Teenager\'s Awareness and Their Lack

¶ … Teenager's Awareness and Their Lack of Implementing Information Security and Online Privacy Concepts

This work contains a research proposal for a behavioral medication intervention for teens ages 12 to 17, as well as for their parents and peer-groups in an initiative to facilitate a change in behavior relating to the way they perceive information technology security and privacy identification issues and threats while interacting with media via the Internet.

Scope and Delimitation

Theoretical Conceptual Support for the Study

Social Change

Acronyms

AN ANALYTICAL ASSESSMENT of TEENAGER'S AWARENESS and THEIR LACK of IMPLEMENTING INFORMATION SECURITY and ONLINE PRIVACY CONCEPTS

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION to the STUDY

The work of Justine Cassell and Meg Cramer entitled: 'High Tech or High Risk: Moral Panics about Girls Online" published online Northwestern's School of Communication Website relates the all-too-often occurrence of the dangerous online predator and contact that is made with minors through the Internet. In fact, Cassell and Cramer relate that the Youth Internet Survey (2001) polled 1,500 teenagers and stated findings that "approximately one in five American Teenagers have been sexually solicited online." (Cassell and Cramer, 2004) Statistics stated by Dateline NBC's 'To Catch a Predator' reveals that police estimates state that "50,000 predators are online at any given moment." (Hansen, 2003) the work of Chung and Grimes (2003) entitled: "DataMining the Kids: Surveillance and Market Research Strategies in Children's Online Games" published in the Canadian Journal of Communication relates that over the past ten years "the widespread adoption of online tools and technologies by children has become the topic of much discussion within both the academic and public spheres. As children and youth have expanded their presence on the Internet, they have been depicted by some as adopting increasing participatory roles in the creation of online content through their contribution to online environments, games, and communities. What this literature overlooks however, is that the many popular children's sites are often commercially owned and operated, responding primarily to advertiser demands and other corporate interests." (Chung and Grimes, 2003) Chung and Grimes go on to relate that the barriers that traditionally exist between 'content and commerce' are disappearing resulting in "the emergence of what Montgomery (2000) terms a 'children's digital medial culture' where in new levels of intimacy are built between markets and children." (2003) it is related that these websites and gaming communities are a method of gathering information and that "this phenomenon, and the corporate mechanism that drive it, is reflective of a larger trend in online-gaming conventions - one that increasingly incorporates marketing-research strategies into the design and operation of online entertainment sites and virtual communities." (Chung and Grimes, 2003) the technologies used in data mining form detailed profiles both demographically and behaviorally of children and young people online. The information gained from data mining is then used in research identifying trends in youth markets "a research practice that is referred to by marketers as 'cool marketing'. (Chung and Grimes, 2003) the Kaiser Family Foundation states in a report that children in America are spending, on the average, 5 hours and 29 minutes a day, seven days a week, using media for recreation. (Edwards, 1999) Furthermore, this media usage was in the children's bedrooms. (Edwards, 1999) in Neilsen/Netrating in 2003 states that children and teens account for 21% or one of every five Internet users in the United States which totals over 27 million and that 14.9 million of these are between the ages of 12 and 17 years of age. Chung and Grimes report that recent studies conducted in relation to the economic socialization of children show that "although today's children and adolescents have the spending power to utilize their consumer skills they still often lack the maturity to think carefully about buying decisions. Furthermore, little distinction is currently made between media- or peer-informed consumer decisions and more informed choices or "thoughtful consumer decisions" within either consumer-socialization research or marketing rhetoric." (2005) Additionally, in spite of the fact that today's children are held to be 'cyber-kids' the reality is stated in emergent studies suggest that children's knowledge of the processes and issues associated with ICT usage might actually be quite superficial and limited."(Chung and Grimes, 2005) Sandvig (2002) as related by Chung and Crimes (2005) conducted a sixteen week study of the use of the Internet by children with a public library setting and states findings that: "...only nine requests for privacy policies of any kind among the 203,647-page requests submitted by children during that time period."

