We recently surveyed 2231 year 9’s (13 and 14 year olds) about their online activity.

Some of the highlights are:

97.4% have some form of Social Media Page, e.g. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace etc

68% have admitted to chatting to a complete stranger online

REALITY

3 out of 10 young people said they have met up in person with new people / strangers face to face as a result of online chat.

PERCEPTION

The perception however is that 71% of their friends and other people in their year have met up with new people / strangers following an initial online meet.

WILL PERCEPTION SOON EQUAL REALITY?

Currently Young People who have not met someone as a result of an online conversation believe themselves to be in the minority when in fact they are still in the majority. Research shows that this can cause internal pressure, leading to young people participating in risky behaviours such as these earlier than they otherwise might.

Our UK wide data (250,000 question responses gathered to date) tells us Over Perceptions exist across areas including Tobacco, Alcohol, Sexual Activity, Drugs, Bullying and by promoting the TRUTH to young people we are making a positive and measurable difference.

Welcome to Salford, Manchester and Swindon Councils who have recently joined the R U Different project.

 Surveys are already underway and producing interesting results!

 There’s still time to join our January programme, for more information contact Gary on 0161 2145214 or email gary@gencia.co.uk