Click here for a resource list for youth in crisis and their care givers.
Parents’ Guide to Facebook 2012 Edition Now Available
ConnectSafely.org, the non-profit organization where I serve as co-director along with Anne Collier, has just released A Parents Guide to Facebook (PDF), a free 36-page downloadable guide to help parents and their kids get the most from the world’s largest social networking service.
The all-new guide shows how to take advantage of the service’s safety features and privacy controls, while emphasizing the positive things that young people are doing on Facebook.
The guide covers:
- Configuring Facebook’s new timeline
- How to review your activity log
- Using “in-line privacy”
- Using Facebook’s “social reporting” tools to resolve problems
- How to protect your online reputation
- Safe use of Facebook mobile
- And much more
Click to read or print A Parents Guide to Facebook
Google+ Now Open for Teens, With Extra Safety Precautions
When Google launched Google+ in June, 2010, it was for adults only. Now it’s open to anyone 13 or older. The reason Google kept teens off the service at first is not because the social network was ever about what we euphemistically call “adult content,” but because Google wanted to take extra time to get it right before opening the doors to people under 18. After several months of testing, Google thinks it’s reached a good balance. In rolling out the teen welcome mat, Bradley Horowitz, Google’s Product VP for Google+ said, “We want to help teens build meaningful connections online. We also want to provide features that foster safety alongside self-expression. Today we’re doing both, for everyone who’s old enough for a Google Account (13+ in most countries).”
Before opening Google+ for teens, Google consulted with child safety and teen safety experts including ConnectSafely.org, a non-profit Internet safety organization where I serve as co-director along with Anne Collier. And to help parents better understand Google+, Anne Collier and I wrote A Parents Guide to Google Plusand helped Google with its new Google+ Teen Safety Guide.
For the most part, teens’ experience on Google+ will be just like adults, but there are some special safeguards for users under 18. Google didn’t put any major breaks on teens — it’s giving them plenty of freedom to express themselves to their friends or even to the world, but it did make some of the default settings for teens more restrictive than for adults. If teens (or adults) decide to change them, they can, but how a service sets its defaults is very important. It’s a type of recommendation — the company’s way of saying “this is how we think most people should use our service,” and — besides — most people never get around to changing defaults.
Circular logic
Everyone on Google+ is encouraged to create circles where they group their friends and other contacts. You could have a circle of just family members, another circle of schoomates and another circle of people on your soccer team. You can have as many circles as you want and you can call the circles whatever you want to call them. People in your circles are notified, but don’t know the name of the circle(s) you’ve put them in. And it’s asyncronous. You can be one of my circles, but you don’t have to put me in any of yours. In that case, you’d see what I post to circles you’re in but I’d only see what you post to the public, unless you added me to one of your circles.
Circles work the same for teens as they do for adults, but there are some special safeguards consisting of warnings and different default settings.
Safeguards for teens
- If teens post something directed to extended circles or the public, they’ll get a warning reminding them that “when you share to your extended circles, people you haven’t added to your circles will be able to view your post and may be able to comment.”
- All Google+ users can control “who can notify me.” For adults, the default is “anyone,” but for teens the default is people in their circles. Adults can make their settings more restrictive and teens can make theirs more open, but the default for teens is designed to limit who can contact them.
- By default, anyone can comment on an adult’s public posts, but for teens it’s only people in their circles.
- There are also some differences in the profile defaults. Your profile is where others can see a bit about who you are and who you interact with on Google+. By default, employment and Education can be seen by anyone (Public) if you’re an adult, but for teens, the default is “just your circles.”
- Adults’ “Relationship Status” can be seen by people in their extended circles, but only in “your circles” for teens.
- In the hang-out feature, up to 10 people can have a video chat. For teens if someone outside anyof their circles joins in, the teen is temporarily pulled out of the hangout and asked if they want to continue. It’ a way of pausing the action for a second and encouraging the teen to think about whether he or she wants to remain in this hangout.
Teens are temporarily pulled out of a video hangout if someone outside their circles enters
The precautions that Google put into place will help remind teens about safe and appropriate use of Google+ but, as my ConnectSafely co-director Anne Collier pointed out in a blog post, “Just as with most protections and any services on the social Web, these are not about control. Users choose to go with the defaults – or not.” And even services that have strict controls can’t always enforce them. “There’s always a workaround even for the strictest safeguards any parent or site might impose,” said Collier, “including software that disallows social networking sites altogether.”
Disclosure: Larry Magid serves as co-director of ConnectSafely.org which receives financial support from Google, Facebook and other social media companies.
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Google+ Now Open for Teens With Extra Safety Precautions
When Google launched Google+ in June, 2010 it was for adults only. Now it’s open to anyone 13 or older. The reason Google kept teens off the service at first is not because the social network was ever about what we euphemistically call “adult content,” but because Google wanted to take extra time to get it right before opening the doors to people under 18. After several months of testing, Google thinks it’s reached a good balance. In announcing the teen welcome mat, Bradley Horowiz, Google’s Product VP for Google+ said, “We want to help teens build meaningful connections online. We also want to provide features that foster safety alongside self-expression. Today we’re doing both, for everyone who’s old enough for a Google Account (13+ in most countries).”