In a more recent study, findings are stated that young children do not understand questions when asked about privacy and know even less about Internet practices such as sending cookies to track users and do not understand why personal information should not be related online. Children are more likely to relate information of a sensitive nature online than are adults and especially when doing so in order to receive a gift of rewards. Studies have shown that the private industry standards that are used in gaining informed consent from children use terms, concepts and process that are inadequate. Livingstone writes that the concept of media literacy "has long proved contentious." (Chung and Grimes, 2005) While the media installed on the computer at the time of purchase does not determine the use once the computer is installed within the home there is a link between the two. Livingstone states for example: "...observations of children's domestic internet use suggest that given an anxious parental context fearful of online dangers, children may engage cautiously with online contents, missing out on potential benefits and inhibiting the free exploration which encourages learning and literacy. A more laissez-faire attitude on the part of parents may support a more confident, even creative, use of the internet, although perhaps lacking in the guidance, which ensure effective learning. There is much to be learned here form television literacy, where it is clear that the social context in front of the screen (parental involvement, concurrent conversation, critical observation, etc.) frames and direct the nature of the engagement with, and the potential learning from, what is shown on the screen." (Livingstone, 2003) in order to understand media literacy more must be given consideration than knowledge, culture and participation but as well the nature and quality of media use is important because "users must be literate in the sense of being competent in and motivated towards certain cultural traditions and values." (Livingstone, 2003) Livingstone relates that the Internet may "facilitate new forms of representation and hence a new literacy, but this in turn might be opening up new ways of learning and so a new model of education. While it may be that the learning process is changing, it is much less clear that the content is also changing." (2003) Livingstone points out that it is rare the websites offer children the chance to decide themselves whether the information holds any value or truth and even more rarely do websites provide children with any criteria for the purpose of evaluating information offered online. Livingstone states that for this reasons it could be posited that "many of the literacy requirements now associated with the Internet, might, instead be continuous with the literacies of the past decades, even centuries." (2003) Livingstone points out the work of Harley, who states the argument that: "...literacy is not and never has been a personal attribute or ideologically inert 'skill' simply to be 'acquired' by individual persons...It is ideologically and politically charged - it can be used as a means of social control or regulation, but also is a progressive weapon in the struggle for emancipation."(2002: 136; as cited in Livingstone, 2003) Livingstone explores the social and institutional uses of literacy, since it is "not an end in itself..." (2003)

Livingstone states that there are 'three broad active categories of usage' including those as follows:

1) a general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development;

2) Particular way of life, whether or people, a period, a group or humanity in general..." And 3) the works and practices of intellectual and especially artistic activity." (2003)

Livingstone further points out that it would be easy to believe that the four components of media literacy:

1) the individual;

2) the medium;

3) the educational context; and 4) the cultural setting..." (Livingstone, 2003) could be regarded as occurring in a developmental sequence, ordered in terms of acquisition and complexity: access precedes and is simple than analysis; analysis precedes evaluation; evaluation much surely precede and guide the creation of new content." (2003)

This is however, known by those who design curriculum to be too simplistic because "each component process supports advances in others; learning to create content helps one to analyze that produced professionally others; skills in analysis and evaluation open the doors to new uses of the internet, expanding access, and so forth. We must anticipate a non-linear, dynamic learning process across these components of media literacy." (Livingstone, 2003) the work of Kathryn C. Montgomery entitled: "Children's Media Culture in the New Millennium: Mapping the Digital Culture" published online at the Future of Children Organization website states that a new:

