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II. Methodology
An online survey was conducted using the field services of TNS. The study reached a
national sample of 1,000 American adults ages 18 and older. The margin of error for the
total sample is ±3.1% at the 95% confidence level. This means that if we were to replicate
the study, we would expect to get the same results (within 3.1 percentage points) 95 times
out of 100.
III.Media Highlights
Privacy Fears
Even though the majority of Americans who use social networking sites say they’ve taken
actions to protect their privacy on social networking sites (91%), four in ten Americans who
use these sites (43%) admit that they typically just click “agree” without reading the entire
terms & conditions on social networking sites. In addition:
Three-quarters of Americans (76%) report that they worry that the privacy settings
on social networking sites are not adequately protecting their personal information
More than four in ten Americans (44%) are concerned that the personal information
they share online is being used against them.
One in five Americans who use social networking sites (21%) believe that their
personal information (e.g., email address, phone number, etc.) has been accessed
by people who take advantage of weak privacy settings on social networking sites
like Facebook and Twitter.
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IV. Detailed Findings
The majority of Americans use social networking sites and share personal
information about themselves on these sites, including their full name, email
address, and pictures of themselves.
o Over two-thirds of Americans (68%) report using social networking sites, with the
most popular site being Facebook (62%).
Facebook 62%
MySpace 12%
Twitter 11%
LinkedIn 11%
Classmates 6%
Meetup 2%
Total
Friendster 1% Americans
Hi5 1%
Other 3%
I do not use social networking sites 32%
Q1. Which, if any, of the following social networking sites do you use?
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o The majority of Americans that use social networking sites admit that they’ve posted
their first and last name (69%), photos of themselves (67%), or their email address
(51%) on a social networking site.
o A full four in ten Americans (41%) report that they’ve posted their birthdate with
year on a social networking site.
o Other information that Americans have posted on a social networking site include:
- Personal website (8%)
- Cell phone number (7%)
- Home address (4%)
- Home phone number (4%)
- Employer address (2%)
- Work phone number (1%)
Q2. Which, if any, of the following information have you posted on a social networking site?
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In fact, Americans report several consequences as a result of sharing
information on social networking sites, with nearly one in ten having their
personal relationships affected.
o Nearly all Americans (94%) agree that at times, people divulge too much information
about themselves on social networking sites, with two-thirds strongly agreeing to
this statement (66%).
o Although nearly half of Americans (46%) agree that sometimes it is hard to figure
out what information to share and what to keep private, many Americans (38%)
agree that people who share too much of their personal information online deserve
to have their information used inappropriately.
% Agree
(Strongly/Somewhat)
Sometimes it is hard to
figure out what information
to share and what to keep 46%
private
Total
People who share too Americans
much of their personal
information online deserve 38%
to have their information
used inappropriately
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o Over half of Americans who use social networking sites (50%) report that they’ve
seen people divulge too much personal information.
o A full quarter of Americans who use social networking sites (25%) say that they’ve
seen people “misrepresent” themselves (e.g., posted incorrect information, created
fake profiles, etc.).
o Other situations that Americans who use social networking sites report experiencing
include:
- Shared information about their travel plans (16%)
- Had someone post unflattering pictures of them (11%)
- Had personal relationships with family or friends affected from revealing too
much information (7%)
- Been scolded or yelled at for information that they’ve posted (6%)
Q3. Which, if any, of the following situations have you ever experienced using social networking sites?
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o Over a quarter of Americans who use social networking sites (28%) report negative
consequences, including receiving spam (14%), a computer virus (7%), or
spyware/malware (5%) as a result of sharing information on a social networking site.
o Alarmingly, one in ten Americans (14%) who use social networking sites say that
they’ve received communication from strangers as a result of sharing information on
a social networking site.
Identity theft 1%
Q4. Which, if any, of the following has ever happened to you as a result of sharing information on a social networking site?
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Despite having experienced negative effects of posting personal information on
social networking sites, Americans admit that they seldom think about the
consequences of sharing personal information online.
o Over a quarter of Americans who use social networking sites (28%) admit that they
rarely think about what could happen if they shared too much personal information
online.
% Agree
(Strongly/Somewhat)
Q11. Please read the following statements and indicate whether you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or
strongly disagree with each statement.
o In addition, 40 percent of Americans who use social networking sites believe that
losing their job because of information they’ve posted on a social networking site
(e.g., Facebook, Twitter) could happen to them.
% Disagree
(Strongly/Somewhat)
Losing my job
because of
information I've
posted on a social
networking site 40% Americans who
(e.g., Facebook, use social
Twitter) could networking sites
never happen to
me
Q16. Please read the following statements and indicate whether you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or
strongly disagree with each statement.
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Although Americans have taken some steps to protect their privacy on social
networking sites, many still remain lax when it comes to regularly updating
their privacy settings.
o Three-quarters of Americans (76%) report that they worry that the privacy settings
on social networking sites are not adequately protecting their personal information.
o Four in ten Americans (44%) report that they are concerned that the personal
information they share online is being used against them.
% Agree
(Strongly/Somewhat)
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o The majority of Americans who use social networking sites say they’ve taken actions
to protect their privacy on social networking sites (91%), with the top action being
limiting the information they put up on their page or profile (73%).
o Six in ten Americans report that they have restricted strangers from viewing certain
information (61%), restricted access to their page or profile (59%), or changed or
customized privacy settings (58%).
o Many Americans also limit the amount of information they post on their friends’
pages (53%), delete unwanted comments (38%), or remove unwanted photos or
images (25%).
Other 1%
None of these 9%
Q6. Which, if any, of the following actions have you taken to protect your privacy on social networking sites?
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o Six in ten Americans that use social networking sites report that they update their
privacy settings on the social networking sites that they use once a month or less
often (61%), with one in five saying that they never update their privacy settings
(21%).
o Only 39% of Americans that use social networking sites say that they update their
privacy setting frequently (once a month or more often).
Daily 5%
Never 21%
Q5. In general, how often do you update your privacy settings on the social networking sites that you use?
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o Further, four in ten Americans who use social networking sites (43%) admit that
they typically just click “agree” without reading the entire terms & conditions on
social networking sites.
Base: Americans
who use social
networking sites
No, 50%
Q8. Do you typically just click “agree” without reading the entire terms & conditions on social networking sites?
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Alarmingly, many believe that their personal information may have already
been retrieved.
o One in five Americans who use social networking sites (21%) believe that their
personal information (e.g., email address, phone number, etc.) has been accessed
by people who take advantage of weak privacy settings on social networking sites
like Facebook and Twitter.
o Four in ten Americans who use social networking sites (39%) admit that they are not
sure if their personal information (e.g., email address, phone number, etc.) has been
accessed by people who take advantage of weak privacy settings on social
networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Yes, 21%
Not sure, 39%
Base: Americans
who use social
networking sites
No, 40%
Q7. Do you believe that your personal information (e.g., email address, phone number, etc.) has ever been accessed by
people who take advantage of weak privacy settings on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter?
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Social Networking Sites & The Workplace
o Although four in ten Americans (40%) agree that it is alright for managers to
monitor their employees’ personal tweets and Facebook pages, many (44%) admit
that they would feel uncomfortable having their manager read their personal tweets
or Facebook page.
o Still, over half of Americans (53%) agree that inappropriate comments or posts on
social networking sites should not affect someone’s employment.
Inappropriate comments
or posts on social
networking sites should 53%
not affect someone’s
employment
I would feel
uncomfortable having my
manager read my 44%
personal tweets or
Facebook page Total
Americans
It is all right for managers
to monitor their
employees’ personal 40%
tweets and Facebook
pages
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