Now that I've just passed the 20-year mark of writing about youth and digital media, I thought I'd share with you my top takeaways as a participant observer in the Internet safety space. Here's Part 1. Now the three chunks of Part 2: 4. It's individual, situational and contextual. Internet safety works best from the inside out. I love the irony of generalizing the individuality of social … [Read more...] about 6 takeaways from 20 years of Net safety: Part 2
Sonia Livingstone
Insights from under 18 Net users in 4 countries: Research
Young people worldwide are beginning to see the Internet "as a human right, a necessity." That's from Global Kids Online, a research project and network now encompassing 33 countries (and counting). It just released findings from South Africa, the Philippines, Serbia and Argentina, summarized here. "My favorite apps are social media – Whatsapp and Facebook. Also Instagram," 15-year-old Siyanda … [Read more...] about Insights from under 18 Net users in 4 countries: Research
About the AAP’s media guidelines for parents
The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated its guidance on screen time for families by de-emphasizing the term "screen time." The AAP's focus is now more on the "how" of media use than the "how much." "The key is mindful use of media within a family," the AAP's press release quoted Megan Moreno, MD, lead author of the Academy's policy statement for school-aged children and … [Read more...] about About the AAP’s media guidelines for parents
Learning about ‘The Class’: Researchers on their year in middle school
There is no way a book about spending a year in the life of a middle school class – its 28 students' home, school and digital experiences – could be reduced to a single theme. But one main takeaway from The Class, by UK researchers Sonia Livingstone and Julian Sefton-Green, may surprise and sound familiar at the same time: the old saying that "the more things change, the more they stay the … [Read more...] about Learning about ‘The Class’: Researchers on their year in middle school
Our humanity, not our tech, is the key to fixing online hate
To mark Safer Internet Day 2016, let's take stock of what we've learned so far and what we can do with the knowledge we've gained so far about online hate.... It has taken a couple of decades but, collectively, we're definitely getting smarter about online risk and how to avoid and address it. We're also getting smarter about how people of various ages, cultures and interests experience and … [Read more...] about Our humanity, not our tech, is the key to fixing online hate