Back to School in an era where students are constantly on their phones and love sharing

Once again fall is here and that means back to school.  Students at high school and post-secondary schools are constantly on their phones and love sharing things across a number of social media platforms. Lots of the information that students are sharing is publicly available and can be leveraged for security and safety purposes by a school’s administration.

A recent blog post from social sharing and online security experts, Echosec Systems takes a closer look at the student and the state of social sharing. From the article…

The average college student spends 8 to 10 hours on their cell phone per day; a statistic that researcher James Roberts described as “astounding” in this Baylor University article. Some students even reported becoming agitated when their cell phone is not in sight and 60% of participants said they “may be addicted to their cell phone.” You don’t say! But what are students doing on their cell phones?

89% of adults aged 18-29 use some form of social networking according to a Pew Internet Research article. An ever-growing social media landscape has resulted in more and more platforms people can use to share and connect. Apps like Instagram, Snapchat and Whats App are becoming more popular than Facebook among college-aged students (source). The same is true for their high school counterparts. Many high school students only use Facebook to “stay in touch with older relations, for whom it remains popular.” The trend is towards quicker, simpler and more visually appealing apps.

Continue reading the article on the Echosec blog and be sure to connect with them @Echosec_Search on Twitter