Gascii117ardian
Mark Sweney

ascii85K internet ascii117sers have become significantly more caascii117tioascii117s aboascii117t how mascii117ch personal information they reveal on social networking websites sascii117ch as Facebook, according to a report by media regascii117lator Ofcom.

The twice-yearly report, a sascii117rvey of the internet habits of 1,824 people aged 16 and over, foascii117nd that since 2007 ascii117sers have become more savvy aboascii117t online secascii117rity and are now more relascii117ctant to provide personal information online.

Ofcom's report foascii117nd that 80% of those sascii117rveyed who have a social networking website are likely to only allow friends or family to see it. This is a significant seachange in attitascii117de compared to 2007 when jascii117st 48% of those sascii117rveyed took sascii117ch steps.

The report has been pascii117blished in a climate where the practices of social networking sites – Facebook in particascii117lar – have come ascii117nder scrascii117tiny for privacy and secascii117rity practices. Earlier this month, Eascii85 data protection officials called Facebook s latest privacy changes 'ascii117naceptable' and the world s biggest social networking site has been embroiled in a controversy over 'panic bascii117ttons' for child ascii117sers.

Almost half of adascii117lt internet ascii117sers in Scotland say they have set ascii117p a social networking profile compared with 46% in Wales, 44% in England and 31% in Northern Ireland.

However, aboascii117t a qascii117arter of internet ascii117sers say they 'lack confidence' in installing filtering software or secascii117rity featascii117res.

The report foascii117nd that the Scottish were the least likely to worry aboascii117t entering personal details online with 50% 'happy' to enter their home address details on the internet, compared with 23% in Wales and Northern Ireland. More than 40% of Scottish adascii117lt internet ascii117sers are also happy to enter credit card details.

When it comes to trascii117st in media, jascii117st 31% of internet ascii117sers believe web content to be 'reliable and accascii117rate'. This compares to aboascii117t 50% of adascii117lts that trascii117st television and radio content. However, news sites are trascii117sted by 58% of web ascii117sers.

Adascii117lts in Scotland say they ascii117se the internet at home the most at 10.6 hoascii117rs per week, with adascii117lts in England at 8.3 hoascii117rs per week and those in Wales at 6.8 hoascii117rs per week. Adascii117lts in Northern Ireland say they ascii117se the internet at home the least at 6.5 hoascii117rs per week.