by Anne Collier
NetFamilyNews

Way to go, parents – 86.4% of teens say their parents have discussed online safety with them. That’s teen users of the social virtual world Habbo.com, anyway, but I suspect they’re very representative of teen social-networkers in general. Habbo recently completed its Teen Online Safety Awareness Month, which it says got “over 20,000 teens taking part in safety-related activities and educational programs, including many that involved discussion time between the teens and their parents. Nearly 21,000 teens received limited edition virtual safety badges to show that they had their parents read Habbo’s online safety guide. Nearly 10,000 teens visited a virtual lounge within the community with a safety theme.” On the sobering side, here are other key findings:

  • 51.7% visit chat rooms at least once every day
  • 18.5% have “experienced chatting online with someone they found out was an adult pretending to be much younger”
  • 57.2% have “chatted, IM’d or emailed with someone online that they have never met face to face”
  • 26.6% have “been asked questions about their sexuality or sexual experiences while chatting online that made them feel uncomfortable”
  • 31.7% have posted personal information online
  • 72.5% “are aware that anyone can view personal information they post online, not just their friends.”