American Journal of Men's Health

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To Tweet, or Not to Tweet: Gender Differences and Potential Positive and Negative Health Outcomes
of Adolescents' Social Internet Use
Melissa Pujazon-Zazik and M. Jane Park
Am J Mens Health 2010 4: 77
DOI: 10.1177/1557988309360819

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 American Journal of Men’s Health

To Tweet, or Not to Tweet: Gender 4(1) 77­–85

© The Author(s) 2010
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DOI: 10.1177/1557988309360819

and Negative Health Outcomes http://ajmh.sagepub.com

of Adolescents’ Social Internet Use

Melissa Pujazon-Zazik, MD, MPH,1 and M. Jane Park, MPH1

Abstract
Adolescents and young adults are avid Internet users. Online social media, such as social networking sites (e.g., Facebook,
MySpace), blogs, status updating sites (e.g., Twitter) and chat rooms, have become integral parts of adolescents’ and
young adults’ lives. Adolescents are even beginning to enter the world of online dating with several websites dedicated
to “teenage online dating.” This paper reviews recent peer-reviewed literature and national data on 1) adolescents use of
online social media, 2) gender differences in online social media and 3) potential positive and negative health outcomes
from adolescents’ online social media use. We also examine parental monitoring of adolescents’ online activities.
Given that parental supervision is a key protective factor against adolescent risk-taking behavior, it is reasonable to
hypothesize that unmonitored Internet use may place adolescents’ at significant risk, such as cyberbullying, unwanted
exposure to pornography, and potentially revealing personal information to sexual predators.

Keywords
Internet, Social Networking, Adolescents

Introduction
Adolescents and young adults are avid Internet users.
According to a national survey, 87% of adolescents aged
12 to 17 years reported using the Internet; this figure
increased through high school to 94% in 11th and 12th
grades (Lenhart, Madden, & Hitlin, 2005). Just more than
half (51%) of the approximately 21 million teens who use
the Internet say they go online at least daily, with some
24% of online teens reporting going online several times
a day (Lenhart et al., 2005). Although the most popular
online activity for adolescents is visiting entertainment or
sports-related Web sites (Lenhart, Madden, Macgill, &
Smith, 2007), the use of the Internet for socializing with
peers is increasing. As of the end of 2006, 55% of online
teens had a profile on a social networking site (SNS),
compared with 20% of adult Internet users (Madden,
Fox, & Smith, 2007).
Increased access to the Internet has greatly expanded
options available to adolescents for interacting with their
peers and, potentially, with strangers. Adolescents are
regular users of SNSs such as MySpace and Facebook
and are beginning to explore the world of online dating.
Health and safety concerns potentially related to post-
ing personal information online by adolescents and young
adults are wide-ranging and have inspired a growing
body of research. After a brief background on differences
in Internet use and adolescent identity development, this
article will examine how adolescents and young adults
use the Internet for socializing and the potential positive
and negative effects of this behavior. The authors will
also examine the current literature for gender differences
in adolescent and young adult online activities. Of note,
this article only focuses on the use of the Internet for
communicating; the use of cell phones for texting and
access to SNSs is beyond the scope of this article.
Background
Socioeconomic and Gender
Differences in Internet Use
Research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project
(a branch of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Pew Research
Center that produces surveys that examine how Ameri-
cans use the Internet and how their activities affect their
lives), has identified differences in Internet use by race/
ethnicity and income. Even among groups reporting less
use, the vast majority of teens regularly use the Internet.
African American (77%) adolescents are less likely than
Caucasian (87%) or Hispanic (89%) adolescents to go
1
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Corresponding Author:
M. Jane Park, MPH, University of California, San Francisco, Division
of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Box 0503, LH245,
San Francisco, CA 94143-0503, USA
Email: jane.park@uscs.edu

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78 American Journal of Men’s Health 4(1)
online (Lenhart et al., 2005). Low-income adolescents
(from households earning less than $30,000 per year) are
less likely (73%) than any other income group to report
Internet use. In contrast, 90% of teens from families earn-
ing more than $30,000 a year go online (Lenhart et al.,
2005). Nearly identical numbers of male (85%) and
female (88%) adolescents use the Internet (Lenhart et al.,
2005), but differences between males and females in online
activities exist.