children's digital media culture" is swiftly moving into place on the Internet. In this article, the author describes the technological, demographic, and market forces shaping this new digital media culture and the rich array of Web sites being created for children and teens. Many nonprofit organizations, museums, educational institutions, and government agencies are playing a significant role in developing online content for children, offering them opportunities to explore the world, form communities with other children, and create their own works of art and literature. For the most part, however, the heavily promoted commercial sites, sponsored mainly by media conglomerates and toy companies, are overshadowing the educational sites. Because of the unique interactive features of the Internet, companies are able to integrate advertising and Web site content to promote "brand awareness" and "brand loyalty" among children, encouraging them to become consumers beginning at a very early age. The possibility that a child's exploration on the Internet might lead to inappropriate content, aggressive advertising, or even dangerous contact with strangers has given rise to a number of efforts to create "safe zones" for children -- that is, places in cyberspace where children can be protected from both marketers and predators. Federal legislation now requires parental permission before commercial Web sites can collect personal information from children under age 13. Several companies offer filtering, blocking, and monitoring software to safeguard children from harmful content or predators. Generally lacking in debates concerning children's use of the Internet, however, is a more proactive definition of quality -- one that would help ensure the creation and maintenance of Web sites that enhance children's learning and development and not merely keep them from harm. In the concluding section of this article, the author recommends actions to promote development of a quality media culture that would help children become good citizens as well as responsible consumers." (2000)

Montgomery (2000) additionally notes: "At the eye of this cultural, technological and economic hurricane is the Internet, itself the site of tremendous change. In its short history, the Internet has undergone several critical transitions, evolving from a non-commercial, publicly funded, closed network that connected government agencies and research institutions into a privatized and increasingly commercialized global 'network of networks'." (Montgomery, 2005) the generation born after 1979 represents the "largest generation of young people in the nation's history." They are the first to grow up in a world saturated with networks of information, digital devices, and the promise of perpetual connectivity." (Montgomery, 2005) and simultaneously, adults are experiencing a struggle to "understand the new media." (Montgomery, 2000) Children are described as "marching into the digital age with great alacrity." (Montgomery, 2000) the time that children spend watching television is declining while time spent in front of the computer is on the rise. Average television hours per week is stated by Montgomery (2000) to be 17.2 hours as compared to the 15 hours spent in front of the television by teens in 2001 and reported by Kline (2001). Children's games and toys are "gaining new power and sophistication through the new digital circuitry" that parents are using in which "household appliances and home entertainment centers are being give onboard intelligence and networked connections to more powerful systems..." (Montgomery, 2000) Montgomery (2000) additionally relates that new media is being used by children in a manner "far different from the ways they interacted with television, radio and the print media, and they have a different relationship with the media than their parents had." (2000)

The Internet is described by Montgomery (2000) as: "a vast collection of interconnected computer networks that allows the intermingled transmission of text, graphics and sound files. The low barriers to entry to this new medium allow any individual or institution to create a site on the World Wide Web, which has grown at a staggering rate over the past several years, from about 26,000 sites in 1993 to more than 5 million today." (Montgomery, 2000) Added to this, the enormous number of Web sites has resulted in the creation, by necessity of search engines that are specialized and Web portals that allow for easier organization and navigations of what is a greatly expanded body of content. In 2000 Montgomery reported that the media companies by the dozens were "already involved in the children's media business...staking their claims in the rich fertile landscape of the Internet. Many commercial television channels, as well as individualized programs now have corresponding Web sites - and increasing the two are being developed in tandem." (2000)

The work entitled: "The Legal Web of Wireless Transactions" published by Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal. And written by Brantley, et al. (2003) which states:

The wireless web creates an exciting new marketplace for consumers and businesses alike. For consumers, the flexibility and freedom afforded by wireless handheld devices such as Palm[TM] and BlackBerry[TM], mobile phones, and even watches with wireless capabilities, provide an "untethered," "ubiquitous," and "unbounded" lifestyle. (1) for businesses, the wireless medium creates a new venue for their services and products, one in which businesses can furnish information to and collect valuable information from and about consumers conducting wireless transactions. Although the recently slowing economy has caused some companies to scale back their mobile commerce initiatives, (2) most experts see wireless transactions, also known as "mobile commerce" or "m-commerce," as the future of technologically advanced business transactions. Given the growth projected for this market, businesses will inevitably make large investments in order to secure a niche in the wireless world." (Brantley, et al., 2003)

