Self-expression online is important for young people. However, a new study by Safer Internet shows that social networks are now used more for keeping in touch than for “posing”.

Social networks: digital umbilical cord in times of pandemic

Practically all young people surveyed as part of the study use social networks . They join their first social network at an average age of 11 . On average, they use two to three platforms in parallel. The networks are deliberately used for different purposes. This differentiated use becomes more apparent the older the young people are.

While self-expression used to be the focus, keeping in touch with others is now clearly the main function of social networks. This was already evident before Covid-19 and has increased again since then. During the pandemic, keeping in touch with family, friends and school colleagues has become more difficult, but at the same time it is becoming massively more important. Social networks serve as a kind of digital umbilical cord to the outside world and are more deserving of their name than ever before.

Second only to keeping in touch is information and entertainment. Only then do your own postings and self-presentation follow. Allowing others to participate virtually in your own life has therefore become less important.

Click to enlarge - Image source: Safer Internet
Click to enlarge – Image source: Safer Internet

Youth Internet Monitor 2021: Biggest growth in Discord and TikTok

The changed usage patterns also result in shifts in the ranking of the most popular Internet platforms used by Austrian young people. We have surveyed the most popular social networks among 11 to 17 year olds for the sixth time as part of the Youth Internet Monitor .

WhatsApp is the clear favorite among young people with 98 percent and is already close to the 100 percent mark. It is the most important platform for keeping in touch with family, friends and school colleagues, but is also used during the pandemic for learning groups or to support each other with the challenges of homeschooling.

In second place is YouTube (93 percent) as an information and entertainment channel, and in third place is Instagram (84 percent), which is also used to keep in touch and provide information. All three networks were able to increase compared to the previous year.

The top five is completed by the photo-sharing app Snapchat (75 percent) and the video app TikTok (57 percent), which has become significantly more important during the pandemic (+15 percentage points compared to the previous year). The inspiration platform Pinterest can place itself far ahead, but still so far ahead for the first time (39 percent). The world's largest social network Facebook has fallen from fifth to seventh place (34 percent) among Austria's young people compared to the previous year.

A particularly high increase of 16 percentage points to 33 percent (8th place) was recorded for Discord. In the last few months, Discord has developed from a gaming platform into a diversely used digital lounge. The complete Youth Internet Monitor can be found at www.jugendinternetmonitor.at .

Click to enlarge - Image source: Safer Internet
Click to enlarge – Image source: Safer Internet

Self-expression is more than just posting selfies

The first social network seems to have an impact on further online behavior and, in particular, on the way one presents oneself . While, to put it simply, mirror selfies with the cell phone in front of the face are still all the rage in the “Facebook generation” (i.e. today's adults), photo editing in general and editing profile photos are important for Instagram and Snapchat debutants .

Optimizing your own photos has become almost a given: Two thirds of young people believe that every picture posted has been edited, and 57 percent think photo editing is important . 79 percent think that young people generally present themselves better online. And yet here, too, the dose is the poison: it is “cringe” (i.e. embarrassing) when you notice that others are investing a lot of time in photo editing, according to those surveyed.

However, self-presentation goes far beyond selfies : profile pictures, names, personal information, groups, likes and comments, but also playlists - your own presentation consists of many puzzle pieces. Classic non-stop posting, on the other hand, is no longer so popular: only around a third of young people regularly post pictures of themselves.

Young people want to stay in control online

Three out of ten young people (29 percent) regularly deal with privacy settings on social networks. For 35 percent, however, these are only an issue when using them for the first time and 14 percent have never dealt with them at all. Even if many young people are concerned about protecting their privacy and their behavior already shows more awareness of the problem, there is still room for improvement.

In the context of privacy, the trend towards time-limited content (“stories”) must also be considered. Because this means - at least from the young people's point of view - the risk of losing control over their own images is significantly lower. 38 percent have posted a photo that they later found embarrassing and 32 percent have posted one that they did not want their parents to see.

Problems with “orphaned” accounts

Long-term use of social networks also means that young people accumulate many accounts over time, some of which they can no longer access. 41 percent of those surveyed stated that this was the case for at least one account. The main reason for this (67 percent) is that the email account associated with the profile is no longer accessible. Two-factor authentication also became a stumbling block for 26 percent because the device connected to the account was no longer available.

Negative experiences remain a challenge

Even if young people are increasingly “mature” in their use of social networks and have developed greater risk awareness 22 percent of those surveyed said that pictures of them had already been shared against their will, and 17 percent had already been confronted with rumors about them. At least 16 percent report that their own parents have spread embarrassing things about them.

In addition, 76 percent of young people agree that fake profiles are very common, and 49 percent believe that many young people are confronted with a hacked online profile. 59 percent are of the opinion that Internet challenges are often dangerous.

Don't leave young people alone

According to 32 percent of those surveyed, young people learn how to use social networks safely primarily through education and workshops (for example at school), followed by learning from their own mistakes (31 percent) and from parents and friends (28 percent each).

Click here for tips for parents and young people.

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This might also be of interest: An underestimated fringe group is booming on social media – the “Baby Boomer” generation

Source: Safer Internet
Article image: Shutterstock / By Prostock-studio


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