Windows 10: New Microsoft research shows people's online social circles riskier

Brink · Nov 13, 2018

Bullying, unwanted contact and receiving unwelcome sexual images and messages were the most prominent risks in our latest digital civility research and, while strangers still pose the majority of online threats, data show a distinct rise in risk-exposure from people’s own social circles.

According to preliminary results from our latest study, 63 percent of online risks were sourced from strangers and people whom respondents knew only online – largely unchanged from the previous year. Meanwhile, 28 percent of online risks came from family and friends, up 11 points. In addition, findings revealed a relationship between risk-exposure and familiarity with the perpetrator: respondents who had met their abuser in real life were almost twice as likely to experience an online risk. More disheartening were indications that people were targeted because of their personal characteristics, namely gender, age and physical appearance.

These are some early findings from Microsoft’s latest study, “Civility, Safety and Interactions Online – 2018,” which measured attitudes and perceptions of teens and adults in 22 countries[1] about the online risks they face[2] and how their interactions impact their lives. As with previous years’ surveys, full and final results will be made available on international Safer Internet Day on Feb. 5. We chose to make these results available today in conjunction with World Kindness Day to emphasize the need for more civil and respectful interactions both online and off.

Examining the risk categories: Reputational, behavioral, sexual and personal/intrusive

In 2017, results showed that people’s digital interactions and responses to online risks appeared to be improving, but what was surprising was that many of those targeted for abuse said their offenders came from their immediate families and social circles. We decided to take a closer look at some of these findings this year and we found that unsettling trend was continuing. Indeed, negative experiences from family, friends and acquaintances were up 4 percent, 7 percent and 2 percent, respectively, while a new classification of perpetrators – colleagues and coworkers – accounted for 9 percent of people’s unpleasant interactions online.

As for the nature of online risks across and within the four risk categories – reputational, behavioral, sexual and personal/intrusive – 40 percent of respondents experienced behavioral risks and unwanted contact (a personal and intrusive risk); just over one-third (34 percent) reported negative experiences of a sexual nature, and 28 percent said they fell victim to hoaxes, scams or fraud, another personal and intrusive risk. Interestingly, 60 percent of those who experienced a behavioral risk also experienced unwanted contact and, coincidentally, 60 percent of those who experienced unwanted contact also experienced a behavioral risk.

Bullying seemed to define the behavioral category. Nearly all respondents who reported experiencing a behavioral risk was a target of name-calling, purposeful embarrassment or some other form of bullying. Unwanted contact was characterized by repeated attempts to contact the target, with more than four in 10 respondents reporting at least one form of repeated unwanted contact. Receipt of unwelcome sexual imagery and messages dominated the sexual risk category, with another nearly four in 10 experiencing repeated attempts to start a romantic relationship. Finally, the commonly experienced hoaxes, scams and fraud risk was led by false and misleading information. Fake news and internet hoaxes were the most common type, far outpacing fake anti-virus scams. More detailed findings across all of these individual risks and risk categories will be released on Safer Internet Day 2019.

Get ready for Safer Internet Day 2019: Pledge to be more respectful online

On World Kindness Day and in gearing up for Safer Internet Day, we’re again encouraging global internet users to pledge to engage responsibly online. Follow the example of the 15 impressive teens that served on our inaugural Council for Digital Good, and take our Digital Civility Challenge:

Live the Golden Rule by acting with empathy, compassion and kindness in every interaction, and treating everyone you connect with online with dignity and respect.

Respect differences, honor diverse perspectives and when disagreements surface, engage thoughtfully, and avoid name-calling and personal attacks.

Pause before replying to things you disagree with, and don’t post or send anything that could hurt someone, damage reputations or threaten someone’s safety.

Stand up for yourself and others by supporting those who are targets of online abuse or cruelty, reporting threatening activity and preserving evidence of inappropriate or unsafe behavior.

Find more great advice from our council members here, and visit our website and resources page for help in handling almost any online safety situation. For more regular news and information, you can connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. However you choose to learn and get involved, make this World Kindness Day count when it comes to safer and healthier online interactions.

[1] Countries surveyed: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada*, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Singapore*, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam. (* Indicates the first time this country has been included in this research.)

[2] In the latest study, the 21 risks break down as follows:

Reputational – “Doxing” and damage to personal or professional reputations

Behavioral – Being treated meanly; experiencing trolling, online harassment or bullying; encountering hate speech and microaggressions

Sexual – Sending or receiving unwanted “sext” messages and making sexual solicitations; receiving unwanted sexual attention – a new risk added in this latest research, and being a victim of sextortion or non-consensual pornography (aka “revenge porn”), and

Personal / Intrusive – Being the target of unwanted contact, experiencing discrimination, swatting, misogyny, exposure to extremist content/recruiting, or falling victim to hoaxes, scams or fraud.

Click to expand...

Source: People's online social circles are becoming riskier, new Microsoft research shows - Microsoft on the Issues

:)

Jarrichvdv · Nov 13, 2018

People Hub's "What's New" feed not as social as expected

I'm excited about the People Hub, except for the content of the "what's new" feed. It contains so much news about things other than my friends. I'd really love to have a feed that really only contains news/updates about my friends. To me, that's
what social means.

Other people out here sharing the same opinion?

Anthony Gal · Nov 13, 2018

People Bar is not showing up.

Hi,

The missing People Bar could have been disabled when you turn off your computer. To properly diagnose this issue, we would like to know more about the issue by asking the following questions below:

What is the last action taken before you turn off the computer?

What build and version of Windows 10 do you have installed on your computer?

Have you attempted to perform any of the troubleshooting steps?

