Not necessarily, but while a just-released study doesn't come out and blame the Internet, one of its lead researchers seems to. The latest release of the Annenberg Center for the Digital Future's longitudinal survey found that 28% of Americans say they're spending less time with their families, up from 11% in 2006, according to an Associated Press report in Yahoo Tech. It was citing the 2009 … [Read more...] about More Internet, less family time?
Literacy & Citizenship
Online privacy: Photos out of control
Baby pictures, family photos, travel pix, party photos, whatever - there can be far-reaching unintended consequences of posting them online, whether you're blogging, social networking, or photo- or video-sharing by phone or computer. Take mom and dad bloggers, for example. They post a lot of photos of their families, and their numbers are significant. Johnson & Johnson's BabyCenter.com, a … [Read more...] about Online privacy: Photos out of control
Md. students seek cellphone rules change
Cellphones are banned from Montgomery County (Md.) schools, but there's still plenty of texting going on in the classroom. So, since texting is so inextricable from their lives now, the students - led by Quratul-Ann Malik, a high school senior - are taking a resolution before the county school board, asking it to allow high school students to use cellphones during lunchtime, the Washington Post … [Read more...] about Md. students seek cellphone rules change
Texting at meals: Usually *really* not cool
"Husbands, wives, children and dinner guests who would never be so rude as to talk on a phone at the family table seem to think it’s perfectly fine to text," the New York Times reports. A therapist told the Times that texting while eating has become a major topic between spouses in marital counseling. It's as if the issue - for old and young cellphone users alike - is sound levels rather than … [Read more...] about Texting at meals: Usually *really* not cool
COPPA 2.0 isn’t kids’ privacy 2.0
Remember COPPA, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998? It was designed to protect the privacy of children under 13. According to Berin Szoka and Adam Thierer, who just completed a paper for policymakers on current efforts to change COPPA, "the law was intended primarily to 'enhance parental involvement in a child’s online activities' as a means of protecting the online privacy and … [Read more...] about COPPA 2.0 isn’t kids’ privacy 2.0