Lori Pantel: Believing in Girls Is Good Business

Posted on June 8, 2012 with Comments Off

Taking on the immense issue of girls' waning self-confidence seemed overwhelming, so we began with what we know how to do: telling engaging stories with relatable characters. Then we partnered up with girl-created non-profits.

Read more: The Kind Campaign, We Stop Hate, Monster High Mattel, La Impact, School Bullying, Bullying, Girls Education, Moster High, Los Angeles News

Source article

Facebook for Kids: Is it such a bad idea?

Posted on June 6, 2012 with Comments Off

Filed under: Social Networking

Media has been buzzing with the recent news that Facebook is working on technology that will allow kids under the age of 13 to create an account on the site. With government officials, NGO's, online safety experts and others weighing in on both sides - good or bad, I felt compelled to jump in and voice an opinion.

What Needs to Happen

In order for Facebook to allow kids under the age of 13 on the site, there are several things that need to happen.

To begin with, Facebook must address the COPPA concerns. For those of you who haven't heard of COPPA, it's the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, a federal regulation that requires prior verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information online from children under the age of 13. Facebook needs to obtain parental permission for kids under 13 to create a Facebook account.

It is essential that Facebook fully explores the preteen age range they're targeting and provides an age-appropriate experience for that age range. Not all existing Facebook features are appropriate for a preteen audience regardless of parental consent and oversight, and some may even vary depending on the age of the preteen. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think Facebook is more interested in capturing the 10-12 year old audience as that's the audience most interested in being where their friends are. And, I imagine at this point, Facebook has a pretty good idea of what that age group is now doing, albeit covertly, on their service. This information could be used to help protect them on a legitimate Facebook account.

Hand-in-hand with providing an age-appropriate experience, Facebook must provide parents with the means to monitor and supervise their children. For instance, Facebook could offer a predetermined, baseline experience for kids under 13 and provide parents with the tools to customize the experience making it either more restrictive or less restrictive based on a combination of factors including their children's age, maturity level, family norms as well as time parents are willing to commit to micromanaging the experience.

Facebook needs to embed a strong educational program into the experience focusing on both digital citizenship and online safety. Embedding education into the experience takes it beyond safety tips at the bottom of a page or a link to Facebook's safety site, but rather places teachable moments throughout the experience, especially at the point of interactivity when crucial decisions are being made.

Lastly, Facebook will have to make it easy for kids to report potential problems and, at the same time, should also employ technological solutions to proactively identify problems.

The Benefits

Assuming all the above needs are met, let's look at the benefits.

Facebook is ultimately offering a solution to the growing problem of underage users on their service, either there with or without their parent's consent. We've heard from Facebook that they remove 20,000 underage users daily from their service and these are only the ones they identify. These children are currently in an environment that offers them no protection for their age group - parental, technological, and/or educational. Creating an environment specifically for children will address these issues.

Connecting parents with preteen children on Facebook starts the parental involvement early on in the child's social media life-cycle. It brings the child into an environment that the typical parent of a preteen has used and has knowledge of, ultimately making the parent the expert if only for a brief time. This is a time when children are still willing to listen and learn from their parents, and less likely to push boundaries.

Relying on parents to oversee the social networking experience early on creates a platform for ongoing conversation. It provides valuable insight to the parent as to the child's expectations with respect to online social interactions. It builds an online collaboration between parent and child that can continue on as the child ages.

Gradual graduation to Facebook from the preteen to teens will make for more informed teens who are well aware of digital citizenship and online safety, including managing their reputation.

Additionally, some of the tools designed for the preteen experience could be utilized for parents to keep a closer eye on their younger teens on Facebook; those ranging from 13 to 15 who typically jump in without any guidance at all. Facebook for under 13's will produce teens who have matured in the social media realm with the expectation that parents play a significant role.

If correctly implemented, Facebook could offer kids and parents a shared platform that would afford kids a safer environment to explore, learn and ultimately understand the responsibility that comes along with social media. Think of it as a virtual 'kiddie pool' of sorts.

With this said, I don't think 'Facebook for Kids' is a bad idea. What do you think?

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Source article

iKeepSafe: Sextortion

Posted on June 4, 2012 with Comments Off

Filed under: Sexting

Popular social networking sites tout that 94% of teens are online with 43% percent of their online profiles set to "OPEN;" meaning that anyone can view profile contents. One popular site asserts that they have 400 million active users with that number doubling every six months. Considering these staggering numbers, crime is only limited by the human imagination.

One growing trend involves "SEXTORTION;" a practice of coercing an individual into sending sexually explicit images/videos and then using those images as leverage to compel the originator to send additional images/videos or even engage in sexual conduct. So, how does this happen?