According to Brantley et al. (2003), in the area of 'Privacy and Security': "businesses that hope to win wireless consumer confidence and increase participation in the new wireless marketplace must minimize consumer privacy and security concerns." Ensuring privacy on the wireless Web means complying with laws regarding the collection and use of "personally identifiable information" about wireless customers and dealing with the legal consequences of "location technology," a unique feature of wireless devices. Ensuring the security of m-commerce means protecting customers from unauthorized "eavesdroppers" and those who might use information transmitted wirelessly for unauthorized or fraudulent purposes. However, in light of the September 11, 2001, terrorist acts, Americans may be more tolerant of, and the U.S. Government may be more insistent upon, incursions into areas that were typically perceived as private." (Brantley, et al., 2003)

The work entitled: "Task Force Report: Media Psychology and New Technologies" written by the Division of Media Psychology of the American Psychological Association Task Force Co-Chairs "Bernard J. Luskin and Ph.D. Lilli Friedland, PhD. relates the following facts in the executive summary of the study:

1) Over the past half century, the computer market has matured, television and other devices have dramatically evolved, and the telecommunications industry has globalized. The digital world is emerging. During this 50-year period, telecommunications and media programs, services and devices have morphed and fused with each other, evolving into a new breed of multimedia. With these advances, new careers, new occupational specialties and new fields of knowledge are developing. Knowledge technologies affect knowledge industries.;

2) No matter which future formats and distribution systems prevail, the new progeny is hungry for access, choice, content and experience, and its appetite is ravenous. Behavior is the compliment to distribution. The message and the massage are separate and each is important;

3) Telecommunications, the Web, the merger of the TVPC and new knowledge of how to use them is now empowering publishers to raise content to the next generation;

4) the future for all of us will be dramatically affected by the many new markets and technologies that will result from the wired and wireless networks. The expedient functioning of education, medicine, government, business, entertainment and mass consumer consumption is being bound continuously more tightly to the Internet, the PC, the TV and whatever each will become.;

5) Regardless of the power of the technology itself, people will only embrace something they want or need. Content, programs, and services must become "design rich" if people are to respond to them favorably;

6) New options for new times are about design, interface, graphs, publishing, and personalized and interactively transactional programs which are easy to use, accessible and in demand. Ease of use, creative range, merging of electronic communications and new media require understanding, skills, and vision that must be supplied with emerging new fields. It is the knowledge technologies of publishing that will carry the day, not the hardware. Audience is becoming community. Interaction is becoming transaction. and, transactions are manifestations of behavior;

7) Media Psychology as a field of knowledge for users, practitioners, and professionals is now important. Understanding human behavior, including the "you attitude," accurate empathy and experiential response, is the key ingredient to success in the emerging new fields;

8) the new media is supporting corporations in developing, marketing, positioning and branding new products and services. Professions in medicine, health and psychology are using new media to make their work more efficient and cost effective. Political participation, learning, data assimilation, personal development methods and deficiency correction now involve all aspects of media. Crime, including terrorism, hostage management, forensic medicine, and media-assisted therapy are but some of the emerging fields involving media and psychology. This study of media psychology employed Delphi methodology to study panels including more than two hundred experts. The results include an identification, validation and description of eleven emerging fields where a greater understanding of psychology is important for success." (Luskin and Friedland, APA, nd)

Other fields to be studied exist but eleven fields have been consolidated and selected in the work of Luskin and Friedland "from approximately fifty specialties that were identified. The occupational analysis combinations help define the nature of media psychology." (nd) Those eleven fields are stated to be as follows:

1) Writing or being expert guests in various media;

2) Consulting with media personnel;

3) Researching ways to improve the media;

4) Making new technologies more effective and user friendly;

5) Using new technology to enhance clinical psychology;

6) Working in education or training;

7) Developing media standards;

8)Working in commercial fields;

9) Studying sociological and psychological media effects;

10) Developing material for challenged populations; and 11) Working with deviant or criminal populations. (Luskin and Friedland, APA, nd)

Also noted in this work were the following findings:

Money, technology, creativity and psychology are the legs carrying media and psychology into the future. Socio-psychomedia effects are both global and individual. The future is about a constant stream of content and communication, behavior, and change. Much of what the public sees, is process. It is difficult to see the forest while standing amidst the trees.

