Who knew? Privacy is a concern for teenagers, study shows

Half of teenagers have avoided a mobile app due to concerns about personal information, a new survey found

The current generation of teenagers seems willing to share anything on social media, but cares more about privacy than you think, according to a recent Pew study.

One in four teenagers have uninstalled a mobile app because they found out it was collecting personal information they didn't want to share, said a report released Thursday by the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project.

Half of teenagers have avoided an app altogether on their cell phone or tablet due to concerns about personal information they would have to share in order to use it, the report also said.

The report did not call out specific app makers like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat or Tumblr. But privacy is today one of the crucial issues faced by those companies, as consumers question the level of information sites are able to gather about them.

Pew's survey was based on telephone interviews with 802 U.S. teenagers aged 12 to 17 and their parents. The survey did not focus exclusively on social apps, though participants said in focus group discussions that they primarily downloaded social media and game apps to their phones and tablets, in addition to music, news and weather apps.

Some teenagers took issue with specific app features. Nearly 50 percent said they had turned off location tracking on their cell phone or in an app because they were worried about other people or companies accessing that information, the report said.

Australian privacy laws: Are you prepared?
Twitter toying with more tailored ads, aiming to protect users' privacy
Navigating around the privacy minefield

Some didn't even understand why the app would need that information, and so they opted out. "An app wanted to use location services for some reason," one survey participant said in a focus group discussion, "but I didn't see the reason why."

In many cases, focus group participants said they did not allow an app to access their location unless they thought it was necessary, the report said.

Girls are more likely than boys to say they have turned off location tracking, the survey found. Among app downloaders, 59 percent of teenage girls reported having disabled location tracking, compared with just 37 percent of boys, the report said.

While they are concerned about companies' use of their information, some teenagers may be just as concerned about their parents' access, report authors suggested. In 2009 Pew found that about half of parents of teenage cell phone users used the phone to monitor their child's location in some way.

The survey's findings come as Internet companies like Facebook and Twitter continue to enhance their sites in an effort to keep users engaged, including teenagers.

The professional networking site LinkedIn now wants to attract younger users, with its introduction this week of university pages aimed at students.

In June the ephemeral photo messaging service Snapchat -- already very popular among teenagers -- launched SnapKidz for users even younger than 13.

Zach Miners covers social networking, search and general technology news for IDG News Service. Follow Zach on Twitter at @zachminers. Zach's e-mail address is zach_miners@idg.com

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.
Show Comments

Latest Videos

More Videos

More Brand Posts

What are Chris Riddell's qualifications to talk about technology? What are the awards that Chris Riddell has won? I cannot seem to find ...

Tareq

Digital disruption isn’t disruption anymore: Why it’s time to refocus your business

Read more

Enterprisetalk

Mark

CMO's top 10 martech stories for the week - 9 June

Read more

Great e-commerce article!

Vadim Frost

CMO’s State of CX Leadership 2022 report finds the CX striving to align to business outcomes

Read more

Are you searching something related to Lottery and Lottery App then Agnito Technologies can be a help for you Agnito comes out as a true ...

jackson13

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Thorough testing and quality assurance are required for a bug-free Lottery Platform. I'm looking forward to dependability.

Ella Hall

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Blog Posts

Marketing prowess versus the enigma of the metaverse

Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.

Liz Miller

VP, Constellation Research

Why Excellent Leadership Begins with Vertical Growth

Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?

Michael Bunting

Author, leadership expert

More than money talks in sports sponsorship

As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.

Simone Waugh

Managing Director, Publicis Queensland

Sign in