To enable people icon on your taskbar, we suggest that you follow the steps provided below:

Click on the Start button on Windows 10 and choose Settings.

Next, open the Settings app and choose Personalization icon.

select Taskbar to open all taskbar settings.

Look for People section, turn on Show people on the taskbar to show the People bar from the taskbar.

We look forward to your response and for the results for us to assist you further.

Brink · Nov 13, 2018

New Microsoft research shows Millennials encounter most risk online

Millennials around the world — those between the ages of 18 and 34 — are exposed to the highest levels of online risk and suffer the most severe consequences from those risks when compared to other age groups, a new Microsoft study shows. In addition, once millennials have had a negative experience online, more so than other age groups they lose trust in others online and off; they become stressed, depressed, lose sleep or lose a friend; and they worry that the hurtful experience will happen again.

These results are from Microsoft’s latest research into digital civility: how people are being treated online and how they are treating others, as well as our effort to encourage safer and healthier online interactions among all people. The study, “Civility, Safety and Interaction Online — 2018,” will be released on international Safer Internet Day in February, and polled teens and adults in 22 countries[1] about the various risks they face online.[2] This year’s survey builds on similar work done over the past two years that surveyed the same age groups. A total of 11,157 people took the latest poll.

Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of millennials in 22 countries said they experienced at least one of 21 different online risks. That compares to 62 percent of baby boomers (ages 50-74), 63 percent of teens (ages 13-17) and 66 percent of Generation Xers (ages 35-49). In fact, data show, on average, millennials experienced 3.4 risks of the 21 our research asked about. That compares to 2.7 risks on average for both teens and Gen Xers, and 2.2 risks on average for baby boomers. The most common online risks encountered by millennials included unwanted contact (46 percent); hoaxes, scams and fraud (34 percent); and unwanted “sext” messages (28 percent).

2018 Digital Civility Index highest for millennials

In asking people about their online risk exposure, we use their responses to calculate our Digital Civility Index (DCI), a measure of the perceived level of online civility in a given country or among a specific demographic. The index works like a golf score: the lower the reading (on a scale from zero to 100), the lower the respondents’ risk exposure and the higher the perceived level of online civility among people in that country. Among age demographics, the DCI for millennials was the highest in 2018 at 73 percent. That compares to 66 percent for Generation X, 63 percent for teens and 62 percent for baby boomers, and is 8 percentage points above the all-country average for the past two years.

‘Severe to moderate pain’ from online risks also highest among millennials

In 2016 and 2017, the DCI was unchanged at 65 percent. Given the flat reading from Year One to Year Two, in this latest study, we decided to look more closely at the consequences of the various risks and the level of associated “pain.”

Across all respondents in all age groups, more than eight in 10 (84 percent) reported pain from the online risk. For 29 percent, the pain was “mild” — tolerable or able to be ignored. “Moderate” pain caused hurt among 27 percent of respondents, while 28 percent suffered “severe” pain, defined as negatively impacting the quality of one’s life. Of that 28 percent, 8 percent reported experiencing unbearable pain that proved mentally or physically disabling.

Among age demographics, 60 percent of millennials reported moderate to severe pain from online risks, compared to 58 percent of teens, 49 percent of Gen Xers and 29 percent of baby boomers. Thirty-four percent of millennials reported severe or debilitating pain.

The good news for millennials is that more than half of millennial respondents expressed strong confidence in their ability to handle risks, and millennials were the second most likely age group to act in response to a risk (teens were the first group to act. For more on the latest preliminary teen data, see last month’s post here.) That said, 60 percent of millennials also said they did not know, or were unsure, where to find help with an online risk, and nearly half said it was difficult to find help when needed. Millennials also scored the lowest percentage of those who believed their actions were effective in managing online risks.

So, what can we take away from these findings? Across age groups and geographies, online risks are real. The pain and suffering that result from online risk exposure can be devastating. We can all improve our sense of civility and decorum online as one way of minimizing risk exposure, as well as follow-on hurt and harm. And, we can start by living by four common-sense principles online, what we call our Digital Civility Challenge. In short,

Live the “Golden Rule”

Respect differences

Pause before replying, and

Stand up for yourself and others.

There are other actions that can be taken to grow a culture of digital civility and respect, whether you run a small technology company or are a parent, an educator or a policymaker. Click here to review our suggested best practices.

We will continue to make key findings from our research available in the coming weeks, all leading up to the full and final release on Safer Internet Day 2019. Meanwhile, to learn more about digital civility, visit www.microsoft.com/digitalcivility. For more on online safety generally, visit our website; check out and share our resources; “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

[1] Countries surveyed: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada*, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Singapore*, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam. (* Indicates the first time this country has been included in this research.)

[2] In the latest study, the 21 risks break down as follows:

Reputational – “Doxing” and damage to personal or professional reputations

Behavioral – Being treated meanly; experiencing trolling, online harassment or bullying; encountering hate speech and microaggressions

Sexual – Sending or receiving unwanted “sext” messages and making sexual solicitations; receiving unwanted sexual attention – a new risk added in this latest research, and being a victim of sextortion or non-consensual pornography (aka “revenge porn”), and

Personal / Intrusive – Being the target of unwanted contact, experiencing discrimination, swatting, misogyny, exposure to extremist content/recruiting, or falling victim to hoaxes, scams or fraud.

Click to expand...

Source: Millennials encounter the most risk online, new Microsoft research shows - Microsoft on the Issues

Windows 10: New Microsoft research shows people's online social circles riskier

New Microsoft research shows people's online social circles riskier

New Microsoft research shows people's online social circles riskier

New Microsoft research shows people's online social circles riskier

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