The Web often comes across as a global watering hole where young adults freely trade personal information while more cautious older visitors stand to the side for fear of losing a grip on their online privacy.

But a new survey turns that notion on its head, showing that those 18 to 29 are more likely than older Internet users to keep a keen eye on their online profiles and who can access them, according to a Pew Internet & American Life Project report out Wednesday on "Reputation Management and Social Media.

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Madden notes that the Pew survey was conducted before Facebook's recent tweaks to its privacy settings, "but clearly what they've done fits in with the concerns of younger social network site users."

She says that the frequency with which younger users connect on social media means there is usually more data to protect. "Older users just aren't on as much, so consequently they may not see as much of a threat to their information."

Younger social networking site users are in fact the most distrustful of the very sites they frequent. Some 28% of those 18 to 29 reported they "never" trust sites such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn, vs. 18% of those ages 50-plus. The most trusted of Web destinations among the younger online crowd were news sites (11% said "Just about always,") while the 50-plus group trusted health news sites most.

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