The "control paradigm" around child online safety, which researchers on three continents have been calling out for at least five years, is in full bloom now. The term comes from a 2019 book by four Australian scholars about how control and surveillance have come to define digital safety, inclusion and citizenship. (Does that give you pause – especially around the citizenship piece?) Among … [Read more...] about Lawmakers, controlling and banning kids doesn’t help
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Why I struggle mightily with the new Utah law
Apologies. I am late in writing about this just-passed social media legislation in the state where I live, Utah (have to say my home state is Massachusetts). I'm late partly because I've been in denial. I can't believe that laws so disrespectful of teens' rights of privacy and participation could go on the books. And I can't believe that lawmakers of my generation – some of whom are loving … [Read more...] about Why I struggle mightily with the new Utah law
Datafied Childhoods the book
A grabbier headline for this post might be “Screens are watching us back,” but that would be like so many scary news headlines parents are subjected to. More importantly, it wouldn’t do justice to all that this important new book – Datafied Childhoods, by Profs. Giovanna Mascheroni in Italy and Andra Siibak in Estonia – offers us. It provides…. Preparation not only for handling the new tech … [Read more...] about Datafied Childhoods the book
Powerful parenting for child safety online, offline
“The importance of a strong, positive relationship between a parent and child cannot be overstated. Reams of research has shown this to be true,” writes Prof. Justin Patchin of the Cyberbullying Research Center (CRC). And yet over the 20+-year-long public discussion about child online safety we’ve seen so little evidence – especially in news coverage and hearings on Capitol Hill – that all this … [Read more...] about Powerful parenting for child safety online, offline
‘Playful by Design,’ a landmark report
What better subject to zoom in on during the holiday season than play? I've written a lot on the subject, here, through the years but, in a way, this is Part 4 of a series I started in 2009 (here are the 2nd and 3rd parts). So now, at the turn of a new year, it’s not only a perfect time but high time to come back to the power of play. Happy holidays to all who celebrate them, happiness to those … [Read more...] about ‘Playful by Design,’ a landmark report