The Internet and Adolescent Identity Formation
An important developmental task of adolescence is identity
formation, the process of integrating one’s characteristics
and experiences to form an increasingly stable and unique
sense of self (Erikson, 1950). A stable identity consists of
one’s self-definition, as well as the roles and relationships
one takes on, and one’s personal values or moral beliefs
(Calvert, 2002). Each phase of adolescence (early,
middle, and late) is associated with unique tasks. Early
adolescence (approximately 10-13 years) marks a period
of shifting from dependence on parents to more indepen-
dent behavior. Middle adolescents (approximately 14-16
years) are less preoccupied with pubertal body changes
and more interested in making their appearance attractive
to others. Middle adolescents often feel omnipotent and
immortal, which can lead to risk-taking behavior,
increased sexual activity, and sexual experimentation.
Late adolescence (approximately 17-21 years) is charac-
terized by a more stable identity, the ability to think
abstractly, a move toward more intimate relationships,
and less dependence on the peer group (Neinstein, 2008).
Erikson theorized that younger adolescents are more
concerned with individual identity than are older adoles-
cents, who are more concerned with sexual identity and
sexuality. The work by Subrahmanyam, Smahel, and
Greenfield (2006) supports this theory, with younger chat
room participants being more self-disclosing of personal
characteristics, such as age, gender, and geographical
location. Older adolescents and young adults who self-
described themselves to be between 18 and 24 years of
age made explicit sexual comments at a much higher rate
than those who described themselves as between 10 and
17 years (Subrahmanyam et al., 2006).
The Internet offers a place to anonymously “try on”
different identities. In a survey of 687 adolescents, aged
12 to 20 years, 8.6% reported that they sometimes pre-
sented themselves as a member of the opposite sex on the
Internet (Smahel, 2005).
Adolescents and Internet
Social Applications
Instant Messaging
Instant messaging is one of the most popular forms of
communication among online adolescents. Instant
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messaging consists of sending real-time messages to
another Internet user. Instant messaging users can create
a list of welcome guests and receive alerts when a mes-
sage is received. The main difference between instant
messaging and texting is that instant messaging occurs
via the Internet and texting occurs via mobile phones
over cellular networks. (Other than instant messaging,
socially interactive technologies such as texting and
Skype are beyond the scope of this article, but are popular
forms of communication tools for adolescents.)
The most active users of instant messaging are older
females—82% of online females aged 15 to 17 report that
they use instant messaging. Not only are there statisti-
cally significant differences between the number of
females who report that they use instant messaging (74%)
and the number of males (62%) who report doing so, but
there are also significant differences between the percent-
age of teens aged 15 to 17 who use instant messaging
(77%) compared with the percentage of teens aged 12 to 14
who instant message (60%; Lenhart et al., 2007).
Social Networking Sites
Social networking Web sites allow users to create a
personal profile that may contain audio, photographs, video,
and text. Currently, the top five most visited SNSs are
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flixster, and LinkedIn,
with Facebook having nearly 69 million unique visitors
in January 2009 (Kazeniac, 2009). Although not a new
phenomenon (the earliest SNSs may be traced back to
the 1980s), these sites are rising in popularity, particu-
larly among adolescents and young adults. Early social
networking communities focused on chat rooms and
homepage development where members could post per-
sonal photographs and information. In the mid- to late
1990s, the first Web sites emerged where users could post
profiles and connect with both familiar and unfamiliar
users. Today’s most popular online SNSs began in 2002,
with the introduction of Friendster. The immensely popu-
lar MySpace launched in 2003 and allowed members to
customize their homepages with graphics, music files, and
videos. It is, however, the ubiquitous Facebook (launched
in 2004 as a Harvard-only SNS, expanding worldwide in
2006 and currently boasting more than 200 million users)
that now leads the global social networking pack.
