The timing struck me. Though it seems all of life is at an inflection point now, in the middle of a pandemic, two just-published papers represent a crucial one for digital safety and citizenship education. Individually and together, they offer new guidance that simply mustn’t be lost in the Covid-19 din. The scholars point the way forward for teaching young people essential skills for life in a … [Read more...] about 2 new papers spell a turning point for digital safety & citizenship: Part 1
Crimes Against Children Research Center
At last: Sext ed based on facts not fear
In 1978, an award-winning documentary showed a group of teen juvenile offenders being taken to a New Jersey maximum-security prison, where for three hours “a group of inmates known as ‘the lifers’ berate[d], scream[ed] at, and terrif[ied] the young offenders in an attempt to ‘scare them straight” so they’d stop offending, as Wikipedia tells the story. The film actually popularized the “Scared … [Read more...] about At last: Sext ed based on facts not fear
Clearer picture of what hurts kids online, globally: Research
Even people under 18 would probably say we adults are getting smarter in the way we're viewing cyberbullying (we could ask them [#stuvoice @stu_voice]!). That is, if they knew there's growing consensus among researchers in many countries that "cyberbullying" isn't the most useful term for online hurtful behavior and may be inhibiting what we can learn from young people about what's harmful to them … [Read more...] about Clearer picture of what hurts kids online, globally: Research
The generation-destroying smartphone: Researchers push back
Two years ago, the headline in the Washington Post about researcher Jean Twenge's work was, "Happiness levels are rising for teens, but not for people older than 30," and she was quoted as saying, "our current culture is giving teens what they need, but not mature adults what they need." I'm confused – because the headline in the latest Atlantic Monthly about Dr. Twenge's work suggests the … [Read more...] about The generation-destroying smartphone: Researchers push back
IBPA 2016: Focus on the positive
It's fitting that the last day of a bullying prevention conference focusing on empathy, kindness and resilience happened to be Election Day 2016. Whether or not they were thinking about it, some 750 educators, students, researchers and practitioners together capped off possibly the most divisive, indecent, relationally challenged presidential election season in our history by modeling and … [Read more...] about IBPA 2016: Focus on the positive