social networking

Seventy million people now use social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook.com. These sites allow users to create profiles and post photos or journals and build a personal network of connections. In the study released Sunday, 70 percent of teen girls, ages 15 to 17, had profiles compared with 57 percent of boys in the same age bracket. Researchers expected the results to be even between the groups. Older teen girls though, are perceived as leaders in communication-style tools.
The Pew Survey of 935 youths ages 12 to 17, found that 55 percent said they used social networking sites. Researchers said that teens use the sites to manage friendships, and older teen boys use it as tool to make new friends. Boys were almost twice as likely to use social networking to flirt - 29 percent of older boys, compared with 13 percent of older girls.Adult behavior on social networking sites show an increased risk of becoming a victim of cyber crime.