Are young people too willing to share personal information online? In an age of social media and mobile devices, every teenybopper with a smart phone could potentially be broadcasting to millions of people around the globe. But are they aware of the value of their personal data? Do they see that data as currency to be traded for online services?
As part of our Debating Europe Schools series, we’ve been taking questions from students from across Europe to policymakers and experts for them to answer. For today’s debate, we had questions sent in on video games in the classroom from students from the University of Leipzig and the Leuphana Universität Lünenburg, both from Germany.
Curious to know more about what young people think about online privacy? We’ve put together some facts and figures in the infographic below (click for a bigger version).
Our first question came from Charlotte, a student at the Leuphana Universität Lünenburg in Germany. She wanted to know how the internet has changed our expectations of privacy.
To get a response, we spoke to Mathilde Fiquet, EU Legal Affairs Manager for the Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing (FEDMA). As an organisation representing digital marketers (i.e. companies who have an active interest in gaining access to data from consumers so they can more effectively advertise to them) what would she say?
Our next question came from Dianta, a student at the University of Leipzig, also in Germany. She wanted to know whether policymakers should consider introducing courses on privacy in primary schools.
To get a reaction, we spoke to Therese Comodini Cachia, a Maltese MEP who sits with the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) in the European Parliament. What would she say to Dianta?
Do young people care enough about their privacy online? Are they aware of the value of their personal data? Should children be taught the value of privacy in school? Let us know your thoughts and comments in the form below, and we’ll take them to policymakers and experts for their reactions.
35 comments Post a commentcomment
.
Everyone should be worried about being monitored by the EU elite, not just young people.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article4427521.ece
everybody knows that privacy DO NOT exist !
there’s no privacy from the EU
No.
As long as they are not bullied, stalked, or ” faceraped”, I have the impression, that they really don’t care. They seem to take the openness and thereby vulnerability for granted. And why shouldn’t they? Trust is in fact the essence of our democratic society. ;-)
No one has full privacy but as a young person I use a VPN and other software to make it as difficult as possible for them to track me ;)
Do young people care enough about their privacy online?
Where are the young people’s answers?
Where are the young people engaged?
It is facebook after all!
.
Some things never change, Fascism, Nazism, Communism and now Europeanism.
Different flags, different anthems but the same antidemocratic lust for power over the peoples of Europe, now they use social media.
Time to leave the EU.
https://www.facebook.com/FreedomWorksInternational/photos/a.593774800702319.1073741828.505820569497743/854751247938005/?type=1&theater
As long as you keep yourself under control, all is fine and well.
.
Thanks to EU forced integration policies young ‘Europeans’ have far more to worry about than their internet privacy.
http://www.thelocal.fr/20150609/three-million-french-children-living-in-poverty
Sorry is this in general, or just another EU bashing exercise for some? In general no they don’t care enough about privacy, nor do they realise how easy it is for corporations, Governments, crimimals to gather information held on the internet.
Considering the fact that there is no privacy anymore with all those Big Brothers watching, yes I do. I think we all should be.
Here is an example for young people to listen to a guy who reaches the parts where no other man will touch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxpzScvLARw&index=7&list=PL5BY9veyhGt46KMmgAJYi1LF0EUkpqcrX
Russell Grant a UK comic who our people really feel a connection to when it comes to politics.
It’s Russel Brand not Russell Grant. He, Grant, is the astrologer. LOL
Dunno about the rest of young people, but I was taught that if you put your information out there, you get to decide what people can see. The world will learn about you either way; if you try to keep it hidden, the information will just leak online anyway, and then it suddenly becomes a revelation (where it might otherwise just have been a fact). But really? There is so much data online. I suspect the risk of our personal data being remotely relevant to anyone at all is actually quite small.
Not yet
EU is RIGHT in PROTECTING the disclosure of data regarding European Citizens and Companies!!!
These, at most, should only be available to EU security entities!
It doesn’t matter – if somebody tries to hack your phone or to use some information and so on it can always be done no matter the protection.
We are responsible as a parent to educate them and be aware of DO and DO NOT
We are responsible as a parent to educate them and be aware of DO and DO NOT
I don’t necessarily believe that it’s like young kids don’t care, I think some just have any knowledge of how to keep safe and have privacy online.
Some just don’t*
Of course we care. But you get carried away and in a few years we won’t know what personal thing of us might be found on the internet.
For your Future help the Planet,Act Green now after it’s too late for your future!!
http://fondationonvoff.com/2015/10/15/congratulations/
Forget about privacy online!!! America rules it so…
yes but it shuld only be to those i wanted to sher with and not the nsa etc
Where could I find the sources used for the infographics (https://www.debatingeurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/online-privacy1.png)? Could you provide links? I see there are 3 different sources, but I would like to check some further info. I’m especially interested in the question about disclosing information online. Thanks!
Of course they don’t. The younger generation only cares about views and likes. That’s the way it is. The sad truth! I do think that it’s just a temporary mindset that will change in their twenties.
Should we be worried about it? If parents took the time to educate children on the do’s and don’ts about internet there wouldn’t an issue. For example someone who sends nudes to her boyfriend, what is the cause of this behavior?
No, they don’t
We think it is too late to end online privacy problems. However, the solutions are simple: minors who are not aware of what they are risking should be informed of the dangers, but it would be even better to avoid using too much technology and instead spend more time with parents or friends outside, away from the internet.
In our opinion, privacy online is very important because we don’t know the people we meet on the web: therefore we must be very careful before transmitting our personal information to people we don’t know.
No one has really ,,privacy’’. If you live in a island alone without any devices Yea you probably has privacy
I think that most young people now are more aware about digital privacy because they teach it in schools now. (I’m not sure if they did before).
I don’t even care about people knowing my personal info because there is nothing important about me. Online spies spying on me would be like watching paint dry.
I don’t even care about people knowing my personal info because there is nothing important about me. Online spies spying on me would be like watching paint dry.
No one has really ,,privacy’’. If you live in a island alone without any devices Yea you probably has privacy