YouthLaw presentation at yMedia workshop

2. Bebo tops Kiwi social networking heap 3:37PM Tuesday August 21, 2007 Bebo is New Zealand's number one social networking site. Facebook is the social networking flavour of the month, but Bebo is still the top of the heap. Figures for July 07 shows that Bebo is the number one site of its kind - followed by MySpace, TradeMe and then Facebook. Bebo had 768,000 unique visitors over the course of the month, while MySpace - which is surely suffering for its more time-consuming navigation system - could only muster 194,00. Old Friends managed 141,000 hits and Facebook 113,000. Bebo clocked up a whopping 10.7 million unique visits in July and came second only to search giant Google in 'most engaging' rankings.

3. CensusAtSchool online survey 2007 The Top 10 favourite websites so far for boys taking part are: 1. Bebo 2. YouTube 3. Google 4. Miniclip 5. RuneScape 6. TradeMe 7. AddictingGames 8. WWE 9. PokemonCrater 10. ClubPenguin The Top 10 favourite websites so far for girls taking part are: 1. Bebo 2. Google 3. YouTube 4. Miniclip 5. Stardoll 6. Neopets 7. ClubPenguin 8. Disney 9. TradeMe 10. MSN

4. Bebo transforms remote Pacific youth By MICHAEL FIELD - Fairfax Media You cannot get any more remote than Tokelau but thanks to the Internet and Bebo its people are going through a social revolution. Tokelau's three atolls have no airport nor harbour and are two days sailing away from Samoa and just two years ago its 1100 Polynesians looked and sounded like they were in another time and space in the past. Now they have free broadband. And they're using Skype and Bebo to maintain connections with their 8000 "Tokes", as they call their friends and cousins, in New Zealand. Bebo has more Tokelauan registrations now than people living in Tokelau - which last week voted to stay part of New Zealand. To any regular visitor to Tokelau it's obvious the net is changing things; word has it every child has a Bebo page and downloading music in legendary quantities

5. Young people & online social networking. 60 % of young people have personal profiles on online social networking sites 80 % of survey respondents believe the young people they are working with use online social network sites. Many young people spend more than 2 hrs a day online Why keeping in touch with peers; developing new contacts; sharing content and media; exploring their self identities; hanging out and consuming content; accessing information and informal learning.

6. OPPORTUNITIES • Developing and maintaining friendships • Extending social networks and joining interest based groups • Developing bridging social capital resources • Developing identity and reflecting upon identity development • Creativity and self expression • Informal learning • Accessing information, advice and guidance • Civic and political participation • Fun RISKS • Being ‘cyber bullied’ or ‘cyber bullying’ • Publishing personal details • Being in contact with and meeting strangers • Being exposed to grooming and abuse • Being targeted by advertising and commercial interests • Accessing, sharing or creating harmful or offensive content • Spending too much time online • Being excluded due to lack of access to online social networking.

7. Youth Workers are well placed to support young people to navigate the risks and make the most of the opportunities of online social networking. Young people are most at risk from online-linked abuse when they have pre-existing ‘offline’ risk factors and complex needs. Youth work often works with the socially excluded young people who are most at risk from online-linked abuse and harm. Youth workers see supporting young people’s engagement with online social networking as a crucial part of their work. • 90 % of respondents believe that youth work has a crucial role in supporting young people to navigate the risks • 85 % believe that youth workers have a crucial role supporting young people to make the most of opportunities

8. Youth workers do not yet feel confident to support young people’s engagement with online social networking, and there are a number of significant hurdles to overcome. Only 29 % of respondents had access to social network at work Therefore they are unfamiliar with these sites, or do not feel able to respond to them, or to issues raised by young people linked to them, in a work context. There is considerable confusion as to the exact risks posed by online social networks, and a lack of detailed awareness of the opportunities. Workers could not clearly identify how existing professional practice and policies would apply to online social networks, and youth services would appreciate guidance on developing policies or guidance around engaging with online social networking.

9. There is a clear need for training and capacity building for the youth work workforce. Training and capacity building needs include: • Knowledge about social network sites – to “remove the fear” of sites and allow workers to identify, assess and respond to young people’s use of these sites. • Knowledge about opportunities and risks – to support services in adopting balanced and nuanced responses. • Applying youth work skills and policies in the online social networking space. • Opportunities to explore and become more confident – in some cases, simply removing the blocks and giving workers time to explore online social network sites could bring considerable benefits. • Identifying emerging trends – so that responses to future developments can be well prepared..