Safeguards for teens
For the most part, teens’ experience on Google+ will be just like adults, but there are some special safeguards for users under 18. Google didn’t put any major breaks on teens — it’s giving them plenty of freedom to express themselves to their friends or even to the world, but it did make some of the default settings for teens more restrictive than for adults. If teens (or adults) decide to change them, they can, but how a service sets its defaults is very important. It’s a type of recommendation — the company’s way of saying “this is how we think most people should use our service,” and — besides — most people never get around to changing defaults.
For example, all Google+ users can control “who can notify me.” For adults, the default is “anyone,” but for teens the default is people in their circles. Adults can make their settings more restrictive and teens can make theirs more open, but the default for teens is designed to limit who can contact them. The same is true with commenting on their public posts. By default, it’s anyone for adults but for teens it’s only people in their circles.
There are also some differences in the profile defaults, where others can see a bit about who you are and who you interact with on Google+. By default, Employment and Education can be seen by anyone (Public) if you’re an adult, but for teens, the default is “just your circles.” Adults’s ‘Relationship Status” can be seen by people in their “extended circles,” but only “your circles” for teens.
There are also some differences in the hang-out feature where you can invite up to 10 people to have a video chat. For teens if someone outside anyof their circles joins in, the teen is temporarily pulled out of the hangout and asked if they want to continue. It’ a way of pausing the action for a second and forcing the teen to think about whether he or she wants to remain in this hangout.
Teens are temporarily pulled out of a video hangout if someone outside their circles enters
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5-Ways To Protect Yourself If You Were Zapped by Zappos Breach
As you may have heard, Zappos announced that it experienced a data breach on Sunday. In an email to customers, the online shoe and clothing retailer that’s owned by Amazon said “there may have been illegal and unauthorized access to some of your customer account information on Zappos.com.”
Comprised data includes:
- your name
- e-mail address
- billing and shipping addresses
- phone number
- the last four digits of your credit card number
- cryptographically scrambled password
Even though the company said that passwords were encrypted (“scrambled”), it expired and reset customer passwords as a precaution and asked customers to create a new password.
1. Easy way to create different passwords for different accounts
Even though just about every security expert warns against it, many people use the same password for different accounts. The problem is that if one account is compromised, the hackers can break into your other accounts. It may seem like an overwhelming task to have a different password for different accounts, but it’s actually easier than you might think.
First, come up with a phrase that you can use to generate an easy-to-remember but hard to guess password. For example, if you met someone named Susie Smith in 1995, your password could be based on the phrase “I first met Susie Smith in 95,” and the password itself would be IfmSSi#95. Adding those upper case characters for proper nouns along with a # sign and numbers greatly increases security.
Then, to make the passwords unique, consider adding a character at the beginning and/or end for each site. For example, your Zappos password could be ZIfmSSi#95s, using the first and last character of Zappos in the password. For Amazon, you would use AImSSi#85n, etc.
2. Change your security questions
Most sites that use passwords have security questions that you can answer to recover a password or as an extra measure of security. Make sure these aren’t obvious to answer. If lots of people know your mother’s maiden name or the name of your first car, then try to come up with a more secure question and answer set if the site lets you select your own questions.
3. Consider using a password management tool
There are several password management tools including Lastpass and RoboForm that enable you to store your passwords in the cloud or on your device and have the software (or app) enter them for you. In addition to a level of security, these tools offer a great deal of convenience and make it easier to have very different passwords for each account.
4. Check your credit accounts and reports
Although credit card numbers weren’t reportedly compromised in the Zappos attack, it’s always a good idea to frequently look at your online credit card and bank statements for recent suspicious activity. Also, you can get a free annual credit report from each of three major bureaus.
5. Have up-to-date security
If you don’t have security software, get some. And be it along with your operating system and applications are up-to-date.
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So your kid is looking at porn. Now what?
by Larry Magid
Let’s be honest. Many children — especially post-pubescent boys — are interested in what we commonly call “porn.” You might not like the idea that some kids are looking at these images, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a pretty common occurrence.
This column isn’t about young children or children who accidentally come across unwanted sexual material. Those are different issues. The question I want to explore is how a parent should react if they discover their growing child — typically 12 or older — is deliberately looking at sexually explicit material on the Internet.
Nothing new or unusual
First, recognize that there’s nothing new about teens looking at such material.
We didn’t have the Internet when I was 14, but that didn’t stop kids from getting their hands on copies of Playboy. Porn has been around for centuries and we’re far from the first generation of parents who have had to deal with it.
There are a number of reasons why kids look at pornography. For some, it’s to be “cool.” There are reported cases of relatively young children using porn to impress their friends, much as kids sometimes smoke to show their independence.
Sometimes it’s curiosity, but in many cases — especially for males past puberty, it’s for stimulation at times when no one else is around.
Interest in sex and voyeuristic behavior to satisfy sexual urges are completely normal. Whether the young person makes up images in his head, gets them from television shows, movies, magazines or images on the Internet, the process is much the same.
Engage but don’t overreact
The first answer is not to freak out. Take a deep breath and spend some time thinking about the situation before you do anything. If possible, talk it over with the child’s other parent before confronting the child.
