An interesting myth about social media is the one about tension between teen privacy and teen safety. Because of all the scary messaging about the Internet that has been in circulation for almost two decades, many parents seem to believe it's their job to monitor their children's Net use closely. The assumption is that privacy (from parents) jeopardizes their safety. That assumption deserves to … [Read more...] about Teens & social media: Parents’ other job
Alice Marwick
‘Bullying’ & ‘peer victimization’: Clearer terms, better communication
I suspect two reasons why people (mistakenly) think cyberbullying is on the rise are… Its increased visibility: Cruel words and behaviors are unprecedentedly public now, because of the social Web, so that's what's actually growing – the exposure – which is sometimes confused with the behavior itself. The confusion needs to be cleared up. The exposure may be scary, but it's a net gain because … [Read more...] about ‘Bullying’ & ‘peer victimization’: Clearer terms, better communication
How teens view ‘the drama’
I've written a lot about "the drama" at school as a context for bullying and cyberbullying, suggesting that we can help our kids build resilience and avoid trouble by helping them get a little emotional distance from it. A commentary in the New York Times by social media researchers danah boyd and Alice Marwick clarifies what teenagers themselves think of drama. First, it's not all bad. It's … [Read more...] about How teens view ‘the drama’
Our history of technopanics
I appreciate the historical context Adam Thierer has just given to the technopanics discussion that needs to continue gaining volume (the discussion not the panic, I mean!). "The children of the 1950s and '60s were told that Elvis’s hip shakes and the rock-and-roll revolution would make them all the tools of the devil. They grew up fine and became parents themselves, but then promptly began … [Read more...] about Our history of technopanics