This is a perfect example of why we need to apply what we know about social norming to social media panics. And in a rare show of levelheadedness from the news media, Global News in Canada helps us get there. "The Game of 72 – a viral prank urging kids to disappear for 72 hours – is the latest in a series of risky pranks being done by kids and then shared to social media. But the prank, and … [Read more...] about ‘Game of 72’: Let’s apply a little ‘social norming’
Risk & Safety
Wise words on bullying from 11-year-old star of ‘Little Boy’
Remarkable actor Jakob Salvati is only 11 – and he was only 8 when he played the title role in the film Little Boy released today – but he already gets a core truth about bullying: "Usually the person bullying is someone who is hurting on the inside and hiding it," he wrote me via his publicist. Experts in juvenile justice get this too. At last summer's national bullying prevention … [Read more...] about Wise words on bullying from 11-year-old star of ‘Little Boy’
How brave commenters are growing the power of Lewinsky’s talk
"Together, we have the power to protect the most vulnerable among us." There never was a truer, more urgent call to the world's social media users. It's from Nadia Goodman, TED's social media editor, in a blog post about the digital aftermath of posting the video of Monica Lewinsky's TED talk in the TED site. [This is a followup to my post on Sunday about the talk, which has gotten nearly 2 … [Read more...] about How brave commenters are growing the power of Lewinsky’s talk
Social circles, more than social media, cause stress: Study
Social media itself doesn't increase our stress levels, but our social lives can. We knew that, right? Caring about others can cause us stress when we see them suffering, and that's one of the things social media does: expose our friends' challenges. We can probably extrapolate a few things about our children's experiences from the Pew Research Center's survey of 1,801 adults that explored … [Read more...] about Social circles, more than social media, cause stress: Study
Monica Lewinsky’s talk going viral: A sign
At some point yesterday, shortly after TED posted it, Monica Lewinsky's 2015 TED Talk had about 198,000 views. One day later, as of this writing, it had gotten 644,394. I believe the reason for this is not just because we're encouraged ourselves when someone has the courage to turn horrific public humiliation into social change. It's also because of the timing of Lewinsky's talk. "There are two … [Read more...] about Monica Lewinsky’s talk going viral: A sign