Red Coat, Black Coat: How Teens Manipulate Their Online Information

In Red Coat, Black Coat we talked about how, once they recognize the data available about them, they will manipulate the data to present themselves in a way they want the world to see them. This article in USA Today describes how young people are doing just that:

As the novelty of their wired lives wears off, they’re also are getting more sophisticated about the way they use such tools as social networking and text and instant messaging — not just constantly using them because they’re there.

…They are more wired than ever — but they’re also getting warier. Increasingly, they’ve had to deal with online bullies, who are posting anything from unflattering photos to online threats.

Privacy issues also are hitting home, most recently when students discovered that personal updates on their Facebook pages were being automatically forwarded to contacts they didn’t necessarily want to have the information. Facebook was forced to let users turn off the data stream after they rebelled.

Increasingly, young people also are realizing that things they post on their profiles can come back to haunt them when applying for school or jobs.

USATODAY.com – Some youth rethink online communications

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