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Poll Shows More Email and Facebook Pages are Being Hacked

Privacy continues to be a hot topic these days, especially as more and more teenagers hack into each other’s email accounts and profile pages. While many teens consider this just to be a harmless prank, the Associated Press reports that 46% of those who have been victims were upset by it.

Additionally, these type of pranks have nearly doubled according to an AP-MTV poll that finds 3 in 10 teens and young adults have had people get into their Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or other Internet accounts and either impersonate or spy on them.

Of those that had been hacked, it was found that in response to the digital abuse:

-Two-thirds said they changed their email, instant messaging or social networking password,
-46% altered their email address, screen name or phone number, and
-25% have deleted a social networking profile.

So what can parents do to help their kids recognize that—like it or not—the information they post and store online is never guaranteed to remain private?

In an interview with the Associated Press, Marsali Hancock, president and CEO of the Internet Keep Safe Coalition, recommends they occasionally check their children’s account to illustrate that online life is never confidential.

“It’s never private,” says Ms. Hancock, “So the parents who actually check in, even just randomly every now and then, really help their child to recognize that everything can be viewed and tracked and stored and moved around.”

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Emily Ensign is a regular blogger for the Internet Keep Safe Coalition, an organization that gives parents, educators, and policymakers the information and tools that empower them to teach children the safe and healthy use of technology and the internet. Image Credit: miguelavg via Flickr

Categories: Parenting, Privacy

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