Interestingly, a growing number of networking sites
have emerged that are geared specifically toward younger
users, where children as young as 2 years old may have
personal profiles. (Prodigious toddlers excluded, these
are generally created for the child by the parent.) A paren-
tal email is required to have a profile posted on many of
these “child-friendly” SNSs. However, parental approval
is often not required when registering on SNSs popular
with adolescents, such as MySpace and MyLOL.net. In
the case of MySpace, an individual must be at least 13 years
old to have a MySpace profile. If an adolescent is less
than 16 years old, the profile must be set to private.
Pujazon-Zazik and Park 79
According to data from the Pew Internet and Ameri-
can Life Project, 9 in 10 (91%) social networking teens
say they use SNSs to stay in touch with friends they see
frequently, 82% use the sites to stay in touch with friends
they rarely see in person, 72% of all social networking
teens use the sites to make plans with friends, half (49%)
use the sites to make new friends, and one in six (17%)
teens use social networks to flirt (Lenhart et al., 2007).
Gender differences among SNS users. In peer-reviewed
literature, social networking Web site studies to date have
not uncovered gender differences in usage (Barker, 2009).
However, according the 2007 Pew Internet and American
Life Project, gender differences exist. Their research has
reported the following:
• Older (age 15-17) adolescent males (54%) are
less likely to have used an online social network
compared with 70% of older adolescent females.
• Older adolescent males (57%) are less likely
than older adolescent females (70%) to have
created an online profile on an SNS.
• Adolescent males are less likely (40%) to post
photos online when compared with females
(54%). Older females are the mega posters, with
67% of them uploading photos, compared with
48% of older males.
• Younger females and males are equally as likely
to upload photos; however, 39% of younger
females aged 12 to 14 upload photos whereas
33% of younger males do so.
• Online teen males are nearly twice as likely as
online teen females to post video files (19% vs.
10%). Twenty-one percent of older males post
video, whereas just 10% of older females do.
A presentation at the 2003 Youth.net Conference
highlighted gender differences in Internet use of adoles-
cents; adolescent males were reported to focus more on
the entertainment aspects of the Internet, whereas females
seem more interested in the relational aspects of social
media and were more likely to talk to friends on the
Internet about romantic relationships, secrets, and deep
feelings (Rainie, 2003).
Despite these interesting results, there exists a paucity
of information on gender differences in adolescents’ use
of social media in the peer-reviewed literature and this
would be an interesting area for further research.
Blogging
This is an increasingly popular teen activity, with the per-
centage of online teens that have created a blog or online
journal increasing from 19% in 2004 to 28% in 2006.
Females are more likely to blog: 35% compared with
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20% for males (Lenhart et al., 2007). Overall, females
dominate the teen blogosphere: 35% of all online adoles-
cent females blog, compared with 20% of online
adolescent males. Older teen females are still far more
likely to blog when compared with older males (38% vs.
18%), but younger female bloggers have grown so rap-
idly that they are now outpacing even the older males
(32% of females aged 12-14 blog vs. 18% of males aged
15-17; Lenhart et al., 2007).
Teens living in households earning less than $50,000
per year are considerably more likely to blog than those
living in higher income households; 35% of online teens
whose parents fall in the lower income brackets have cre-
ated an online journal or blog, whereas just 24% of those
in the higher income brackets have done so. Online teens
living in single-parent homes are far more likely to have
shared their writing through a blog; 42% of these teens
keep a blog compared with 25% of teens living with mar-
ried parents (Lenhart et al., 2007).
Internet Updating Web Sites
Internet updating services allow users unlimited ability to
post updates about themselves and receive updates from
others. Internet updating services include specific Web
sites devoted to updating (the most popular being Twitter)
or SNSs with updating features (such as Facebook).
Approximately 19% of Internet users now say they use
Twitter to share updates about themselves or to see updates
about others (Fox, Zickuhr, & Smith, 2009).