Professional psychologists, teachers, developers, artists and practitioners in many fields are only now becoming aware of the importance of media psychology in the context of the future. It is in this context and as input for the Media Psychology Division (46) of the American Psychological Association that the task force on new technologies urged the conduct of this study. This is a seminal study and establishes a baseline for new tasks, career directions, programs, and opportunities for our growing telecommunications world.. (Luskin and Friedland, APA, nd)

STATEMENT of the PROBLEM

Modern society is not so modern nor so savvy when it comes to matching their moral, cultural and spiritual lifestyle with that of the technological world because the two languages are so very different. Furthermore, advertisers know this and they know it well as they target adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 with advertising online the World Wide Web in order to make profits in the business world. It is not yet understood what comprises literacy for Internet media, as many adults do not understand the risks associated with information security and privacy issues on the Internet. Therefore a need exists for a behavioral intervention with adolescents ages 12 to 17 that has or will prove based on past studies to be effective with this age individual in creating a sense of change in the awareness and capacity in this area of self-protection and their way of viewing the danger online the Internet.

BACKGROUND of the PROBLEM

It is stated in the Nielsen/Netratings (2003) that the global standard for Internet audience measurement and analysis states: "... more than 27 million Internet users between the ages of 2 and 17 logged online from home in September 2003. The following facts were included in this report:

1) Twelve million children aged 2-11 in the U.S. accessed the Internet from home while 14.9 million teens aged 12-17 connected online;

2) in September, kids between the ages of 2-17 represented 21% of active at home Internet users or one out of five Web surfers;

3) Mirroring the offline world, the 2-17 and 12-17 age demographics have markedly different online tastes;

4) Most popular with the 2-11 age group was Diva Starz, a Mattel company Web site for the Diva Starz line of dolls.

5) Fifty-four percent of the site's audience consisted of kids aged 2-11;

6) Second was ToonTown Online, a Disney company site, garnering 47% of the site's at-home audience;

7) Polly Pocket, also a Mattel company site, picked up 46% of its audience, the third highest percentage, from this age group.

8) Among teens, Originalicons.com had the highest concentration of those aged 12-17, making up 78% of its audience;

9) Originalicons.com is a popular destination for downloading instant messaging icons. Blunt Truth, an online game site, had 76% of its audience from the 12-17 age Group; and 10) Holding the third spot was Teen People, with 74% of its audience coming from the 12-17 age demographic.

It should be noted that the audiences were composed of a unique composition in excess of 50% for ages 2-11 however by ages 12 to 17 these percentages represented by unique composition of the group is at a rate of up to 78% in some groups. This represents a wide span of composition or a wide range of representation in this group. Therefore, the need for media literacy is great for those in the age ranges of 12 to 17 years of age in terms of their interaction online the Internet. Please refer to the following figure, which lists these groups and the composition of those who visit the group online the Internet.

Five Online Destinations Most Visited by the 2-11 Demographic Groups

Ages 2-11

Site Unique Audience Composition

Unique Audience

Diva Starz 54

ToonTown Online 47

Polly Pocket 46

Barbie 41

DisneyChannel 39 1,061

Source: Neilsen Rating

Five Online Destinations Most Visited by the 12-17 Demographic Groups,

Age 12-17

Site Unique Audience Composition Unique Audience

Originalcons.com 78

Blunt Truth 76

Teen People

FireHotQuotes.com 73

DisneyChannel.com 39

Neilsen Ratings (2003)

According to Livingstone (2003) there is a present need to "map what it is people are becoming literature in - the characteristics of the new media environment in terms of text, technology and cultural form for the representation of knowledge, the framing of entertainment and the conduct of communication." Livingstone conducts a study for the purpose of attempting to understand what comprises literacy in relation to an individual becoming literate in media interaction online via the Internet. Livingston states the fact that:

