"The city is now in mourning," wrote author, researcher and Sydney resident Nina Funnell to a group of colleagues in the wake of the horrific siege in a financial district chocolate shop. Australians (all of us, really) are trying to make sense of the attack, The Australian reported, invoking 9/11 and attacks since then in Madrid, London and Boston. "But out of all this horror, there have been … [Read more...] about Sydney: A hashtag for a city (and world) in need of healing
Nina Funnell
About our strange way of understanding teen sexting (guest post)
By Nina Funnell Based on her many thoughtful conversations with youth and adults about sexting over several years, Australian researcher and author Nina Funnell – who I met and heard speak at an Internet safety conference in Sydney last year – offers adults the rare opportunity to step outside the box of conditioned, fearful and often legalistic thinking about technology and sexuality. Here is … [Read more...] about About our strange way of understanding teen sexting (guest post)
Enabling peer protection: Knowledge is empowerment
From infancy on up we learn what's right and wrong, based on our families' and, later, peers' values. That's important. It develops that inner guidance system – or "moral compass," as it's sometimes called – that makes for safer, smoother navigation through life. But that isn't all kids need as they grow and find their own way online and offline. In order to be safe, keep peers safe and make … [Read more...] about Enabling peer protection: Knowledge is empowerment
‘Noodz,’ ‘selfies,’ ‘sexts,’ etc., Part 3: Bias in the news coverage
Sexting is the latest subject of "intersecting panics about technology, youth, sexuality, raunch culture and celebrity," Australian author and research Nina Funnell wrote me after I heard her speak in Sydney in March. "While these panics all pre-existed the phenomenon of sexting, they have found new life and form" with it. Along with her qualitative research on sexting among 16-to-25-year-olds, … [Read more...] about ‘Noodz,’ ‘selfies,’ ‘sexts,’ etc., Part 3: Bias in the news coverage
‘Noodz,’ ‘selfies,’ ‘sexts,’ etc., Part 2: For better youth education
Social norms – the expectations and cues that govern behavior in a group or a society – are protective. There hasn't been much reference to them in the Internet safety field, but they're a pillar of individual and collective wellbeing wherever there is community. You may've noticed that, at the end of Part 1 of this series, I quoted Sydney-based researcher and author Nina Funnell where she touched … [Read more...] about ‘Noodz,’ ‘selfies,’ ‘sexts,’ etc., Part 2: For better youth education