January 06, 2009
Social Networking and Risky Behavior in Adolescents
Researchers from the University of Washington published two studies in this month's Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine on teens and risky behaviors. They followed young people onto social networking sites where they conducted a survey of MySpace.com profiles and found that more than half of them are at least talking about sex, substance use, and violence. A second part of the study involved a doctor (who also had a profile on the social networking site) sending a message to 18- to 20-year-olds warning them about risky behaviors based on their public descriptions. Interestingly enough, a significant proportion changed their profiles demonstrating that the online behavior of those presumed teens can be changed relatively easily.
Researchers using the personal Web profiles that can be created by members of online communities such as MySpace and Facebook to determine the prevalence of health risk behaviors. Some information can be barricaded behind privacy walls, but their July through September 2007 survey looked at 500 public profiles of self-described 18-year-olds. The researchers found that 54 percent of the profiles contained references to sexual activity, drinking or drug use, or violence. Substance use led the list, mentioned on 41 percent of profiles, followed by sexual activity on 24 percent of profiles and violence on 14.4 percent.
In the second study, Dr Moreno, lead researcher, sent an e-mail message to half of 190 young people from 18 to 20 years old whose public MySpace profiles included at least three references to sexual behaviors or substance use, including alcohol and tobacco. She called herself "Dr. Meg," identified herself as an adolescent medicine doctor and researcher, and urged them to check out her academic Web page. The message read "You seemed to be quite open about sexual issues or other behaviors such as drinking or smoking," the message said. "Are you sure that's a good idea? After all, if I could see it, nearly anybody could."
The message invited them to consider revising their profiles to protect their privacy. It also raised concerns about sexually transmitted diseases and pointed them to a Web site offering free testing.
Three months later, 42.1 percent of the ones who received the e-mail had changed their profiles, dropping references to sex and substance use or moving their profiles from public to private. That compares to 29.5 percent from the other half of the study group, who changed their profiles without having gotten Dr. Meg's e-mail.
The researchers concluded that adolescents frequently display risk behavior information on public Web sites but intervention can change behavior. Further study is warranted to explore the validity of such information and the potential for using social networking Web sites for health promotion.
Article Links
Display of Health Risk Behaviors on MySpace by Adolescents
Reducing At-Risk Adolescents' Display of Risk Behavior on a Social Networking Web Site
A Randomized Controlled Pilot Intervention Trial