this must include a normative dimension - in relation to which aspects of the internet does one wish to promote media literacy and use, which are of lower priority, and for which should literacy help users avoid? In tandem with the mapping is needed investigations of the skills and practices of new media users. What literacies are being developed by individuals both formally and informally and "who should these best be promoted, taught, and evaluated? " (2003) Livingston notes the fact that the arguments surrounding access and analysis are not near as to contentious though "no easier to implement' that those which surround evaluation and content creation. Therefore the debate of the role of critical literacy and critical evaluation of literacy is necessary regarding the present status quo in terms of authority, quality and standards. This must include specifying and legitimating appropriate bases of criticism - aesthetic, political, ideological and/or economic - and their relation to the values of those providing ICT resources and teaching literacy. Secondly, the importance of content creation to media literacy requires a stronger defense, for it is too easily dropped from less ambitions of media literacy." (2003)

The U.K. is currently debating a communications bill which illustrates the question posed in Livingstone (2003) which is "what does promoting media literacy mean." (Kline, 2001) This problem was previously examined in the work of Dr. Stephen Kline (2001) in the work entitled: "Media Use Audit for BC Teens" which states the fact that the world in which human beings reside is one that is "saturated" in media including communications technologies such as "telephone, radio, television, the internet..." And that all of these have become so "seamlessly embedded in our everyday life that we rarely reflect on how many hours we spend with media, what our media preferences are, how they differ from others, and our concerns towards the media. But the corporations that advertise to us monitor teenage media culture closely and regularly, yet it costs thousands of dollars to find out what teen's favorite TV programmes are or what web sites they surf." (Kline, 2001)

For this purpose 728 teenagers in British Columbia were surveyed in a study that explored several "key issues and concerns relating to media consumption." (2001) Kline additionally relates that: "The Audit was designed to survey not just one medium, but the total context of media use. We asked about older media such as phone, radio and television and radio, as well as new media-videogames, personal computers and the Internet. We also sought to be sensitive to the social context that shapes media use (family, friends and schoolwork). In this report, we present what BC teens told us about their media use." (2001) the following facts arose within the stated findings of this survey:

Teen's lives are saturated with media;

Teens report spending more than 1/3 of their time using media of some kind;

There is a thriving bedroom culture in the British Columbia as 85% of teens have more than one kind of media in their bedroom;

Most addictive media is videogames, television, and chat lines;

Music at home remains central to teen culture; and has been since Elvis' debut;

Over 15 hours per week are reported to be spent listening to the radio;

40% of teens in the British Columbia claimed to be subject to no media restrictions at all;

Teens in the British Columbia report that Internet media is more heavily regulated than are other medias;

Girls are 10% more likely to be restricted from chat lines;

Rules concerning Internet activities are more often applied than are rules concerning video games;

Teens continue to value social contact ranking hanging with their friends their most prized leisure activity and they would happily lose sleep, homework or chores to be with their media, they were less likely to trade off social opportunity to spend time with friends or family. This is found to be especially true for girls who used media in extend social connections and who were found to like to email and chat lines more than boys. (Kline, 2001; paraphrased)

PURPOSE of THIS STUDY

The purpose of this study is to define the meaning of media literacy in terms of what components of literacy should exist in teens age 12 to 17 years of age in terms of knowledge or literacy necessary to guide this age individual throughout the realm of information available via the Internet so that the individual may proceed and remain unharmed and then to further take this knowledge and apply it toward behavioral modification among teens ages 12 to 17 relating to their efficacy in information technology security and personal privacy issues while navigating the domain of the Internet.

RESEARCH DESIGN

The design of this research is of a qualitative nature in that understanding human phenomena such as behavioral issues must be reviewed in the light of interpretation. This research will involve survey/questionnaire participation among those ages 12 to 17 in a group setting that will be in the form of a focus group study in which these age individuals come together in collaboration and work out among themselves with the guidance of a counselor the necessary knowledge required to stay safe both in terms of Internet Information Technology Security but also privacy identification safety while online the Internet.

Behavioral modification programs have six basic steps which are those as follows:

Specifying observed behavior;

Measuring a behavior;

Setting the goals;

Arranging Cues;

Reinforcements; and Evaluating Success.

