Internet use and online safety in adults with Williams syndrome.
Adults with Williams syndrome love being online and will agree to meet strangers faster than they will share an address, so clinicians must teach targeted online-safety skills.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Libero et al. (2016) asked adults with Williams syndrome about their Internet habits.
They used surveys to learn how often the adults went online and what they did there.
The team also asked how willing they were to meet strangers or share personal details.
What they found
Most adults with Williams syndrome use the Internet and social media every day.
They rarely have someone watching them while they surf.
They are more ready to meet an online stranger in person than to give out private data like their address.
How this fits with other research
Baker et al. (2010) saw the same over-friendly style in preschoolers with Williams syndrome.
Those little kids walked right up to strangers even when the stranger’s face was hidden.
The two studies seem opposite because one is about toddlers and the other is about grown-ups.
The gap is age, not method: the friendly trait stays the same, but online life turns it into a safety risk.
Ng et al. (2014) add that adults with Williams syndrome score sky-high on “Social Closeness.”
That need for warm ties helps explain why they flock to social media with little fear.
Why it matters
If you serve adults with Williams syndrome, treat online safety as a core part of their support plan.
Add lessons on spotting red-flag messages and rehearse saying “no” to meet-up invites.
Loop in family or house staff so someone is quietly checking their feeds without killing their social joy.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) increasingly have access to the Internet. Whilst Internet access increases opportunities for social connection for individuals with IDD, it also may increase risk of victimisation. Adults with Williams syndrome (WS), who display an extreme pro-social drive to engage with both familiar and unfamiliar people, might be especially vulnerable to online victimisation. This study first explores how often and why individuals with WS use the Internet and social networking sites. Next, the online vulnerability of individuals with WS is assessed through responses to hypothetical scenarios of potentially dangerous online interactions. METHOD: Twenty-eight young adults with WS (mean age = 27.7 years) and their parents completed questionnaires about their Internet and social networking use and parental oversight. Participants with WS then responded to hypothetical scenarios assessing their likelihood to take social and non-social risks online. RESULTS: Most participants with WS frequently use the Internet and the majority visit social networking sites every day or almost every day, with little parental supervision or oversight. Individuals with WS interact with both known and unknown individuals through social networking sites. Participants are more likely to agree to engage in socially risky behaviours compared to risky behaviours that are not social in nature when online. For example, participants were more likely to agree to meet an 'online friend' in person than they were to give their bank account information for winning a 'contest'. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with WS, who are a socially vulnerable group in the real world, display behaviours that could also lead to victimisation online as well. As the Internet continues to become more accessible, more research is needed to increase online safety of individuals with WS and other IDDs. Implications for intervention and future research are discussed.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2016 · doi:10.1111/jir.12281