According to a 2009 study of 1,698 adults by The Pew
Internet and American Life Project, men are significantly
less likely than women to use Twitter to post personal
updates (21% vs. 17%). Three groups of Internet users are
mainly responsible for driving the growth of Internet
updating: SNS users, those who connect to the Internet via
mobile devices, and younger Internet users (those under
age 44; Fox et al., 2009). The median age of a Twitter
user (aka “a Tweeter”) is 31, which has remained stable
over the past year (Lenhart, Fox, Zickuhr, & Smith, 2009).
Chat Rooms
In 2000, 55% of online teens reported going to online chat
rooms, whereas in 2006 only 18% of teens said they vis-
ited chat rooms (Lenhart et al., 2007). Since 2000, there
have been prominent campaigns to raise awareness among
parents and teens about the possible dangers of the chat
room space, which may have contributed to the drop in
the popularity of chat rooms.
A 2006 article on adolescent behavior across two
chatrooms identified differences among participants who
presented themselves as male and those who presented
themselves as female. The self-described males presented
80 American Journal of Men’s Health 4(1)
themselves as slightly older (mean = 15.73 years) than
self-described females (mean = 14.77 years; Subrahmanyam
et al., 2006). The authors reported that participants who
described themselves as older produced significantly more
explicit sexual themes (13% of those aged 16-17 years
compared with 40% of those aged 18-24) and that sig-
nificantly more participants (65%) in adult-monitored
chat rooms provided personal information compared with
participants in the unmonitored chat rooms, p = .00
(Subrahmanyam et al., 2006). Self-described males liked
to communicate more explicitly about sex whereas self-
described females liked to communicate on a more
implicit level about sex. This pattern may be a reflection
of social norms wherein females are expected to be more
indirect in their sexual expression than males. Self-
described females used strategies that could attract a
partner, whereas males more often used strategies that
were consonant with actively seeking a partner.
Internet Dating Web Sites
According to a 2007 study, 37% of American Internet
adult users who identified themselves as single and
actively looking for a romantic partner have visited a
dating Web site (Valkenburg & Peter, 2007). Several
studies exist on Internet dating in young adults and col-
lege students (Bonebrake, 2002; Donn & Sherman, 2002;
Knox, Daniels, Sturdivant, & Zusman, 2001; Stevens &
Morris, 2007). This nascent literature suggests that a small
percentage of adolescents and young adults use the Inter-
net to search for a romantic partner, with some seeking
cybersex activities. Donn and Sherman (2002) reported
that 7.7% of college students and 19.7% of graduate stu-
dents had taken steps to meet a potential romantic partner
online. Knox et al. (2001) reported that 40% of their col-
lege sample had used the Internet to gain and establish
new friendships, whereas 7% reported becoming roman-
tically involved with a person they met online. In a
qualitative study of 15 Czech Internet users aged between
12 and 22 years, five participants reported using the
Internet for virtual dating and cybersex activities (Smahel,
2005). In a related questionnaire study on 692 Czech sec-
ondary school students aged between 12 and 20 years,
16% of the participants had tried virtual sex on the Inter-
net; there were no significant gender differences in the
number of participants who had reported trying out virtual
sex (Vybíral, Smahel, & Divínová, 2004).
There are very few dedicated online dating sites
exclusively for teens. Two sites geared specifically at
teenagers are eSpinTheBottle and MyLOL.net. Teenag-
ers and college students are the intended audience for
eSpinTheBottle. Users create profiles, then “spin the bottle”
(as in the childhood kissing game) electronically to obtain
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a random profile of someone they might be interested in.
The site also has more conventional matching options,
including a search feature. MyLOL.net is marketed as
“Google’s Number One Dating Site for Teens” and has
more than 46,000 worldwide members. This Web site also
includes a search feature, where members can search pro-
files of other members aged between 14 and 29 years.
Other Web sites, such as TeenSpot, offer chat rooms for its
members, including ones titled “singles,” “flirting,” and
“hot tub.” Most popular online dating sites, such as eHar-
mony and Match.com, require members to be at least
18 years old to join. Internet dating may become an attrac-
tive option for adolescents because it provides a potentially
anonymous forum to develop their sexual identity and ini-
tiate communication without the potential embarrassment
or risks of face-to-face encounters. No current data exist
in the peer-reviewed literature in adolescents’ use of the
Internet to meet potential romantic partners.
