Don't believe everything you read about "screentime." It's rarely helpful – especially if presented as an undifferentiated mass of digital activity that just needs to be limited. That blunt-instrument approach is not helpful to parents. This very visual commentary from graphic designer and blogger Heather Hopp-Bruce in the Boston Globe is a refreshing departure from most messages about children's … [Read more...] about Zooming in on ‘screentime’ (this time with more precision)
Literacy & Citizenship
So-called Snapchat hack & the question of where to place trust
It's interesting to see headlines like "Snapchat photo leak shows users' mistake was trusting each other." That was the takeaway from a commentator in the Los Angeles Times. But the real takeaway should be: Don't trust unauthorized third-party apps that claim to enhance or add convenience to your social media apps. At least, if you really want to use one, look into how it works and what it does … [Read more...] about So-called Snapchat hack & the question of where to place trust
Does digital downtime fix FOMO?
Maureen O'Connor at New York Magazine calls it "the Band-Aid of Luddism." Not that anybody who takes days off from digital media is a Luddite. Certainly not. It's just that band-aids don't fix problems; they make them less visible (yes, and help keep things clean, but stay with me for a minute, here). "We have a tendency to blame technology-mediated problems on the technology itself," … [Read more...] about Does digital downtime fix FOMO?
Powerful lessons for preventing bullying & cyberbullying
It's October already, so National Cyber Security Awareness Month (#NCSAM2014) and National Bullying Prevention Month have arrived – offering a good reminder that, in today's increasingly user-driven digital environments, digital safety and security depend on all Net users of all ages. Care and respect for each other's property, privacy, identity, emotional safety and digital security – just about … [Read more...] about Powerful lessons for preventing bullying & cyberbullying
Leadership in bullying prevention and so much more
We need to prevent and solve bullying. No question. But we also need to encourage and empower our children with the knowledge that most kids don't bully, that bullying is not normative – that, in fact, kindness is. As Dr. Marc Brackett at Yale University's Center for Emotional Intelligence said Friday at the federal government's Bullying Prevention Summit in Washington, "Children are wired for … [Read more...] about Leadership in bullying prevention and so much more