It is critical that a targeted behavior be defined so that all those involved understand and agree upon the behavior that needs to be changed. After having agreed upon the target behavior there must be a method of measuring the success of the intervention. There also must be a goal in terms of behavior in relation to what is acceptable and what is undesired. A cue is a signal used to guide individuals toward the desired behavior. These cues may be either: (1) physical; (2) social; or (3) educational. Reinforcement selection is of primary importance and in the case of this study will be the provision of support and interaction between and among the individual, their parents, and their peer-groups within the community. Finally, the evaluation of success should be able to demonstrate that the behavioral modification has produced a tangible increase in the awareness of information technology security and privacy identification issues when interacting with media via the Internet. Because of the crisis prevented by the gap between the level of interaction by individuals ages 12 to 17, and their parents knowledge concerning information technology security and privacy identification issues there is a need for schools to respond in the area of problem-solving skills, social skills and conflict resolution including cognition in making choices as a consumer, furthermore parents must have this skills and likely community services will be focusing towards this end as well in the rapidly transitioning and transforming world of today's highly mobile and highly interactive global social society. It is necessary that this be an activity that while being interactive and greatly contributive to learning that at the same time this is an area in which all individuals must be made cognitively aware of the information technology and privacy identifications issues. A community-wide reform would be possible if all parents, students, and peer-groups within the focus group study would introduce issues and barriers as well as challenges, fears, and areas lacking in knowledge existing in these groups in order to form a model of targeted behaviors in a behavioral modification study. From these behaviors this study will be informed of what areas individuals in these three focus group studies are most likely to need targeting for behavior change of a cognitive nature that changes because the person has been introduced to knowledge in the area of necessary behavioral changes in stay security and safe using information technology and interacting via the Internet including privacy identification cognitions

SCOPE and DELIMITATION

The scope of this study is the current knowledge held by those between 12 and 17 years of age relating to information, technology security and privacy identification security issues while online the Internet. This issue will include survey/questionnaires of a sampling of teens ages 12 to 17. The survey/questionnaires will serve to inform the focus group studies. Furthermore, this study will seek the interaction and support of parents and peer-groups with the individual in providing the necessary framework for supporting safety and security while interacting with media via the Internet.

LIMITATIONS

The limitation of this study is the small base of empirical studies on which to base the framework of the present study. Further this study is limited by the current debate and yet un-established definition of media literacy and the criteria for which to judge specific literature at the present.

THEORETICAL CONCEPTUAL SUPPORT for the STUDY

The theoretical conceptual support for the study is in part based upon the research of Justine Cassell who is the director of the new Center for Technology & Social Behavior and a full professor for the departments of Communication Studies and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science at Northwestern University. Cassell is as well is a graduate of the Technology and Social Behavior Joint PhD in Communication and Computer Science. Cassell previously held a tenured appointment at the MIT Media Lab and was director there of the 'Gestura and Narrative Language Research Group'. From Cassell's view it would be comprehended how the advent of communication by machine has been propelled by her creation the" 'Embodied Conversational Agent' (ECA) stated to be:

virtual human capable of interacting with humans using both language and nonverbal behavior. More recently Cassell has investigated the role that the ECA can play in children's lives, as a Story Listening System (SLS): peer support for learning language and literacy skills. And Cassell has also employed linguistic and psychological analyses to look at the effects of online conversation among a particularly diverse group of young people on their self-esteem, self-efficacy, and sense of community. Once machines have human-like capabilities, can they be used to evoke the best communicative skills that humans are capable of, the richest learning? This is the goal of Cassell's research: to develop technologies that evoke from humans the most human and humane of our capabilities, and to study their effects on our evolving world.

This focus is one that looks to use the Internet media in the effort toward invoking and facilitating communication quality such as described by Cassell's research based upon qualitative reviews of what may be amended through cognitive means of behavioral modification in assisting and enabling parents, students and peer-groups in understanding the criteria for these types of possibilities in communication and those that reflect an associated risk in terms of information technology security and privacy identity issues in media interactions via the Internet.