Emailing
Despite the power that email holds among adults as a
major mode of personal and professional communica-
tion, only 14% of all teens report sending emails to their
friends every day (Lenhart et al., 2007).
Potential Positive Effects
of Online Socializing
Although often overshadowed by potential negative
effects of online interaction and SNS use, potential posi-
tive effects of using the Internet for socializing have been
stated in the communication, developmental, and psychol-
ogy literature. For example, online interaction provides
a venue to learn and refine the ability to exercise self-
control, to relate with tolerance and respect to others’
viewpoints, to express sentiments in a healthy and nor-
mative manner, and to engage in critical thinking and
decision making (Berson, Berson, & Ferron, 2002). Peer
acceptance and interpersonal feedback on the self, both
important features of SNSs, are vital predictors of social
self-esteem and well-being in adolescence (Harter, 1999).
Subrahmanyam and Greenfield (2008) conclude that ado-
lescents use the Internet primarily to strengthen existing
“offline” relationships with friends and romantic inter-
ests. Researchers have suggested that the Internet affords
females an opportunity to establish and maintain relation-
ships independently of concerns with how others perceive
and evaluate their physical characteristics (Berson et al.,
2002). For adolescents who feel isolated, such as those
with interests outside the mainstream culture, SNSs may
provide a social outlet that is otherwise unavailable
(Moreno, Parks, Zimmerman, Brito, & Christakis, 2009).
Pujazon-Zazik and Park 81
Potential Negative Effects
of Online Socializing
Hazards of online social activity include attracting
unwanted attention from cyberbullies or sexual preda-
tors. These types of online harassment are more common
among adolescents who communicate about sex online
and among users of SNSs (Lenhart, 2007; Malesky, 2007;
Mitchell, Finkelhor, & Wolak, 2007; Ybarra, Mitchell,
Finkelhor, & Wolak, 2007). Additionally, the public dis-
play of risk-taking behavior on SNSs may results in
potentially dangerous and damaging social and profes-
sional consequences.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is the use of electronic media—whether
email, text messages, or on SNSs—to bully or harass an
individual. Bullying behaviors can include sending
threatening messages, spreading vicious rumors, per-
sonal attacks, and posting embarrassing pictures (Brown
& Marin, 2009).
Cyberbullying has features that make it more appealing
to some than traditional bullying. The bully’s anonymity
provides the opportunity to communicate things they
might be reticent to say to another in person. Another
worrisome element of cyber bulling is the bully’s inabil-
ity to gage the victim’s response to the bullying, as would
be possible in face-to-face encounters. Willard (2007)
identified that cyberbullying can occur any time, day or
night. This leaves many victims feeling trapped when they
know they may receive a harassing message every time
they turn on their cell phone or go online (Twyman, Saylor,
Taylor, & Comeaux, 2009). Many individuals cyberbully
because they think it is entertaining and funny, not real-
izing the negative impact it has on the victim (National
Crime Prevention Council, 2007; Smith et al., 2001).
A 2005 telephone survey in the United States of 10- to
17-year-olds that had used the Internet at least once per
month in the past 6 months reported that 9% reported
having been the victim of online harassment at least once
in the previous year (Wolak, Mitchell, & Finkelhor, 2006).
Substantial research has demonstrated the negative effects
of bullying in general on child and youth well-being,
though little research has been specifically performed on
the antecedents and effects of cyberbullying (Williams &
Guerra, 2007). In a study by Ybarra and Mitchell (2007),
33% of a national cross-sectional online survey of 1,588
youth reported an online harassment in the last year; 9%
reported an incident on a SNS specifically. Among tar-
geted youth, harassment was more commonly reported in
instant messaging (55%) than through SNSs (28%; Ybarra
& Mitchell, 2007).
