Based on old fears around online chat and Webcams, should all the news about videochat in Facebook and the new very social Google+ concern parents (when the latter goes public)? Not really. Not the sort of engaged parents who tend to be concerned, and definitely not those who approach these things from the kid out instead of from the technology or the headlines in (see this). In other words, it … [Read more...] about FB & Google+ videochat + kids: Should we worry?
online risk
Easier to be themselves online, offline: Study
In a fresh insight from the EU Kids Online pan-European research project, almost half (49%) of 11-to-16-year-olds in Europe say they find it easier to be themselves online than in person. Thirty-seven percent told the researchers this is "a bit true" for them and 12% "very true," according to the authors (click for PDF by "New report" on their home page). "The young people who said it was very … [Read more...] about Easier to be themselves online, offline: Study
How to recognize grooming
Sometimes the very reason kids and teens blog and spend time in social-networking sites is to “meet new friends.” So it’s not always easy for them to tell when “new friends” have bad intentions, and research consistently shows that about 20% of online kids receive unwanted sexual solicitations (see “Other resources” below). “Grooming” is the way sexual predators get from bad intentions to … [Read more...] about How to recognize grooming