ASSUMPTIONS

This study makes the assumption that parents are interested in ensuring the safety and security of their children while interacting with media via the Internet. Further assumptions are that parents will cooperate with findings related to safe and secure interaction with media via the Internet and that acceptable behavior promoted through the medium of the peer group will be effective in assisting these individuals in gauging the safety and security of their media interactions via the Internet. This work does not assume that the behavior of individuals intent on breaking safety and security issue guidelines once they are known would be deterred by this type of behavioral modification. The type of behavioral modification in this study is of the type of instilling prevention and awareness with those who do intend and desire to comply and ensure their own safety and security while interacting with media via the Internet.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

What information and knowledge must the individual between the ages of 12 and 17 be armed with in order to safely and securely interact with the media via the Internet?

What components of behavioral modification are likely to be most effective in changing the behavior of individuals in the ages range of 12 to 17 years of age?

What issues do parents and media need to bridge in order to ensure safe and secure experiences for teens in their interaction via the Internet"

What components of behavioral modification are likely to be most effective in changing the behavior of individuals who are parents to those in the age range of 12 to 17 years of age?

What components of behavioral modification are likely to be most effective in changing the behaviors of groups of individuals in the age range of 12 to 17 years of age?

SIGNIFICANCE of the STUDY

The significance in this study is two-fold:

1) the significance that will be added to previous and sparsely contributed studies in this area; and 2) the significance in the diversion of future issues and problems related to information technology security private identification issues relating to gaps in knowledge existing by parents, students, and peer-groups within the community.

SOCIAL CHANGE

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services publication entitled: "A Sampling of Outcome Findings from Interventions Relevant to Addressing Barriers to Learning" states that social change has taken place in West Virginia, Maryland and California who have "developed projects to improve and increase violence prevention and mental health services through school-based health clinics." (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2007) Reported is that each site has developed its own package of mental health/violence prevention services to meet the need of its clients and communities and address local issues related to violence." (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2007) Implementation of a behavioral change targeting elimination of behavioral risk in online interaction with media via the Internet may be accomplished at this level as well and filter throughout the entire community resulting in cognitive behavioral change on every level within the community. This resulted in the case reported in the centers through West Virginia, Maryland and California is great improvements in the attitudes of students, their behavior and greater use of conflict resolution tools by students." (U.S. Department of Human Health, 2007) This study demonstrates the success of such a type of focus toward students, parents, and peer-groups.

The primary focuses of businesses that produce media in terms of the legal specifications to which they must adhere are:

The protection of personally identifiable customer information;

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act;

The Gramm-Leach-Billey Financial Modernization Act

The Federal Trade Commission's Five Fair Information Practice Core Principles;

Industry Efforts at Regulation (Brantley, et al., 2003)

Business protection of personally identifiable customer information is governed under various state and federal laws relating to the:"...;collection and use of personally identifiable information. Most of these laws apply only to government entities or particular industries. Two appear most relevant to wireless transactions: the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA") and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act ("GLBA").In addition, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") has promulgated five "Fair Information Practice Principles," which have a direct bearing on m-commerce privacy concerns. Wireless industry groups have also published advisory principles on privacy in an effort at self-regulation. The next four sub-sections examine, in turn, the two federal statutes, the FTC principles, and industry self-regulation in the form of advisory opinions, and a fifth sub-section then discusses the difficulties in applying these laws and principles to handheld wireless devices." (Brantley, et al., 2003)

The 'Children's Online Privacy Protection Act' focuses towards teenagers in the United States who are stated to: "...represent a significant untapped market for the wireless industry. Wireless businesses have responded by beginning to develop and market mobile devices to teenagers, and these efforts will probably cause the number of users under the age of thirteen to increase. Given the rise in use of wireless devices by youngsters, businesses participating in wireless transactions need to know and comply with the regulations of the COPPA. The COPPA, passed by Congress with the FTC's strong recommendation, regulates the collection, use, and disclosure by Internet website operators of personally identifiable information of children under the age of thirteen. Although the COPPA refers to conventional Internet transactions, the strong public policy underlying the law to protect and regulate information collected from children would likely apply to wireless Web functions as well as traditional online environments." (Brantley, et al., 2003)