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In the first large-scale study to examine cyberbullying
among 3,767 middle school children in the United
States, several important gender differences were noted
­(Kowalski & Limber, 2007). In all, 15% of females (n =
282) and 7% of males (n = 125) were victims only, 10%
of females (n = 177) and 4% of males (n = 71) were bully/
victims, and 4% of females (n = 68) and 5% of males
(n = 83) reported electronically bullying others (bullies
only). Both victims and bullies reported being electroni-
cally bullied most frequently through instant messaging,
followed by chat rooms and e-mail messages (Kowalski
& Limber, 2007).
The data from Kowalski and Limber (2007) highlight
gender differences in the frequency of electronic bully-
ing, with females outnumbering males. This is consistent
with females tending to rely on more indirect forms of
aggression relative to males (Bjorkqvist, Lagerspetz, &
Kaukianin, 1992; Owens, Shute, & Slee, 2000).
Online Risk-Taking Behavior
Adolescents may be more prone to risk-taking behavior
that places their health at risk (Irwin, 1993). Many
causes of morbidity and mortality in adolescence are
associated with health-risk behaviors, such as violence,
sexual behavior, and substance use. The Internet has
the potential to provide adolescents with a new venue
for risk-taking behavior. A review of MySpace profiles
revealed that many users aged 14 to 17 seek to dem-
onstrate familiarity with what is considered to be
adult-oriented behavior: 20% of adolescents’ profiles
included swear words, 18% referenced alcohol use, 2%
claimed marijuana use, 8% mentioned tobacco use, and
5% included revealing photographs in underwear or
swimsuits (Hinduja & Patchin, 2008). Another study of
500 publicly viewable MySpace profiles of self-reported
18 year olds reported that 54% contained risk behavior
information: 24% referenced sexual behaviors, 41% ref-
erenced substance use, and 14% referenced violence.
Male adolescents were more likely than female adoles-
cents to display references to violence and less likely
than females to display references to sexual behavior
(Moreno et al., 2009).
Social networking sites are a venue in which teenagers
publicly display references to behaviors that are both per-
sonal and associated with health risks, such as sexual
behaviors (Moreno, Parks, & Richardson, 2007). Display-
ing risk behavior information online has been associated
with increased likelihood of unwanted online attention
from individuals such as cyberbullies or sexual predators
(Lenhart, 2007; Malesky, 2007; Mitchell, Finkelhor, et al.,
2007; Mitchell, Wolak, & Finkelhor, 2007; Ybarra et al.,
2007). Displaying risky behavior may negatively affect
82 American Journal of Men’s Health 4(1)
future opportunities for employment and college admis-
sion. Social learning theory suggests that these displays
may also promote modeling of risk behaviors among
other adolescents (Bandura, 1977).
Sexual Predators
According to the Center for Crimes Against Children
Research Center in 2006, law enforcement at all levels
nationwide made an estimated 615 arrests for crimes in
which youth victims were solicited for sex by someone
they met online (Wolak, Finkelhor, & Mitchell, 2006).
This constituted an increase in arrests of 21% over 2000,
when there were an estimated 508 such arrests (95% con-
fidence interval [CI] = 405-611). In 2006, law enforcement
made an estimated 3,100 arrests (95% CI = 2,277-3,923)
for solicitations to UC investigators posing online as
minors, compared with an estimated 644 such arrests in
2000, constituting a 381% increase. These estimates of
arrests are not full measures of the number of crimes
committed by online predators or even the number of
such crimes known to law enforcement (Wolak, Finkelhor,
et al., 2006). Many sex crimes against minors never
come to the attention of law enforcement (Finkelhor &
Ormrod, 2000).
Compared with arrests for sexual solicitations, data
show that youth are reporting fewer online sexual solicita-
tions. The First and Second Youth Internet Safety Surveys
(YISS-1 and YISS-2) examined the prevalence of
unwanted sexual solicitations, harassment, and unwanted
exposure to pornography in two independent samples of
1,500 randomly selected Internet users (ages 10-17 years),
conducted in year 2000 and year 2005, respectively
(Finkelhor, Mitchell, & Wolak, 2000; Wolak, Mitchell,
et al., 2006). YISS-2 findings revealed the percentage of
Internet-using youth reporting sexual solicitations signifi-
cantly decreased, from 19% to 13% (Mitchell & Finkelhor,
2006).
