Good news for online kids on two fronts this week. We're seeing a continuing decline in online sexual solicitations of young people. The widely misrepresented 2000 figure from the Crimes Against Children Research Center was "1 in 5" (more in a minute on the misrepresentation); the 2005 one was "1 in 7" (13%), and the CCRC has just announced that it's now 9% in 2010, which was when the CCRC … [Read more...] about Declines in 2 online risks for youth: Study
online safety
Europe’s new coalition for a better Net for kids
European children "now start going online when they are seven, and 38% of 9-to-12-year-olds who are online say they have a social networking profile, in spite of age restrictions," the European Commission reports. So it has formed "a new Coalition to make a better and safer internet for children" as part of its Digital Agenda for Europe, the Commission announced this week. The coalition's 28 … [Read more...] about Europe’s new coalition for a better Net for kids
Mindfulness for safety as well as success online
As long as there has been a "we" we've had the human drama running in the background of our lives – sometimes in the foreground and even raging in our heads. Social media mirror it, sometimes mass-distribute it, and definitely help keep the drama on the screens of our consciousness 24/7. That goes for the social drama at school that can be overwhelming right when our children are exploring who … [Read more...] about Mindfulness for safety as well as success online
Next step: Crowd-source digital citizenship
I question it even as I'm preparing for talks on the subject in several countries this coming fall…. The term "digital citizenship" is heard more and more in educational and online-safety circles. The subject is now part of the International Society for Technology in Education's national educational technology standards, and ISTE is starting a National Council for its promotion. Elements of it are … [Read more...] about Next step: Crowd-source digital citizenship
A cyberbullying epidemic? No!
Please note: There is no cyberbullying epidemic. Like author and anti-bullying expert Rosalind Wiseman, I can't believe how many times I've been asked about "the epidemic" and what's to be done about it. Rosalind suggests that the epidemic is in bad PSAs and "educational" videos aimed at bullying prevention. I agree, but also suggest that we've been experiencing an epidemic of news coverage of … [Read more...] about A cyberbullying epidemic? No!