Harris Interactive (News - Alert), on behalf of World Vision, recently surveyed teenagers regarding whether or not social media made them more aware of the needs of others. More than half of teens surveyed responded that sites like Facebook (News - Alert) and Twitter made them more aware of the needs of others, and two out of three teens surveyed thought that the plusses of social media outweighed the risks.

This is the fourth year that World Vision has surveyed teens before its 30 Hour Famine campaign. Designed to promote awareness of what the world’s poorest children face on a daily basis, the 30 Hour Famine allows people to do volunteer work in soup kitchens, homeless shelters or food banks while drinking only water and juice for 30 hours. World Vision expects 200,000 teens to participate in this year’s 30 Hour Famine at the end of February. Adults will have the opportunity to participate in a similar event beginning April 27.

“The jump in the number of teens who say social media sites make them more socially aware is a sign of the times,” says Regina Corson, Senior Vice President, Harris Poll, Public Relations and Youth Research at Harris Interactive.

The survey also found that 91 percent of teens believe that volunteering locally is important. Prior to the 30 Hour Famine, teens will engage in fundraisers promoting World Vision’s mantra that $1 can feed and care for a child for one day. Last year, the event raised $9.5 million worldwide. The organization has set a goal of $10 million for 2012.

The Pew Research Center recently found that 91 percent of children aged 12 to 17 were online and that 80 percent of those online used social media websites. Sixty-nine percent of teens said that their peers were mostly kind to one another on social networks. However, social media can have negative uses. Fully 88 percent of teens, according to the Pew (News - Alert) study, had seen others behave cruelly online. The World Vision study highlights the positive aspects of social media at a time when a great deal of attention is focused on teens’ online behavior and cyberbullying.

Michele Tvedt, World Vision's 30 Hour Famine Manager says, “It's exciting to see our youth using the tools at their fingertips like social media to have a direct impact on the world.”