Broad claims of victimization risk, at least defined
as unwanted sexual solicitation or harassment associ-
ated with SNSs, do not seem justified (Ybarra &
Mitchell, 2007). The publicity about online “predators”
who prey on naive children using trickery and violence
is largely inaccurate; (they are more often) fitting a
model of statutory rape, where adult offenders meet,
develop relationships with, and openly seduce under-
age teenagers (Wolak, Finkelhor, Mitchell, & Ybarra,
2008). In the great majority of cases, victims are aware
they are conversing online with adults (Wolak et al.,
2008). In the National Juvenile Online Victimization
Study (N-JOV), only 5% of offenders pretended to be
teens when they met potential victims online; further-
more, 73% of the victims who had face-to-face sexual
encounters with offenders did so more than once (Wolak,
Finkelhor, & Mitchell, 2004). Among youths 12 to 17 years
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old, it was those 15 to 17 years of age who were most
prone to take risks involving privacy and contact with
unknown people (Livingstone, Bober, & Helsper, 2005).
Visiting chat rooms is an interactive behavior related
to receiving aggressive sexual solicitations (Mitchell,
Finkelhor, et al., 2007). Chat rooms allow for immediate,
direct communications between participants, and many
of those geared to adolescents are known for explicit
sexual talk, sexual innuendo, and obscene language
(Subrahmanyam et al., 2006). There is some evidence that
adolescents who visit chat rooms may be more likely to
suffer from depression, have histories of sexual abuse, and
to engage in risky behavior than those who do not go to chat
rooms (Beebe, Asche, Harrison, & Quinlan, 2004). Most
of the online child molesters described in the N-JOV study
met their victims in chat rooms (Wolak et al., 2008).
Females, as well as males who are gay or questioning,
are most at risk for online victimization (Wolak et al., 2008).
Males constitute 25% of victims in Internet-initiated sex
crimes, and virtually all of their offenders were male
(Wolak et al., 2004). Although being sexually victimized
by male offenders does not confirm that male victims are
gay, in the N-JOV study most of the Internet-initiated
cases involving males had elements that made it clear
victims were gay or questioning their sexual orientations
(e.g., meeting offenders in gay-oriented chat rooms;
Wolak et al., 2008).
Child pornography production is another negative
aspect of Internet-initiated sex crimes. One in five online
child molesters in the N-JOV study took sexually sug-
gestive or explicit photographs of victims or convinced
victims to take such photos of themselves or friends
(Wolak, Finkelhor, & Mitchell, 2005). Additionally, under-
age victims are often the recipients of pornographic
material from the adult perpetrator. In the N-JOV study,
18% of online child molesters sent photos of themselves
in sexual poses to their victims (Wolak et al., 2004).
In a 2007 study by Ybarra and Mitchell, 15% of 1,588
youth reported an unwanted sexual solicitation online in
the past year; 4% reported an incident on a SNS specifi-
cally. Among targeted youth, solicitations were more
commonly reported via instant messaging (43%) and in
chat rooms (32%) than through SNSs (27%; Ybarra &
Mitchell, 2007). Prevention efforts may have a greater
impact if they focus on the psychosocial problems of
youth instead of a specific Internet application, including
funding for online youth outreach programs, school anti-
bullying programs, and online mental health services.
