Is there a teenager at your house playing the role of family CTO (Chief Technology Officer) or doing tech support for the entire extended family? Well, this is pretty cute (and useful): something to that tough job a little easier: TeachParentsTech.org, created by employees of Google who know first-hand what it's like, according to Mashable.com. [Here is a sample list of tech-support tasks the … [Read more...] about Help for your family’s tech-support kid!
Archives for December 2010
Teens’ digital self-abuse: New insight
A just-published observation by social media researcher danah boyd is important for two reasons I can think of right now: 1) it strongly confirms the importance of adults not reacting too quickly to "cyberbullying" incidents or of not acting without calm communication and investigation, and 2) it starts an important discussion about the online versions of self-destructive behavior. Let's look at … [Read more...] about Teens’ digital self-abuse: New insight
A look at Facebook’s ‘hate & harassment’ triage
This will give parents an idea of what's involved in keeping things civil in a site with 500 million+ members: Facebook's “hate and harassment team," which is "part of a virtual police squad charged with taking down content that is illegal or violates [the site's] terms of service," handles about 2 million abuse reports a week, the New York Times reports. Facebook took writer Miguel Helft behind … [Read more...] about A look at Facebook’s ‘hate & harassment’ triage
E-shopping security for gift-givers of all ages
If your kids are anything like mine, they realize kind of late that it's time to do their holiday shopping and they like to do that shopping online. So this is a great "teachable moment" for a family conversation about smart online shopping. Here are some talking points: Don't be socially engineered. Click carefully – phishers and other scammers like to trick people into clicking on bad links … [Read more...] about E-shopping security for gift-givers of all ages
Ally Pfeiffer’s ordeal … and ingenuity
Two things struck me about University of Hartford student Allison Pfeiffer's cyberbullying story: First, there was the smart parting advice she left with the Today Show's viewers last week after being interviewed about the cruel fake profile two fellow students created about her in Facebook: "Don't fight with the bully, fight for yourself." The second thing is how intelligently she went about … [Read more...] about Ally Pfeiffer’s ordeal … and ingenuity