Chatting and Messaging: Overly Connected in a Digital World

1. Chatting and Messaging:Overly Connected in a Digital World • Dr. Charles D. Knutson • Brigham Young University • www.charlesknutson.net

2. Chatting and messaging • Any mechanism that allows individuals to communicate remotely in real-time • Cell phones, Internet, Web • Primarily textual • May include voice and video • May include attachments • Images, etc.

3. Chatting and messaging • Chat rooms • Website, hosted • Instant messaging • Internet, computer • Voice and video chat • Text messaging • Cell phone • Sexting • Driving safety

4. Learning the shorthand • 95 percent of parents and guardians did not understand much of the language that teens use in chat rooms • 28% of online teens say they use code words on a daily basis to hide online conversations from their parents

5. Learning the shorthand • 143 "I love you" • AATK "always at the keyboard" • A/S/L? "age, sex, location" • BRB "be right back" • EMA "what is your email address?" • FWIW "for what it's worth" • G2G "got to go" • IOW "in other words"

6. Learning the shorthand • JK "just kidding" • LOL "laughing out loud" • MSG "message" • NP "nosy parents," "no problem" • OMG "oh my gosh" • OTOH "on the other hand" • P911 "my parents are coming!" • PA "parent alert"

7. Learning the shorthand • PAL "parents are listening" • PANB "parents are nearby" • PAW "parents are watching" • PIR "parent in room" • POS "parent over shoulder" • ROTFL "rolling on the floor laughing" • SNERT "snot-nosed egotistical rude teenager"

8. Learning the shorthand • TAW "teachers are watching" • TTFN "ta ta for now" • WTF "what the [fetch]?" • WWJD "what would Jesus do?" • WWSD "what would Satan do?" http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.php

9. Emoticons • "Emotion Icons" • Used because text lacks emotion • Here comes your brief tutorial…

10. Emoticons • Smiley • Wink • Laughing • Skeptical • Surprised • Tongue sticking out

11. Chat rooms • Public chat rooms • Hosted on websites • Also in online role-playing games • Broad diversity of interests • Generally focused on some topic • Many with inappropriate focus! • Many people all typing messages at the same time • Can meet and then go to private chat room

12. Chat rooms - Example • Text chat • Everyone talking at the same time • Confusing to follow threads • Individuals can move to private chat rooms • Predators troll here

13. Chat rooms • You often don't really know who you're dealing with…

14. Chat rooms • Also voice and video chat rooms • Everyone on their own webcam • Visually see others in the chat room • Higher risks: • Predators trolling • Inappropriate content • Inappropriate behavior • Unhealthy or inappropriate relationships

15. Chat rooms - Example • Video chat

16. Parenting tips • Dr. K sez: Chat rooms are absolutely not recommended! • Haven't yet found any positive value • For teens or for adults • Major trolling place for predators • Significant risks for all ages • Studies estimate nearly 100% of all chat room regulars have been sexually solicited at least once

17. Parenting tips • Remember: • The most dangerous places on the Internet are where you make new "friends" that you don't already know in the real world • That is almost exclusively what chat rooms are about

18. Instant messaging • Direct chatting • Typically one-on-one • Can also conference multiple people • Typically typing messages • May include video or voice capability

19. Instant messaging • Often standalone program/protocol • Microsoft Messenger • AOL Instant Messenger • Yahoo! Messenger • May be part of some other service • Google Gtalk • May be part of a social network • Facebook • MySpace

20. Instant messaging • So how is this different from a web-hosted chat room? • Can only talk to friends in your contact list • Or friends on social network • Protection via pre-selection of friends • It's already a private chat room • But with actual friends • Not a place to meet people!

21. Parenting tips • Tremendously valuable for brief asynchronous communication • Friend sends a message • Spouse, kids, business associates • Respond when you have time • Time slice responses with other work on your computer • Less of a distraction from work flow • Multiple messaging interactions at the same time

22. Parenting concerns • 75% of teens use Instant Messaging compared to 42% of adults • 27% of teens report that they have talked online about sex with someone they have never met in person • 40% of online sexual solicitations of youth begin with an Instant Message

23. Voice and video chat • Most instant messaging services support voice and video chat • Tremendously valuable between people that you know • Long distance video chat with family • Show your grandparents in Europe the new baby • Share activities long distance

24. Video chat - Example

25. Parenting tips • Don't add strangers to your Instant Messaging contacts • Same with social networking! • Potentially huge time waster • Especially for teens • Check history on chat program if possible • More difficult if part of online service

26. Text messaging • Instant messaging via cell phone • Friends and contacts via phone numbers that you know • Very valuable for brief communication • Teens tend to obsess and text incessantly • Very unhealthy emotionally and spiritually • Don't have to access inappropriate material to lose the Spirit and distance from family

27. Text messaging • Usage has doubled in the last year • 2.5 billion text messages are sent each day in the United States • 138 million Americans have sent a text message in the past three months

28. Text messaging • 82% of adults 18-24 are avid text message users • 72% of the 25-49 age group use text messages • 42% of teenagers said they could text message blindfolded!

29. Text messaging

30. Sexting • Significant concern among the youth • Taking nude or semi-nude pictures via cell phone cameras and sending them to each other via text messaging • Current teen epidemic • Discussed in greater detail in "Cell Phone Safety" class…

31. Texting and driving • Huge danger from texting and driving at the same time

32. Texting and driving

33. Parenting tips • Text your teen... • Reach out to teens on their turf • Look for positive uses for texting • Shopping list at the store • Message in a meeting when you can't take a phone call • Quick news without the interruption of a phone call

34. Parenting tips • 68% of parents communicate with their kids by text message • 56% of teens, ages 13-19, say that they communicate more often with their parents since they began text messaging • 53% of teens that text think their relationship with their parents has improved because of text messaging • 51% of parents agree

35. Parenting tips • Recognize some significant value • News of Pres. Hinckley's death spread among the youth of the Church via text messaging • Literally within minutes of his passing • And the idea of wearing Sunday best to school the next day

36. Parenting tips • Children should not have unfettered access to cell phones! • Potentially unhealthy fixation with texting friends • May build emotional distance from family • Unhealthy attachment with friends • Unhealthy attachment to "friends" that they met via text messaging, email, or chat room

37. Parenting tips • Messaging your friends while talking to people in the same room as you is RUDE • Pick one conversation! • Risk of alienating teen, so deal with this tactfully and carefully • Like take out your phone and text him while physically in the same room Can we talk in person? :)

38. Questions? • Internet Safety Podcast • www.internetsafetypodcast.com • Internet Safety Wiki • wiki.internetsafetypodcast.com Dr. Charles Knutson knutson@cs.byu.edu