East Valley Student to attend National Teen Summit on Internet Safety

June is National Internet Safety Month: Cox’s Teen Internet Safety Survey finds 81 percent of “sexters” online are under 18

PHOENIX - Prevalent Cyberbullying and Sexting are what 13-18-year-olds are experiencing on their wireless phones and computers according to the fifth annual Teen Internet Safety Survey commissioned by Cox Communications in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, will be the focal point for the National Teen Summit on Internet Safety to be held June 24 hosted by Cox Communications in partnership with America’s Most Wanted host and children’s advocate John Walsh and the NCMEC.

Walsh will lead a discussion about safety and challenges teens experience on the internet.  This group will also discuss ways parents, guardians and teen mentors can help children stay safe online.  Precious Wilson, a 2009 graduate of Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe and the Boys & Girls Clubs’ Arizona Youth of the Year, will represent Arizona teens at the summit. 

Key results from the survey of a representative sampling of U.S. teens between the ages of thirteen and eighteen years include: 

• Technology enabled:  Ninety-one percent of teens have an email address and 60 percent have an instant messenger screen name.  Seventy-three percent of teens have a cell phone and 59 percent have a digital camera. 
• Acceptance of Social Networking:  Seventy-two percent of teens surveyed have online profiles on social networking sites where many have posted photos of themselves and their friends, along with personal information.
• Engaging in Sexting:  Nineteen percent of teens surveyed have engaged in sexting — sending, receiving or forwarding sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude photos through text message or email.  Sixty percent of teens who sent sexts say they send photos to their boyfriend/girlfriend, but 11 percent say they have sent sexts(1) to someone they don’t even know.  Eighty-one percent of teen sexters are under 18.
• Prevalent Cyberbullying:  More than one-third of teens surveyed have been cyberbullied, have engaged in cyberbullying themselves or know of friends who have experienced or perpetrated cyberbullying. About 4 in 5 teens (81 percent) think that bullying online is easier to get away with or to hide from their parents than bullying in person. 
• Conflicted over Safety:  Most teens surveyed are aware and concerned about the risks of putting personal information out in the open.  Fifty-nine percent say having personal information or photos on a public site is unsafe, and 26 percent say they know someone who has had something bad happen to them because of this.  Still, 62 percent of teens post photos of themselves on blogs or social networking sites and greater than 40 percent name their school or the city in which they live. 
• Online wirelessly:  Nineteen percent of teens surveyed go online via their cell phone and 19 percent say their parents are unaware.  The vast majority of teens (80 percent) whose parents know they go online via their cell phone say they are not given any limits or controls — far fewer than are given boundaries on their desktop PC or laptop.

“Teens are not only online, they are active in every nuance of cyberspace.  Many have no controls over what they do online and of those who do, nearly 30% figure ways around the boundaries set by their parents,” says John Walsh. “Those parents who have been vigilant over their kids’ use of the Internet via their computers, haven’t extended their watch to their kids’ use of the wireless devices, which are increasingly offering predators all the access they need to our precious and vulnerable young ones.” He adds, “Teens are prone to choosing risky behaviors even though they know better, so parents must continue to regularly talk with their children and monitor their activities.” 

Cox’s research on teen Internet safety from the last five years along with online safety tools, tips and links to NCMEC and other sources are available at www.cox.com/TakeCharge, Cox’s Take Charge program educates parents and guardians about the importance of Internet Safety and helps families get the most out of mass media in the home. From instructions on setting parental controls, to a guide about the lingo tweens use on line, to tips for more constructive conversations between parents and kids, Cox helps parents and guardians protect their children.

Submitted on behalf of Cox Communications Arizona
Cox Communications is the third largest cable provider and a multi-service broadband communications company serving nearly 3 million residential and business product subscribers in Arizona (a product subscriber represents an individual service purchased by a customer). In the metro Phoenix, Cox serves approximately 2.5 million product subscribers. In Southern Arizona, Cox serves approximately 400,000 product subscribers. Cox’s 18,000-mile hybrid fiber coaxial cable network throughout Phoenix and Southern Arizona provides homes and businesses with digital television, high speed Internet, home networking, high-definition television and digital telephone service over its own nationwide IP network. During the past four years, Cox has topped 10 J.D. Power and Associates’ studies of customer satisfaction. Cox Media is responsible for the sale of cable advertising throughout Arizona. Cox Communications is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc and serves approximately 6 million customers nationwide and wholly owns and operates the Travel Channel. Additional information about Cox in Arizona is available at www.cox.com/arizona

Technorati Tags: America's Most Wanted, Arizona, Cox Communications, Harris Interactive, John Walsh, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Phoenix, Precious Wilson