Two national news stories this week – one about anti-gay cruelty that ended in a young man's suicide in New Jersey on September 22 (see the New York Times) and the other about anti-gay hate speech from an assistant attorney general in Michigan (see this CNN blog) – indicate a serious need for family discussions about hate speech and bullying, how they are hurtful and destructive to everyone … [Read more...] about Fixing hate online and offline: Everyone’s needed!
cyberbullying
Watching students relate to a president
In its coverage of President Obama's back-to-school speech this week, Youth Radio led with his point toward the end that gets to the core of defeating bullying and cyberbullying (among other social ills!): "If you take away one thing from my speech," the President told students at Masterman Lab School in Philadelphia, "I want you to take away the notion that life is precious, and part of what … [Read more...] about Watching students relate to a president
Fresh takes on ‘cyberbullying’ & how to deal with it
A subhead to this post might be "The flaws of laws" – but also the flawed term "cyberbullying" itself. Every kid is very individual, so every case of bullying or cyberbullying is very individual. It's therefore difficult and probably very unwise to make generalizations about the cases, the children involved, or bullying in general. And increasingly I'm hearing from risk-prevention experts, even as … [Read more...] about Fresh takes on ‘cyberbullying’ & how to deal with it
Youth online risk: Accurate reporting
It's always refreshing to see solid reporting where online kids and parenting are concerned! The main takeaway from this Rome (Ga.) News-Tribune article is that, yes, social media represent a new challenge for parents, but we can usually handle it just fine and here's how. It tells of how a local couple with six children of ages ranging from 6 to 19 – all but the youngest of whom "have a cell … [Read more...] about Youth online risk: Accurate reporting
What ‘justice’ means to Phoebe Prince’s dad
Emily Bazelon, whose in-depth series on what happened in and out of South Hadley High School leading to and since Phoebe Prince's recently appeared in Slate, talked with Phoebe's father, Jeremy Prince. He told Bazelon what Phoebe was like during the three weeks he spent with her over the holidays, that she didn't seem suicidal, wasn't told to be on medication, talked with him a lot. But the one … [Read more...] about What ‘justice’ means to Phoebe Prince’s dad