This story at NPR.org is not about technology (though very few risk-prevention and online-safety stories really are). It's about a successful program in changing social norms to lower student risk, and it might be a model for 1) lowering risk in young people's online experiences - including the reinforcement of self-destructive behavior such as cutting, eating disorders, and substance abuse - and … [Read more...] about ‘Social norming’ for risk prevention
Risk & Safety
Don’t just take away the Xbox: Psychiatrist’s view
The details emerging from a tragic national story about a missing boy in Canada point to an important observation about videogaming: that taking away a videogame (or device it's played on) does not have the same effect as taking away a toy or conventional game. Fifteen-year-old Brandon Crisp of Barrie, Ontario, missing for more than two weeks, left the house angry after his father took away his … [Read more...] about Don’t just take away the Xbox: Psychiatrist’s view
45% of UK online youth want supervision?
I wonder if an 18-year-old reporter would've worded the lead this way: "Almost half of all children want adults to supervise them when they use the internet," the Times of London reports, citing a study of 686 "children" by UK education regulator Ofsted. It'd be interesting too to see if those who do want supervision represent the full age spread of the survey, some of whom are not minors: 4-20. … [Read more...] about 45% of UK online youth want supervision?
New Facebook worm
Tell Facebook users at your house to be very alert when social-network friends seem to say they've just got to check out this or that video. That scenario happens all the time - which is why it's used by social-engineering hackers to infect social networkers' computers. Where the new worm comes in is an extra step for which users need to be on the alert. The way it works is, they get a link … [Read more...] about New Facebook worm
Webcams in teens’ cars
One hundred families in southern Maryland are participating in a study with Webcams installed in the cars their teenagers drive. "Last year, crashes involving drivers ages 16 to 20 killed 112 people in the state," the Washington Post reports. "Such accidents, including one this week in Montgomery County, are often caused not by alcohol or overt recklessness but by simple driver inexperience." So … [Read more...] about Webcams in teens’ cars