Note the phrase "social media safety" in the headline. There are many more milestones in Internet safety education overall, but here are two vital ones for youth safety in social media since its early days in the middle of the last decade: Milestone 1: the finding of the Berkman Center's Internet Safety Technical Task Force (now Berkman Klein Center) that not all young people are equally at … [Read more...] about Two milestones in social media safety ed
Texting apps taking over the world, it seems
You know that texting doesn't just happen on phones, right? Kids can (and do) download a free texting app to any wi-fi-enabled device – iPod Touches, iPads, Android tablets, etc. – and text with their friends for hours without racking up any Verizon, AT&T or other mobile carriers' charges. For the same reason that they're popular in countries where SMS, or text messaging, costs a lot, they're … [Read more...] about Texting apps taking over the world, it seems
‘Compassion mobs’ & other digital-age nonviolence stands
You've probably heard the phrase "kill 'em with kindness" for disarming detractors, well in social media it's more like swamping – flooding – public, sometimes collective, cruelty with kindness, acceptance, respect, etc. That was a powerful tactic used by students I wrote about in Part 1 of this series, but it has been practiced to huge ripple effect by students in Nova Scotia, Iowa, Minnesota, … [Read more...] about ‘Compassion mobs’ & other digital-age nonviolence stands
‘Only rarely’ is cyberbullying sole factor in teen suicide: Study
A just-released study from the American Academy of Pediatrics found that cyberbullying is "only rarely the sole factor identified in teen suicides." The study's author, John LeBlanc, MD, was quoted in the press release as saying that "cyberbullying is a factor in some suicides, but almost always there are other factors such as mental illness or face-to-face bullying. Cyberbullying usually occurs … [Read more...] about ‘Only rarely’ is cyberbullying sole factor in teen suicide: Study
Young change agents leveraging social media
This article was originally published July 19, 2012, then my service’s server crashed, losing months of data. So reposting 10/20/12. I hope parents and educators have seen these two clear signs of how kids are using social media to "be the change." There's 14-year-old Julia Bluhm in Maine who noticed that friends in ballet class were always criticizing their bodies and spearheaded a protest in … [Read more...] about Young change agents leveraging social media