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The Internet’s changing. Internet safety needs to too.

March 7, 2019 By Anne Leave a Comment

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg just announced a sea change for Facebook, one that "will mean taking positions on important issues concerning the future of the internet," he wrote. I think he's right, and not just because Facebook is the Internet in some countries or because its products have affected elections and the public order (or lack thereof) in many countries, including ours. I agree, too, … [Read more...] about The Internet’s changing. Internet safety needs to too.

Filed Under: Law & Policy, Risk & Safety, Youth Tagged With: end to end encryption, Facebook, Internet safety, Living Online Lab, Mark Zuckerberg, public health, Tencent, WeChat

In 2017, chatbots & other imaginary friends

December 26, 2016 By Anne 2 Comments

I am not kidding: The latest tech developments – and certainly not just those aimed at kids – remind me of the much-loved cartoon show of the last decade, "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends." There are all kinds of imaginary friends emerging, from the toy kind to the digital kind to the kind kids believe they are and have as fans of each other. That probably doesn't make complete sense yet, so … [Read more...] about In 2017, chatbots & other imaginary friends

Filed Under: Literacy & Citizenship, Parenting, Risk & Safety, Social Media Tagged With: Facebook Messenger, Hatchimals, i-Que Intelligent Robot, Kik, My Friend Cayla, Ted Livingston, WeChat, YouTube

Messaging apps rule: What’s interesting about that for parents

March 21, 2016 By Anne Leave a Comment

This statement stopped me in my tracks when I was reading about how messaging apps now reign supreme in social media: "'Ask and you shall receive' has become the new customer experience." I'll tell you why that gave me pause in a moment. First a look at what's being reported about mobile messaging. "The top four messaging apps—WhatsApp and Messenger (both owned by Facebook), WeChat and … [Read more...] about Messaging apps rule: What’s interesting about that for parents

Filed Under: apps, mobile, Parenting, Social Media, texting, Youth Tagged With: Alison Ledgerwood, David Finkelhor, Facebook Messenger, Kik, messaging, messenger apps, Susan Stiffelman, texting apps, Viber, WeChat, WhatsApp

The universe in an app: Will youth create a trend within the trend?

April 21, 2015 By Anne Leave a Comment

The days of simple, single-use apps may be over. Or not, depending on the user, his or her context and a whole lot of other factors. But there is a bit of a trend among messaging apps. Not all apps – particularly the No. 1 messaging app, Facebook's WhatsApp with 600+ million users – are part of it, though, so where you are in the world has been a driver of this trend so far. The trend, … [Read more...] about The universe in an app: Will youth create a trend within the trend?

Filed Under: apps, kids, mobile, Parenting, Social Media, teens, texting, tweens, Youth Tagged With: Facebook Messenger, LINE, messaging, messengers, Snapchat, texting apps, WeChat, WhatsApp

Texting options multiplying like rabbits (even more now)

June 6, 2014 By Anne 1 Comment

Everybody's, including kids', texting and talking options continue to multiply like rabbits. First there was texting from your mobile carrier, then phone-based texting like Apple's iMessage and voice via computers (later adding in phones) as with Google Voice and Skype. Along came texting apps too, such as the simple and spare WhatsApp now owned by Facebook and the something-for-everybody, … [Read more...] about Texting options multiplying like rabbits (even more now)

Filed Under: apps, mobile, Social Media, texting, Youth Tagged With: Apple, apps, Kik, LINE, mobile, mobile chat, Nimbuzz, smartphones, Snapchat, TakaoTalk, Tango, texting, Viber, WeChat, WhatsApp

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2016 TEDx Talk on
the heart of digital citizenship

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IMPORTANT RESOURCES

Our (DIGITAL) PARENTING BASICS: Safety + Social
NAMLE, the National Association for Media Literacy Education
CASEL.org & the 5 core social-emotional competencies of SEL
Center for Democracy & Technology
Center for Innovative Public Health Research
Childnet International
Committee for Children
Congressional Internet Caucus Academy
ConnectSafely.org
Control Shift: a pivotal book for Internet safety
Crimes Against Children Research Center
Crisis Textline
Cyber Civil Rights Initiative's Revenge Porn Crisis Line
Cyberwise.org
danah boyd's blog and book about networked youth
Disconnected, Carrie James's book on digital ethics
FOSI.org's Good Digital Parenting
The research of Global Kids Online
The Good Project at Harvard's School of Education
If you watch nothing else: "Parenting in a Digital Age" TED Talk by Prof. Sonia Livingstone
The International Bullying Prevention Association
Let Grow Foundation
Making Caring Common
Raising Digital Natives, author Devorah Heitner's site
Renee Hobbs at the Media Education Lab
MediaSmarts.ca
The New Media Literacies
Report of the Aspen Task Force on Learning & the Internet and our guide to Creating Trusted Learning Environments
The Ruler Approach to social-emotional learning (Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence)
Sources of Strength
"Young & Online: Perspectives on life in a digital age" from young people in 26 countries (via UNICEF)
"Youth Safety on a Living Internet": 2010 report of the Online Safety & Technology Working Group (and my post about it)

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Recent Posts

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  • New global service for getting nudes off the Internet
  • Then there’s the flip side of ChatGPT
  • For SID 2023: What youth want ‘online safety’ to teach
  • ChatGPT for media literacy training
  • Future safety: Content moderators and digital grassroots justice
  • Mental health 2023, Part 1: Youth on algorithms
  • Where did my Twitter go? And other end-of-2022 notes

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