It’s no secret that teenagers love social media.
Millennials can spend up to nine hours a day sharing photos on Instagram, consuming “content” on YouTube and talking to friends on Snapchat. (Just don’t ask them to get excited about Facebook.)
But do they read the fine print when opening an account on the sites? Before agreeing to “terms and conditions”, do teenagers realise how much they are relinquishing to frequent the sites?
A recent study conducted by the Children’s Commissioner of England suggests they do not completely. The Growing Up Digital task force formulated by the commissioner was asked to study internet use and it’s repercussions for youngsters of the ‘digital age’.
“Terms and conditions are one of the first things you agree to when you come on a site,” Jenny Afia, a lawyer part of the group told The Washington Post. “But of course no one reads them. I mean, most adults don’t read them,” Afia said.
The research found most users were clueless about their privacy rights. “The situation is serious,” Afia said in the report. “Young people are unwittingly giving away personal information, with no real understanding of who is holding that information, where they are holding it and what they are going to do with it,” the lawyer said.
For instance, Instagram’s terms of use constitute 5,000 words of legal language most teenagers would be unable to comprehend. Or want to read. “Boring!” one 13-year-old girl declared during an exercise conducted by the task force. “It doesn’t make any sense.” The same teen then asked about the importance of reading terms and conditions.
“I don’t know due to the sheer amount of writing and the lack of clarity within the document,” a 15-year-old was quoted as having remarked in the report.
After putting Instragram’s terms of use through a test, the group said it made for postgraduate-level reading. Afia was then tasked to render it into simple English.
“It was doable,” Afia said. “But it was quite taxing and definitely time-consuming,” the lawyer remarked.
Instagram’s terms of use:
You are responsible for any activity that occurs through your account and you agree you will not sell, transfer, license or assign your account, followers, username, or any account rights. With the exception of people or businesses that are expressly authorized to create accounts on behalf of their employers or clients, Instagram prohibits the creation of and you agree that you will not create an account for anyone other than yourself. You also represent that all information you provide or provided to Instagram upon registration and at all other times will be true, accurate, current and complete and you agree to update your information as necessary to maintain its truth and accuracy.
Afia’s version:
“Don’t use anybody else’s account without their permission or try to find out their login details.”
Selected terms rewritten by Afia:
“Don’t bully anyone or post anything horrible about people.”
“Officially you own any original pictures and videos you post, but we are allowed to use them, and we can let others use them as well, anywhere around the world. Other people might pay us to use them and we will not pay you for that.”
“Although you are responsible for the information you put on Instagram, we may keep, use and share your personal information with companies connected with Instagram. This information includes your name, email address, school, where you live, pictures, phone number, your likes and dislikes, where you go, who your friends are, how often you use Instagram, and any other personal information we find such as your birthday or who you are chatting with, including in private messages (DMs).”
When the group then presented the easy to read version to the same youngsters, Afia said it was heartening to see the change. “I think they should show these terms and conditions to people who sign up because otherwise you don’t really know what you’re signing up to,” said the 13-year-old who had declared the original document “Boring!” “I would use Direct Messaging a lot less if I knew [Instagram] could read them,” she added.
Courtesy: The Washington Post
