An interesting finding from the UK ChildLine's just-released report: "For the first time in the charity's 28-year history, more counselling took place online (59%) than by telephone (41%)," the BBC reported about the free, 24-hour counseling service for Britons up to age 19. A disturbing finding: "a significant increase in racist bullying.… A common theme was children being called a 'terrorist' or … [Read more...] about UK children’s ChildLine: Read the coverage carefully
youth risk research
What is bullying & what can be done about it: Lit review
What a project and what a service to anybody trying to get a handle on a long-standing social problem! I'm referring to the recently released "Bullying in a Networked Era: A Literature Review" of more than 150 surveys, articles and other references from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, the latest research on bullying all in one place. Although bullying is by … [Read more...] about What is bullying & what can be done about it: Lit review
Another high-profile sexting study: Takeaways for parents
Let's just cut right to the takeaway for parents, then some background. The takeaway, which is right in the headline of TheAtlantic.com's intelligent coverage of new data on sexting published in the journal Pediatrics: We need to talk with our kids about sexting, but I would add: that might be in the context of their developing sexuality, of the family's values, of appropriate use of digital … [Read more...] about Another high-profile sexting study: Takeaways for parents
Kids & teens not only ok, but smart!: Study
Now for the good news in the youth part of a report from Ottawa-based MediaSmarts's report "Talking to Youth and Parents about Life Online" (yesterday I highlighted the parents piece). Well, mostly good news. It sounds as if "Internet safety education" has made the youngest among the 11-to-17-year-olds MediaSmarts talked with pretty paranoid: "From [11- and 12-year-olds'] perspective, the Internet … [Read more...] about Kids & teens not only ok, but smart!: Study
Sexting much rarer than thought to be: Study
Parents, you'll probably appreciate knowing that young people are engaging in sexting a lot less than previously thought and that arrest is not typical in youth sexting cases. To help doctors and all the rest of us better understand the risks to youth of sexting, the authors of a national survey of US 10-to-17-year-olds just published in the medical journal Pediatrics aimed not only to get a … [Read more...] about Sexting much rarer than thought to be: Study