New insights reveal how students are protecting their privacy online – with both passwords and healthy boundaries
The Social Institute, the leader in understanding students to empower students to navigate their social worlds – online and offline – in positive and high-character ways, today released new survey data exploring how #WinAtSocial encourages students to take action to protect their privacy. These findings highlight both the strengths and challenges students face when protecting their social media profiles and expressing their boundaries and how K-12 educators can further support them to stay safe online.
Key Findings
The Good: Ways students are protecting their privacy online
- 98% of Grade 3 students report having a plan if a stranger asks them personal questions.
- 53% of Grade 5 students always have family members double-check and approve photos before posting.
- 52% of Grade 6 students secure their passwords by mixing letters, numbers, and symbols together.
The Challenges: Keeping Secrets and Expressing Boundaries
- 74% of Grade 3 students find it somewhat or very difficult to talk to their teachers about a secret that makes them worried, scared, or uncomfortable.
- Students were asked to rank four boundary-related challenges from most to least difficult. About 25% of Grade 9 students identified each challenge as the most difficult, showing balanced concerns about managing boundaries. The challenges students ranked were:
- Someone posts pictures of you on social media without permission
- Someone pressures you to participate in an activity you’re uncomfortable with
- Someone interrupts or speaks over you, or dismisses your opinion
- Someone keeps contacting you even when you ask them to stop
How to empower students to protect their privacy online
These findings underscore the importance of keeping privacy and boundaries top of mind with students as they navigate their online experiences as well as strengthening relationships with students so they feel comfortable talking to a trusted adult when privacy issues arise.
Here’s how:
- Schools: Strengthen student-teacher relationships by regularly huddling with students about online boundaries and difficult decisions—like when to speak up even if it might get someone in trouble
- Parents: Engage in open, ongoing conversations about the importance of posting on social media in high-character ways that reflect students’ values.
- Communities: Support initiatives that promote positive online and offline behavior and maintain privacy.
The Social Institute’s positive and proactive approach to social media and technology education provides school communities with innovative tools that empower students to protect their privacy while equipping parents and educators with resources to guide them. These solutions aim to bridge the gaps revealed by these findings.
“This data shows us how #WinAtSocial encourages students to take action to protect their privacy, whether it’s by updating their privacy settings, changing their passwords, or setting their boundaries. We encourage students to look at their favorite role models, celebrities, and influencers. These famous people don’t tag their location on Instagram, and #WinAtSocial empowers students to protect their privacy like they’re famous.” – Laura Tierney, Founder & CEO, The Social Institute
Uncover more ways to protect student data and privacy with this Downloadable Guide: A school’s guide to handling student data and empowering them to protect their privacy.
The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in empowering students by understanding students. Through #WinAtSocial, our gamified, peer-to-peer learning platform, we equip students, educators, and families to navigate their social world – in the classroom and beyond, online and offline – in healthy, high-character ways. Our unique, student-respected approach empowers and equips, rather than scares and restricts. We incorporate timely topics about social media, tech use, and current events that are impacting student well-being and learning. #WinAtSocial Lessons teach life skills for the modern day, capture student voice, and provide school leaders with actionable insights. Through these insights, students play an essential role in school efforts to support their own health, happiness, and future success as we enable high-impact teaching, meaningful family conversations, and a healthy school culture.