Executive Summary

This report is the fourth installment in our continuing investigation into the lives of America's next generation of adults: Generation Y. In this study, we explore the role of the Internet in the lives of Gen Yers; how it influences the way they connect with the world around them, what they perceive to be the benefits and risks of the online world, and what, if anything, they are doing to protect themselves from the potential dangers it can present.

Generation Y is the first generation to grow up with the Internet. Many have been online since their elementary school days and are at ease with the Web, viewing the Internet not only as their go-to source for information but also as a core component of their social lives. With the rise of online communities such as MySpace and Facebook, and with search engines like Google, young people know how easy it is to learn all about another person by simply typing in their name. So at a time when the Internet plays such a key role in the virtual and real lives of young adults, how safe they are in the seemingly limitless World Wide Web?

Methodology:

Greenberg Quinlan Rosner and Polimetrix designed and administered this internet survey of 1,021 adults, ages 18 to 24 years old. The survey was conducted April 25-May 1, 2006. During the seven-day fielding period a total of three contacts were made with respondents, with an in-panel response rate of 8 percent.

Respondents were selected using a web panel, created by Polimetrix. The sample is nationally representative, and created by a matching technique that matches Polimetrix panelists to the demographic characteristics among randomly selected records of 18-24 year olds in the 2004 American Community Survey. The data were weighted by gender, age, student status, and race to ensure an accurate reflection of the population. The sample size with these weights applied is 1,021.

In interpreting survey results, all sample surveys are subject to possible sampling error; that is, the results of a survey may differ from those which would be obtained if the entire population were interviewed. Internet surveys use, by necessity, non-probability based sampling methods and these results need to be considered with that limitation in mind.

Key Findings

• Young adults may think they are careful online, but the numbers tell a less definite story. Concerns about privacy and Internet safety are weighed with the ease and convenience the Internet provides.
• Young adults are much more likely to worry about identity theft or receiving spam than they are about stalking and harassment - even among those who have already experienced it.
• There are some limits to what Gen Yers will divulge about their lives online, but for the most part they are not particularly concerned with the consequences of having a parent or an employer find out what they've shared about themselves on the Internet.
• Gen Y embraces Internet-based forms of communication, using the Internet to keep in touch with friends and family, to learn about the world around them, and even to express themselves creatively. For them, email and Instant Messaging are nearly on par with phone communication.