Digital Smarts - Do Teens Need Some Online Risk?

After a recent study in which 68 teens spent two months keeping a diary about their online experiences, researchers have concluded that if adults want to help teens learn how to handle the risks of an online life, the best thing they can do is to let them get used to handling smaller issues themselves. Researchers recommend that the adults in teens’ lives should take on the important role of "trusted confidantes" and "educated advisors" when it comes to online issues, and not try to be the ultimate solution provider up front.

The study also noted that teens frequently dismiss the notion of asking adults how to deal with the problems they're having online because they often come across as clueless. "Often, as adults, we tend to overreact to some online situations since we didn't have the same experiences the current-day teens have online," Pamela Wisniewski, the author of the study has written. "By overreacting to less serious situations, this closes the door on us being considered trustworthy when teens face even more serious online threats.”