14 per cent were victims of doxing (a person searching for and publishing private information with malicious intent).
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One of the starkest indications of the digital generation divide was the reasons the teenagers gave for not reporting being exposed to these incidents. Most (64 per cent) ignored or shrugged off content they found offensive. Of these, 41 per cent felt 'It's normal for people to post things some people might find offensive'. While a further 23 per cent said it was 'No big deal, the person was just expressing an opinion'.
Showing they were fairly blasจฆ when it came to the kinds of things their parents may find shocking. Other reasons included not feeling the offender would face any consequences, fear of retaliation and fear they would be blamed.
That's why Snapchat's Global Head of Platform Safety, ?Jacqueline Beauchere, says parents need to sit their teens down to ask what they're accessing online.
"What was a little bit surprising was those who didn't report. We really encourage reporting, we rely on people telling us if they've witnessed behaviours contrary to our guidelines," Ms Beauchere told 9Honey.
"It's normalising certain risks, to a degree." ?
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When parents were asked to estimate their perceived risk of what their teens were exposed to, those who reported regularly checking in with their teen's online activity had a greater insight. Of the parents who didn't, there was a 19 point gap between their actual risk (76 per cent) and their parent's estimated risk (57 per cent).
Unsurprisingly, those who had a good support network of parents/trusted adults reported more positive online interactions. ?
"It comes back to sparking conversations, seeing who your teens are in contact with, if something is upsetting them online, or they're not wanting to engage online or their behaviour has changed, it might be an indication it needs further inquiry," Ms Beauchere warned.
"I can't emphasise enough the importance of having honest conversations for preventing these kinds of risks and harms. Having a dialogue where the parent suspends judgment and listens more than talks, letting their teen know they're there for them."
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?Snapchat, through its Family Centre, offers parents the option to view who their teenagers are speaking with, but not their messages. However, Ms Beauchere said in the coming months they'll be launching an update to Family Centre that will allow parents to implement content controls for their teen.
The average well-being score across the six countries involved was 62, while Australia scored 63.
France and Germany had the lowest reported well-being, sitting two below average at 62.?
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