“We are observing a paradigm shift in society: young people, and more the younger they are, have normalized sharing their privacy publicly”. The sociologist and researcher of Fad Juventud Alejandro Gómez assures that, without judging whether it is good or bad, this is one of the realities revealed by the study on the risks associated with young people’s uses of Trico (relationship technologies, information, communication and leisure) that the organization has drawn up. During the presentation, Gómez emphasized that, in general, young people know the risks online, they are worried about being victims of scams, the dissemination of obscene photos without their permission and impersonation, but they have lost the taboo of show off and show your intimacy.
“Young people, and especially teenagers, share themselves publicly, they manage their high school relationships, new friendships… They have normalized putting photos and private things from their day to day on the internet; they know it’s illegal to post photos of others without their consent, or that it’s wrong to send photos of a sexual nature, but they think it’s normal, they don’t see the problem with it or what consequences it might have for them or a another person in the medium and long term”, he explained. And he detailed that girls, especially in the younger age group (the survey was conducted in the 15-29 age group), are the most affected by this phenomenon.
At least one in five of the young women surveyed claims that they have received messages, photos or videos of an erotic or sexual nature without their consent in the last year, or that they have had to block profiles on the networks because they harassed or insulted them. In addition, more than half say that they see very often or quite often harassment between colleagues on social networks, sending intimate images without the consent of the person involved or harassment from adults to minors.
And when asked about the risks that worry them the most, 43% of them specifically mention compromising photos or videos of themselves being shared without permission, being sexually harassed online, being the subject of scams or fraud, or being impersonated identity And the concern increases as the years go by.
It follows from all this that young people are aware of the risks they live in their day-to-day lives due to Trico, and also of their overexposure online, given that more than half consider that they spend too much time on the internet and admit that the use of these technologies leaves them time for other activities, especially sleeping (42% admit) and studying (40%). However, they attribute mostly positive feelings to the use of social networks, such as fun, joy, confidence and excitement. Negative feelings are in the minority; the most frequent is stress.
On the other hand, young people see themselves as digitally savvy and know that much of the information that reaches them online is false, although they admit that they do not always check it. And a high percentage face digital socialization alone: ??a third say they don’t talk to anyone about what they do online and 40% don’t receive recommendations from the environment on how to behave or how to improve their security on line.
In view of these data, both Gómez and the general director of Fad Juventud, Beatriz Martín, stressed the need to focus less on banning the use of mobile phones and to intensify accompaniment and supervision both from families and from the school environment. “Digital technologies are part of the identity of children and young people; separating them generates anxiety, so we have to go through other ways, not cut off something that is important in their day to day”, concluded Gómez.
