Last week a look at social networking U13s on Facebook in the US; this week, a fascinating, more in-depth look at Europe, thanks to the thorough, recently released pan-European research of EU Kids Online. Though there's a lot of variation country by country, European youth as a whole are just as avid a group of online social networkers as American kids and teens are, if not more so. Among … [Read more...] about Kids’ & teens’ social networking in Europe
Parenting
Hawk drama (& human drama) in the digital age
The subhead might be: "Birth and growth under the digital microscope" or "The 'observer effect' with digital media." And a red-tailed hawk family in New York City is the metaphor. In this case, mom and dad hawks built a nest outside the window of the 12th-floor office of New York University's president, and "furnished it with three speckled buff-white eggs," the New York Times reports. The Times … [Read more...] about Hawk drama (& human drama) in the digital age
Under-age on Facebook: New study
The Consumer Reports headline reads, "That Facebook friend might be 10 years old, and other troubling news," but – interestingly – fewer and fewer parents find it troubling. Most of today's headlines about under-13 social networkers are about the Consumer Reports survey, which found that 20 million, or about 13% of Facebook's 150 million active US users are under 18 and 7.5 million, or about 5%, … [Read more...] about Under-age on Facebook: New study
A parent/author/tech pundit’s view on how to teach kids privacy
By blocking social media in schools and monitoring our kids at home, we've been falling down on the job – our job of educating them about how to protect their own privacy in an increasingly networked world. Blocking and monitoring has taught them to develop workarounds, not good privacy practices. "We want our kids to fight isolation with networks," said father and pundit Cory Doctorow in this … [Read more...] about A parent/author/tech pundit’s view on how to teach kids privacy
The need to teach kids privacy self-protection
If recent news – about the iPhone, the PlayStation Network, and the privacy breach du jour – says nothing else, it says no digital media user can rely on companies to protect our privacy. No huge surprise, but an important reminder. And in this user-driven media environment, this reality will not change, no matter how many calls there are for more regulation. So, to get them in the mindset as … [Read more...] about The need to teach kids privacy self-protection