...leads to "continuous partial empathy"? "Continuous partial attention" is the way some researchers are describing what's happening when people communicate or socialize with social-media tools like Twitter, instant messaging, chat, texting, etc. Fast Company looks at a new report from the Brain and Creativity Institute at USC, which argues that the brain is quick to recognize and empathize when … [Read more...] about ‘Continuous partial attention…’
social networking
‘Digital Samaritans’ and lost ‘n’ founds
It's great to see a good news story for a change, so don't miss the one in the New York Times about how more and more people are using social-network and -media sites to get found valuables and critters back to their missing owners (case studies for digital citizenship training?!). New, altruistically minded lost 'n' found Web sites are also popping up, as are some startups who see a business … [Read more...] about ‘Digital Samaritans’ and lost ‘n’ founds
Facebook friend saves suicidal teen
A girl in the US saw a suicidal comment from a UK boy on her Facebook friends list, and within three hours he was found and taken to the hospital for treatment, The Daily Mail reports. "Shortly before 11.30pm [last] Wednesday [the 16-year-old boy] wrote: ‘I’m going away to do something I’ve been thinking about for a while then everyone will find out'." His friend knew the school he went to but not … [Read more...] about Facebook friend saves suicidal teen
Teens’ online friends = offline friends: Study
Fresh evidence this week that most teens use the Web to socialize with their "real life" friends - "people they already know rather than strangers who might turn out to be predators," USATODAY reports. A study of students in grades 9-12 by University of California researchers "will be presented at a meeting of the Society of Research in Child Development" this week, and similar findings were … [Read more...] about Teens’ online friends = offline friends: Study
Major update on Net predators: CCRC study
As scary as some of the reports covering it may make it look, there's a lot of good news for online youth in the much-anticipated new study from UNH's Crimes Against Children Research Center, "Trends in Arrests of Online Predators." I hope the news coverage doesn't focus solely on the nearly five-fold increase in online predator arrests since the CCRC's last such study in 2000, but even if it … [Read more...] about Major update on Net predators: CCRC study