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Published, Version of Record (VoR)Open Access via Drexel Libraries Read and Publish Program 2025CC BY V4.0, Open
Conference proceeding
The Evolving Landscape of Youth Online Safety: Insights from News Media Analysis
Proceedings of the 17th ACM Web Science Conference 2025, pp 261-271
20 May 2025
Featured in Collection : Research Supported by Drexel Libraries' OA Programs
Abstract
There have been various efforts to understand how youth online safety has been reflected in the news, as news play an important role in shaping public opinions. However, these efforts focused on specific contexts, such as individual countries and specific online risk types. Therefore, there is a need for a holistic view of understanding trends in the news regarding stakeholders involved and various ranges of online risks. In this work, we seek to understand how discussions of online safety for youth has evolved in news publications over the last two decades. We applied quantitative media content analysis and sentiment analysis to 3.9K English-language news articles from 2002–2024, documenting shifts in the portrayal of key stakeholders. Our results showed increased media focus on technology companies and government in youth safety discussions, particularly highlighting cyberbullying as a key risk. We found a generally negative trend in the sentiment toward the perceived safety of youth online, which fluctuates based on societal concerns and policy changes. The significance of this work lies in its analysis of how media discourse has illuminated public perceptions and policy directions concerning youth safety in digital spaces. Content Warning: This paper discusses sensitive topics, such as sex and child harassment, which may be triggering.
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Details
- Title
- The Evolving Landscape of Youth Online Safety: Insights from News Media Analysis
- Creators
- Mohammad (Matt) Namvarpour (Corresponding Author) - Drexel UniversityElham Aghakhani - Drexel UniversityMichael D Ekstrand - Drexel UniversityRezvaneh Rezapour - Drexel UniversityAfsaneh Razi - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Proceedings of the 17th ACM Web Science Conference 2025, pp 261-271
- Conference
- Websci '25: 17th ACM Web Science Conference 2025
- Series
- ACM Conferences
- Publisher
- Association for Computing Machinery
- Number of pages
- 11
- Resource Type
- Conference proceeding
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Information Science
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001528454600026
- Other Identifier
- 991022053836604721
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- Web of Science research areas
- Computer Science, Information Systems
- Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications