Everloop, a new social site aimed at kids 8-13, is not just another virtual world. Or social network site. It's not a kids' Facebook or alternative to Whyville.net or LEGO Universe, contrary to what's being reported (see Mashable). But it's also not just an online space. What it is depends on who's looking at it. To kids and parents, it's like a virtual-world and/or social-network mall that's … [Read more...] about Virtual world ‘mall’ now has online-safety ‘store’
Common Sense Media
First-ever Net-safety-ed app for smartphones
I'm stating my bias right up front because ConnectSafely contributed to this little app, but isn't it kind of cool that there are digestible little bytes of fixed and mobile online-safety education right in people's pockets now? This is safety and security ed for the smallest screens, and you can download the Net Safety On-the-Go app here. "This app provides quick, practical, friendly advice for … [Read more...] about First-ever Net-safety-ed app for smartphones
Youth privacy study: Should focus be only on parents’ views?
I'm sure Internet industry CEOs who've said or implied that "privacy is dead" are wishing they never had. I am too – but for different reasons. Where online kids are concerned, statements like that break an important global discussion down into a simplistic, binary argument about whether or not companies protect children's privacy. That argument keeps us (parents) focused on the wrong things and … [Read more...] about Youth privacy study: Should focus be only on parents’ views?
Help for teaching digital citizenship
"The Internet is where children are growing up," the New York Times reports, citing Kaiser Family Foundation research suggesting that they're online or interacting with digital media just about every hour they're not asleep or in school. So it follows that they really need to learn what it means to be good people online as well as in real life. Or good digital citizens. More and more parents and … [Read more...] about Help for teaching digital citizenship
Parental disconnect: Good, bad & increasingly nonexistent?
In "What Parents Don't Know," MediaPost blogger Jack Loechner echoes Common Sense Media's own conclusion from its recent survey: that there's "a continuing disconnect between parents and kids when it comes to kids' digital lives." [Pew/Internet reported a "digital disconnect" in 2002, but between students and their schools, which I plan to write about next week.]But how different are kids' … [Read more...] about Parental disconnect: Good, bad & increasingly nonexistent?