Science & Tech

Eighty per cent of teenagers don't think before tweeting

(Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images
(Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

Most teenagers don’t think before they post to social networks, a new multinational survey of 2,905 people aged between 13 and 18, and their parents has shown.

Eighty per cent of teens said they would post without thinking about the consequences, in the survey of American, British and Irish teens and parents by Ask.fm.

In addition, more than a third (38 per cent) feel disappointed if they don’t get responses quickly.

Although 52 per cent of parents say their biggest concern is how much time their teens spend on social apps, 43 per cent don’t track their teens social media usage.

The survey also found 74 per cent said they would step in if they saw someone being bullied.

The top motivation to post was most commonly based around a certain person seeing the post, such as a friend or a romantic interest.

Catherine Teitelbaum, chief trust and safety officer at Ask.fm, said:

Teens have grown up online; it is core to how they communicate with the outside world on a daily basis, so it's understandable most feel they have nothing to hide or regret when it comes to their digital behavior.

To them, it's simply an extension of their everyday, real world lives.

Personally, we hope we were in the 20 per cent who would think about the consequences before posting.

Picture: Getty

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