Often, someone (suspect) creates a fake profile or chat posing as someone else who then makes a request to "friend" or otherwise have contact with the individual. The suspect sends a picture or video depicting the fake persona and requests return pictures/videos. Believing that he/she is sending a picture to a known friend, the victim snaps a few revealing images and hits send. The suspect then begins to threaten the victim. The victim is told to send more compromising pictures or the suspect will post the previous images on a porn site. He/she will often send links to the porn site in order to prove that he/she is serious about the threat. In an effort to further control the victim, the suspect often gathers information from social networking sites and then threatens to send the compromising pictures to parents, friends, etc.

This problem is further exacerbated by the growing trend of video chatting with complete strangers. One recent case involved a young girl visiting her friend's home. The two girls decided to have some "fun" on the computer by striking up a video chat with an unknown person. The suspect began to flatter the young girls and encourage them to disrobe and pose in compromising positions. The girls agreed, believing their actions to be harmless, as they were communicating with a total stranger in another part of the country. The suspect captured the video images and began to threaten to disclose the girls' escapades if they did not comply with his demands. Fortunately, an engaged parent learned of the situation and contacted law enforcement. The suspect was eventually arrested and the investigation revealed an additional 25 victims. The suspect reported that his "sextortion" strategies were successful about 85% of the time.

While the internet has many positive benefits, evolving trends remind us of the need to remain vigilant in our efforts to protect our young people. This challenge is too great for any single individual. As such, we must continue to strengthen and educate our community of support. Working together, we will be much better prepared for the evolving dynamics of "Cyber-life."

Brought to you in Partnership with iKeepSafe

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Source article

The Gay Selma

Posted on June 2, 2012 with Comments Off

Gay kids have long been a target of bullying. Until recently incidents could be laughed off as "pranks," and no one suffered any consequences -- excep...

Read more: Homophobia, Gay Bullying, Teen Bullying, Schools, Bully, Anti-Gay Bullying, School Bullying, Bullying, Gay Voices News

Source article

Bullying May Have Affected Boy, 12, Who Hanged Himself

Posted on June 1, 2012 with Comments Off

Many who knew Joel Morales, 12, in and out of school, said he had been often been a subject of harsh treatment from peers.

Source article

Jody Huckaby: Cultivating Respect: Safe Schools for All

Posted on May 31, 2012 with Comments Off

For too many of our children, attending school can be a frightening experience. As parents, families, friends, and allies we need to do something to make schools safer for ALL students.

Read more: Lgbt, Education, School Bullying, Bullying, Safe Schools, Gay Rights, LGBT Rights, Pflag, Anti-Bullying, Gay Voices News

Source article

Boy Hangs Himself After Bullies Tease Him About Dead Father

Posted on May 31, 2012 with Comments Off

Joel Morales, a 12-year-old student in East Harlem, New York City, hanged himself after bullies at school taunted him for his size, intelligence and t...

Read more: Anti-Bullying Laws, New York Public Schools, Joel Morales, Bullying, New York Schools, Slidepollajax, Joel Morales Suicide, School Bullying, Student Kills Himself About Bullying, Anti-Bullying, Education News

Source article

Charges for Bullying in Morristown, N.J., of Teenager Who Killed Himself

Posted on May 31, 2012 with Comments Off

Two high school students in Morristown, N.J., are charged with robbery, theft, conspiracy and making terroristic threats for allegedly bullying a 15-year-old who committed suicide.

Source article

Can You Really Teach A Kid To Become Bullyproof?

Posted on May 30, 2012 with Comments Off

NEW YORK -- Teaching kids to become "bullyproof" is all the rage. Books, videos and websites promise to show parents how to protect their kids from be...

Read more: School Bullyings, Teaching Bullyproofing, Students Bullied, Kids Bullied, Defensive Jujitsu, Courage to Care, Bullies, Bullyproofing, School Bullying, Bully-Proofing Your School, Martial Arts, Video, Education News

Source article

Teen Punished By School After Reporting Student Bullying Of Special Needs Girl

Posted on May 28, 2012 with Comments Off

Stormy Rich, an 18-year-old Florida student, says she was punished after reporting bullying of a special needs student on a school bus, and standing u...

Read more: Florida Schools, Teen Bullied, Special Needs Students, Florida Teen, Student Punished for Reporting Bullying, High School Student Punished, Special Needs Children, Student Bullied, School Bus Bullying, Stormy Rich, School Bullying, Umatilla High School, Anti-Bullying, Education News

Source article