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Nearly half of British teenagers are using social networking tools less than they used to, according to a survey by IT firm Logicalis. Those who do use sites such as Bebo and Facebook are increasingly careful about giving out their personal information.

More than three-quarters of the 13-17 year olds questioned are concerned about security issues with social networking sites, with nearly a quarter not joining the sites at all for this reason.

Chris Gabriel, solutions and marketing director at Logicalis, says, ‘Whether this is down to better parental control, the effect of media scare stories or just a growing understanding of the risks of social networking, [teenagers] are now actively managing their digital fingerprints. Or is the social networking explosion starting to wane?’

When the teenagers surveyed do venture online, Bebo is overwhelmingly their preferred social networking site, rather than the higher profile Facebook or MySpace.

Traditional methods of communication are still popular, with 29 per cent saying they would prefer a prospective university to deal with them face-to-face, with only four per cent opting for communication via social networking sites.

Furthermore, a large portion of the 13-17 year olds sampled have yet to join the digital revolution. Despite the death knells that have been sounded for the record industry over recent years, 27 per cent of the group claim never to have listened to or watched digital media such as YouTube or the BBC iPlayer. A further 22 per cent say they do so infrequently.

Logicalis questioned 1,004 teenagers aged between 13 and 17.

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