"Under the bonnet," colleagues across the Atlantic and Down Under might say. I put it that way because this post is a bit more e-safety geeky than usual. Parents and caregivers who don't geek out on this topic might find this mildly interesting, though, because we're talking about kids' wellbeing in media and in life. Going forward, the value of "Internet safety" – if the concept doesn't … [Read more...] about The next version of ‘Internet safety’: A look under the hood
Literacy & Citizenship
Less parental control, more support of kids’ self-regulation: Study
It isn't the first time research has found that "parental control" is not the best way to keep children safe online and on phones. "Rather than restricting or monitoring internet use, parents should let their children discover the net, both good and bad, themselves," the BBC cites a new survey as saying. It's encouraging to see news stories like this; they've been rare over the past decade+, so … [Read more...] about Less parental control, more support of kids’ self-regulation: Study
Online harassment, bullying far from ‘kid stuff’: Fresh data
A new study from the Pew Internet Project confirms yet again that no particular demographic has a monopoly on online harassment and bullying, certainly not kids and teens. "Fully 73% of adult Internet users have seen someone being harassed in some way online and 40% have personally experienced it," Pew reports – and, astoundingly, 70% of the youngest adults … [Read more...] about Online harassment, bullying far from ‘kid stuff’: Fresh data
Of young people’s (not just digital) citizenship
This being Digital Citizenship Week in the US, here's a view of it that isn't typically heard by parents and K-12 educators here. It's the view from youth themselves, as captured by scholars in the new book Wired Citizenship: Youth Learning and Activism in the Middle East, edited by Linda Herrera at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (Routledge 2014). I hope that – even though entire … [Read more...] about Of young people’s (not just digital) citizenship
About our strange way of understanding teen sexting (guest post)
By Nina Funnell Based on her many thoughtful conversations with youth and adults about sexting over several years, Australian researcher and author Nina Funnell – who I met and heard speak at an Internet safety conference in Sydney last year – offers adults the rare opportunity to step outside the box of conditioned, fearful and often legalistic thinking about technology and sexuality. Here is … [Read more...] about About our strange way of understanding teen sexting (guest post)