A whopping 93% of US teens (12-to-17-year-olds) are online, Pew/Internet's Mary Madden told NPR recently. That's up 20 percentage points from the 2000 figure for online teens in the US. Not surprising to most of their parents, the "frequency and intensity" of their Internet use is "also increasing, such that most teens are online every day," Madden also told NPR, and "a majority of teenagers who … [Read more...] about Online teens: Snapshot by numbers
Youth
Online video of teen’s beating in FL
A terrible video of six teenaged girls beating a peer has sparked nationwide discussion on where blame should be placed for the behavior and the video, which police said they put on the Web. According to a local paper, The Ledger, the beating was vicious and remorseless and the situation complicated, involving a group of cheerleaders, one of whom (the victim) - reportedly a troubled teen and honor … [Read more...] about Online video of teen’s beating in FL
Netherlands’ young phone coaches
It's kind of empowering to know that a lot of adults around the world need help learning about how to operate their cellphones. In New Zealand there's Mobile Mentors, springwise.com reports. But what makes even more sense is an initiative in the Netherlands that's "taking advantage of kids’ innate cell phone proficiency by training them as ‘phone coaches’ and getting them to transfer their skills … [Read more...] about Netherlands’ young phone coaches
11-year-old school network admin
A small private school in Arkansas was struggling to keep its network of 60 aging donated computers going on a shoestring budget, so one of its students helped out. "The first thing Jon found as he leapt into the role of network was that he had to map out the network to find out what was on it," NetworkWorld reports. So he simply bought some software that could do that at his local electronics … [Read more...] about 11-year-old school network admin
Gangs on the social Web
Teen gang members use social-networking sites as much as other teenagers. What social networkers and their parents might want to be aware of is how gangs recruit new members online and off. Johnny Vance, a probation officer in Ohio, told the Dayton Daily News the "5 Hs" that tend to make kids most vulnerable to gang overtures: when they're "helpless," "hopeless," "hungry," "homeless," and … [Read more...] about Gangs on the social Web