Parental Monitoring
Parental monitoring of adolescents’ whereabouts and
activities may represent the most direct influence on
adolescent behavior and may serve to minimize risks
associated with adolescent risk-taking behavior (Gillmore,
Pujazon-Zazik and Park 83
Butler, Lohr, & Gilchrist, 1993; Li, Feigelman, & Stanton,
2007; Steinburg, Fletcher, & Darling, 1994). The literature
on parent monitoring is well established regarding adoles-
cents’ risk behaviors (such as substance use and sexual
risk-taking); however, it is quite limited regarding adoles-
cents’ Internet activities. One study reported that 36% of
high school students reported their parents set limits on
use of the Internet whereas only 19% reported that their
parents wanted to know “precisely what they were doing
on the Internet” (Aslanidou & Menexes, 2008). A survey
of families with home Internet access indicated that 7 out
of 10 (70%) families locate the computer in an open space
such as a family room, den, study, or living room, whereas
3 in 10 families (27%) place the computer in a private
area such as a bedroom (Lenhart, Rainie, & Lewis, 2001).
Given that parental supervision is a key protective factor
against adolescent risk-taking behavior, it is reasonable
to hypothesize that unmonitored Internet use may place
adolescents’ at significant risk, such as cyberbullying,
unwanted exposure to pornography, and potentially reveal-
ing personal information to sexual predators. Moreover,
publicly accessible information online about an individ-
ual’s risk-taking behavior, such as involvement in illicit
drug use, could have potentially long-term consequences,
such as rejection from future employment or denial of col-
lege admission.
Conclusion
Online social media, such as SNSs and chat rooms, have
become integral parts of adolescents’ and young adults’
lives. Both parents and health care providers should strive
to better understand these sites and the potential benefits
and hazards of adolescent online activities. For the adoles-
cent health care provider, screening not only for Internet
use but also specific online activities should be a part of
the social history during every adolescent’s annual well
exam. SNSs may also provide a new venue for health
care providers to identify adolescents that are considering
or engaging in health risk behaviors. Because current
methods fail to identify many adolescents who may be
strongly considering or are actually engaging in health
risk behaviors, innovative approaches are clearly needed
(Halpern-Felsher et al., 2000). Given the popularity of SNSs
among teens and the high prevalence of risk behaviors
displayed there, SNSs can be explored as an innovative
venue to identify, screen, and ultimately intervene with
adolescents who display risk behavior information
(Moreno et al., 2009). Clinicians should strive to better
understand adolescent online activities, as adolescents
may need guidance on safe Internet use. Given the dan-
gers associated with displaying personal risk behavior
information online, health care professionals should be
able to discuss SNS disclosures with their adolescent
patients and their parents.
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Research has demonstrated that parental supervision
is a key protective factor in adolescent risk-taking behav-
ior. Home computers should be kept in a common area,
such as the living room, where activities may be moni-
tored. Parents should also discuss the dangers of online
chatting with strangers and how the teen can report
abuse or inappropriate behavior. For example, on Face-
book, the webmasters may be notified of inappropriate
online behavior by email at abuse@Facebook.com. Paren-
tal monitoring can also serve to facilitate the positive
aspects of Internet socializing.
Although adolescent males and females use the
Internet in nearly equal amounts, current data support
gender differences in adolescent online activities. For
example, adolescent females are more likely than males
to use instant messaging, blog, visit and/or have a profile
on an SNS, and post photographs on an SNS. Adolescent
males, although less likely to post photographs, are twice
as likely to post videos on an SNS. The data from
Kowalski and Limber (2007) highlight gender differ-
ences in the frequency of cyberbullying, with females
outnumbering males in involvement in cyberbullying.
On SNSs, male adolescents were more likely than female
adolescents to display references to violence and less
likely than females to display references to sexual behav-
ior (Moreno et al., 2009). In chatroom conversations,
males tend to be more sexually explicit than females.
Females, as well as males who are gay or questioning,
are most at risk for online victimization (Wolak et al.,
2008). Males constitute 25% of victims in Internet-
initiated sex crimes, and virtually all of their offenders
were male (Wolak et al., 2004).
There exists scant peer-reviewed literature on ado-
lescent gender differences in social Internet activities.
As current research has identified gender differences in
online risk-taking behavior—and given the potentially
hazardous social and health consequences of online
behavior—this is an area that warrants further research.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the
authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author disclosed receipt of the following financial support
for the research and/or authorship of this article:
The development of this article was supported in part by
grants from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health
Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (U45MC 00002 and T71MC00003).
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