Privacy, Gender and Aging Out of Cyber-Risk: Adolescents’ Experiences and Strategies Managing Online Risk

• In Event: The Influence of Sports, the Media, and Technology on Delinquency and Cyber-Risk

Abstract

While adolescence is a perennial period of risk-taking, the internet and advances in communications technology over the last decade have amplified both opportunities (for identity, intimacy and sociability) and risks (related to privacy, abuse and misunderstandings). We draw on results from a focus group study of youth (ages 12 to 19) and cyber-risk in Canada, with groups held in both western and eastern as well as urban and rural Canadian regions. We show how gender and age influence the various concerns identified by youth and their strategies for navigating these associated risks. For instance, we reveal how female participants expressed concerns over sexting and receiving ‘nudes’ while male participants focused more on ‘trolling’ and ‘punking.’ We then unpack the differing strategies undertaken by male and female respondents to manage online risk, related in part to whether certain risks are defined as serious and worthy of seeking help.

Authors

• Michael Adorjan, University of Calgary

• Rose Ricciardelli, Memorial University