The study will look at teens\u2019 online skills and their comfort level with using technology. It will examine teens\u2019 pro-social and anti-social behaviors, ranging from the creation of support groups to cyber bullying and cyber harassment in online spaces. A better understanding of these different dimensions of digital citizenship will help parents, educators, policymakers and industry leaders determine ways to help teens maintain a safe online environment.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe notion of digital citizenship is a hugely important umbrella topic that has the potential to speak to concerns around cyberbullying, sexting, flaming and other online behaviors,\u201d said Amanda Lenhart<\/a>, the Pew Internet Project\u2019s lead analyst on teens and families and the leader of the research study. \u201cOur goal is to examine teens\u2019 own views about what digital citizenship entails and the kinds of responsibilities they think they need to assume.\u201d<\/p>\n\n The Pew Internet Project, a non-profit, non-partisan \u201cfact tank\u201d that studies how Americans use technology, will field a national phone survey of teens \u2013 on landlines and cell phones \u2013 as well as in-depth, qualitative interviews to understand the broad concept of digital citizenship. The survey will cover topics such as the types of positive and negative experiences teens have online; how teens know how to behave, react or interact in online spaces; and the types of skills that teens employ in coping with negative online experiences.<\/p>\n\n The Family Online Safety Institute is an international non-profit organization dedicated to making the online world safer for kids and families and has partnered with the Pew Internet Project to conduct the study. \u201cOur partnership with the Pew Internet Project and Cable in the Classroom is an exciting step forward for the online safety movement,\u201d said Stephen Balkam, CEO of FOSI. \u201cWhile there are a number of ways in which the Internet can improve teens\u2019 lives, teens are also exposed to many new and unexpected challenges online. This research will provide us with reliable data that we hope will inform continuing discussions over these issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n \u201cWonderful things and bad things can happen in digital spaces, but we don\u2019t yet have a good idea of which things happen most often and what impact they have,\u201d said Frank Gallagher, Executive Director of Cable in the Classroom. \u201cRight now, debates on this subject are dominated by anecdotes and guesswork. We hope this research will provide baseline data that everyone in this urgent national conversation can use.\u201d <\/p>\n\n The study will begin in November 2010 and results are expected in November 2011.<\/p>\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n About the Pew Research Center\u2019s Internet & American Life Project<\/b> <\/p>\n\n The Pew Research Center\u2019s Internet & American Life Project<\/a> is one of seven projects that make up the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit “fact tank” that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The Project produces reports exploring the impact of the Internet on families, communities, work and home, daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life. The Project aims to be an authoritative source on the evolution of the Internet through surveys that examine how Americans use the Internet and how their activities affect their lives.<\/p>\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n About the Family Online Safety Institute<\/b> <\/p>\n\n The Family Online Safety Institute<\/a> (FOSI) works to make the online world safer for kids and their families by identifying and promoting best practices, tools and methods that also respect free speech. FOSI\u2019s members include: AOL, AT&T, Blue Coat Systems, BT Retail, Comcast, , Disney, Entertainment Software Association, France Telecom, Google, GSM Association, Kingston Communications, Loopt, Microsoft, Motion Picture Association of America, MySpace, NCTA, Ning, Nominum, Optenet, RuleSpace, Sprint, StreamShield, Symantec, Telef\u00f3nica, TELMEX, USTelecom, The Wireless Foundation, Verizon, Yahoo. FOSI hosts an annual international conference to bring together Internet safety advocates from a variety of sectors, including global corporations, government, non-profits, academia and the media, to discuss the current pulse of online safety and emerging solutions that will enhance it. For more information, please visit www.fosi.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n About Cable in the Classroom<\/b> <\/p>\n\n![\"Pew](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/media\/Images\/Other%20Logos\/PewInternet%20Logo-color.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Family](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/media\/Images\/Partner%20Logos\/FOSI.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Cable](\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/media\/Images\/Partner%20Logos\/CIC.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n