Children’s Information Disclosure Tendencies On Social Networks

Yıl 2017, Cilt: 25 Sayı: 2, 597 - 610, 15.03.2017

Kürşat Çağıltay , Ömer Faruk İslim Duygu Nazire Kaşıkçı , Engin Kurşun , Türkan Karakuş Yılmaz

Öz

This descriptive study aims to identify children’s information disclosure tendency in
social network environments, their social network use habits and potential risky behaviors.
The study was conducted in Turkey’s three largest cities (Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir), and
data were gathered with a survey through face-to-face meetings with randomly selected 524
children between 9 and 16 years old who used social networks, and their parents. The survey
consisted total of 38 Likert-type questions that 25 of them were asked to children in order to
learn about their social network memberships and habits, and 13 of them were asked to parents
in order to collect data about their demographics. Data were analyzed to make descriptive and
comparative analysis to see tendencies of children while using SNs and some factors influencing
information disclosure. Results show that as children’s age increases, the amount of Internet
usage also increases. The most frequently used social network site is Facebook. Although the
minimum age to create a profile on most social network sites is 13, results show that nearly
half of the children who reported having a profile were younger than that. Most of the children
share personal information such as mobile telephone numbers, home addresses and names of
family members with anyone who accessed the networking site. The researchers suggest that
parent’s and children’s awareness should be raised about the use of social networks to prevent
the potential negative consequences of sharing private information. Moreover, social network
developers must take necessary actions to protect children’s online privacy. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

Social Networks, Facebook, Internet Safety, Online Risks

Çocukların Sosyal Ağlarda Kişisel Bilgi Paylaşım Eğilimleri

Öz

Bu betimleyici çalışma, çocukların sosyal ağlarda kişisel bilgi paylaşım eğilimleri, sosyal
ağları kullanma alışkanlıkları ve potansiyel riskli davranışlarını belirlemeyi hedeflemektedir.
Bu çalışma Türkiye’nin en büyük üç şehrinde (İstanbul, Ankara ve İzmir) gerçekleştirilmiş
olup, veriler rastgele seçilen 9 ile 16 yaş aralığındaki sosyal ağ kullanıcısı 524 çocuk ve
velileri ile yüz yüze görüşmeler yapılarak toplanmıştır. Bu görüşmeler esnasında her çocuk
ve yanında bulunan velisine 25 sorusu çocukların sosyal ağ üyelikleri ve sosyal ağlardaki
davranışları ile ilgili, 13 sorusu da velilerinin demografik bilgileri ile ilgili, toplam 38 sorudan
oluşan 5’li Likert tipi soru sorulmuştur. Soruların oluşturulmasında EU Kids Online projesi
ve PEW çalışması kapsamında geliştirilmiş anketlerden yararlanılmıştır. Veriler, çocukların
sosyal ağ kullanımındaki eğilimleri ve kişisel bilgi paylaşım alışkanlıklarını etkileyen faktörleri
elde etmek için betimsel ve karşılaştırmalı olarak analiz edilmiştir. Sonuçlar göstermektedir
ki çocukların yaşları arttıkça sosyal ağ kullanımı artmaktadır. En çok kullanılan sosyal ağ
Facebook’tur. Pek çok sosyal ağ sitesi üzerinde hesap oluşturabilmek için en az 13 yaşında
olmayı gerektirirken, çalışmaya katılan çocukların neredeyse yarısı 13 yaşından küçük
olmalarına rağmen sosyal ağlarda hesapları bulunmaktadır. Çalışmaya katılan çocukların
çoğunluğu cep telefonu numaraları, ev adresleri ya da aile üyelerinin isimleri gibi kişisel
bilgilerini herhangi bir kısıtlama olmaksızın üyesi oldukları sosyal ağlardaki tüm kullanıcılar
ile paylaşmaktadırlar. Araştırmacılar yaşanabilecek herhangi bir olumsuz durumu önlemek adına hem ailelerin hem de çocukların sosyal ağ kullanımı konusunda bilinçlendirilmeleri ve
ayrıca sosyal ağ geliştiricilerinin de çocukların çevrimiçi güvenliğini sağlamak adına gerekli
çalışmaları yapmaları gerektiğini bildirmektedirler. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

Sosyal ağlar, Facebook, İnternet güvenliği, Çevrimiçi riskler

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