Olivia Van Ledtje, just now 12, tells the story of giving a talk in a western Massachusetts elementary school auditorium that was packed with students and teachers from three school communities – when she was 10. She writes that, after her talk, the students wanted to ask “loads of one-of-a-kind kid questions – the kind I can never feel fully prepared to answer. “Luckily, the one-of-a-kind … [Read more...] about Spark Change: The book taking (digital) citizenship to a whole new level
Digital wellness: What is, & isn’t, parody
“Social media seriously harms your mental health” goes the message on the back of smartphones ironically held in the perfectly manicured hands of super models and other social media influencers, two of whom get “hundreds of thousands of likes on nearly every photo they post to Instagram,” the Verge reports. The message is on the back of a clear plastic phone case that has gone viral but not … [Read more...] about Digital wellness: What is, & isn’t, parody
Uncontroversial: Online porn in sex ed
The other day, prominent UK professor Sonia Livingstone tweeted that the latest post in the Parenting for a Digital Future blog (which she helped create) has proven controversial. That’s not a huge surprise. The post argues that not including online porn in high school sex education classes “is a missed opportunity.” I agree. The post’s writer, Claire Meehan, a lecturer in criminology at … [Read more...] about Uncontroversial: Online porn in sex ed
DIY community care: 1 sign of a new Net safety era
It’s a sign that we’re in a whole new era in online safety now: young users increasingly taking things into their own hands. You might call it “DIY Internet safety.” It’s not all good news, but it’s also not all bad (not that DIY is the all of the new era – keep reading...). There are both positive and negative aspects in a piece of in-depth reporting on the subject at Buzzfeed News. What … [Read more...] about DIY community care: 1 sign of a new Net safety era
Higher & deeper views of kids online
A metaphor used by Global Kids Online researchers in a new blog post reminds me of research in the US that represented a huge digital youth milestone for me almost a decade ago – then of brand-new insights. The metaphor is that of a ladder – a progression of online activities kids and teens engage in, starting with the most “attractive and accessible” ones, like watching video or hanging out … [Read more...] about Higher & deeper views of kids online