Talking to Teens about Cybersecurity

Teens connect to the online world much differently than their parents do – thanks in part to our rapidly advancing technologies. In a recent survey by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), Keeping Up With Generation App: NCSA Parent/Teen Online Safety Survey, 34 percent of teen internet users (13-17 years old) report that someone has been mean or cruel to them online in the past year, with 52 percent of those incidents involving something they said or did, 35 percent involving something about their appearance, 27 percent involving their race or ethnicity, 21 percent involving their gender and 20 percent involving their political views.

In addition, teens share larger worries about the veracity of the information they encounter and share online; 24 percent say they are “very concerned” that they could spread fake news or other misinformation by mistake, and 25 percent say they are “somewhat concerned” about this possibility.