Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, This is Real Life, Not a Movie

Cable News Network recently reported that today’s children will spend an average of 23 years of their lifetime connected to the Internet. The Department of Education reports that 100% of teens today have Internet access at school. Nevertheless there is currently no law that specifically protects teens from the collection of their personal data (known or unknown) while online. The data (or confessions) they post today can be collected today—or 20 years from now and can be used against teens when they seek employment or apply for health insurance. This study examines the issue of adolescent consumer privacy protection from the perspective of those entities responsible for protecting and educating them about safe Internet use (educators, marketers, and policy makers). An analysis of the COPPA law is followed by an analysis of an expert panel (collected via telephone interview) to determine who is responsible for protecting teen’s privacy and how to accomplish this task.