Don’t overreact. How you respond to the situation can have more of an effect than the exposure itself, according to Richard Toft, a child psychologist in Palo Alto, California.
“Parents,” said Dr. Toft, “need to approach porn the same way they approach any issue about their child’s sexuality. There are laws involved, there is responsibility involved, and there is a life long impact of everything they do whether they want to admit it or not.” Dr. Toft added, “Parents are going to do best if they do not consider porn isolated from sexuality. They need to address their moral feelings about sex, and porn is part of that. It is also best addressed ahead of time not after the fact.” He added, “A parent’s reaction can have a tremendous impact, and you could make it traumatic by ranting, raving and threatening reprisals.”‘
Porn and sexuality
Dr. Marty Klein, a Silicon Valley-based marriage counselor, psychotherapist, and sex therapist, said that “many parents are blissfully ignoring their kids’ sexuality. They don’t talk about sex with their children when they’re young and when they trip over their kid’s porn at age 14, they suddenly realize their kid is a sexual being. ” Finding that your kid is using porn, said Dr. Klein, “can be a teachable moment. It can be turned into a positive thing. It may be long overdue for a parent to have a few conversations about sex with their kid.” He added,” we don’t wait around for our kids to ask about taking care of their teeth. We teach them dental hygiene when they’re young. It’s the same with sex.” Dr. Klein argues that “you can’t talk about porn without talking about your kid masturbating. One of the reason parents don’t want their kids looking at porn is because they’re uncomfortable with their kid masturbating.” Klein said that there is no evidence that masturbation is harmful or dangerous unless the child is doing it so much that it’s interfering with other activities.
Dr. Daniel Broughton, a pediatrician at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota who for 13 years served as chairman of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, says to be careful to distinguish the child’s behavior from the feelings that may be behind it.
“What the kid has done may be an issue, but what a kid is feeling or thinking is not the problem. You don’t say `You’re a bad kid for thinking this,’ even if you do feel that he has been a naughty kid for doing it.”
You don’t need a psychologist or a pediatrician to recognize how this can be an extremely embarrassing situation for you and your child. After all, you’re entering into the child’s private space. While having sex involves another person, viewing pornography often involves only the child and the screen.
Broughton cautions parents not to send their child to a psychologist or psychiatrist at the first sign of such exposure.
“You might want to seek professional advice yourself on how to deal with it, but that doesn’t mean you should seek professional care for your child,” he said.
Both Toft and Broughton feel it’s appropriate for a parent to talk with their child so the child knows how the parent feels about pornography and the child’s behavior. Again, both professionals caution parents not to make their child feel as if he is somehow abnormal or perverted.
Role models
Cordelia Anderson, a Minneapolis-based prevention consultant in the field of sexual health recommends parents counter the messages their kids may see when viewing porn. “Parents may want to be the main sexuality educator for their children rather than by omission having it be pornography.” She said that parents “should think about the messages it contains about gender, equity and sex and sexuality” as well as the “role and expectation of being male or female in this culture, about respect for your partner and sex in the context of a caring respectful relationship, and what kinds of images and practices they want to shape their arousal.”
Putting it into context
It’s also important to put the activity into context. An occasional peek at pornography or use of pornography for sexual stimulation, according to Toft, is not as much of a mental health concern as are cases where children are obsessed with the material. If the child is looking at pornography for hours at a time, or is collecting it, then you may have a more serious problem that requires professional help.
When it could be more serious
Though it’s rare, there are cases where adults have used pornography as part of the grooming process to make the child more susceptible to sexual exploitation. It can also be a financial issue if the child uses a credit card to get access to paid sites.
Also, if any of the images are of people under 18, the child might be accessing illegal child pornography. If so, put an immediate end to it and destroy any copies that may be printed or stored on a computer or phone. Possession of child pornography is a serious crime that could lead to prosecution and being required to register as a sex offender. This is especially important if the images are of pre-pubescent children, but even if your child is looking at images of teens and even if you think it may be “age appropriate,” it may still be illegal. Minors can be prosecuted and the law is sometimes applied even when kids receive or send sexually explicit photos to other kids (so-called “sexting.”)
Consequences yet restraint
Broughton says parents need to dish out consequences for inappropriate behavior, but shouldn’t lash out with severe punishment the first time. “If the parents feel that the child has done something wrong, there needs to be a penalty, but it needs to be commensurate to the issue. The first time the penalty should be relatively mild like, `You can’t use the computer unless a parent is there for two days.’ As the offenses become more repeated, the consequences should become more severe.”
When talking with your child, consider bringing up some of the consequences of spending time on these types of sites. For one thing, the depictions on some Internet sites go far beyond pictures of naked people. There is often very graphic sex as well as a variety of divergent sexual practices that can be especially problematic for someone who has little or no sexual experience.
Violent vs. non-violent material
The type of material a child is looking at can have an impact on their behavior said according to a study published in the January/February 2011 issue of Aggressive Behavior. A research team led by Dr. Michele Ybarra found that “intentional exposure to violent x-rated material over time predicted an almost 6-fold increase in the odds of self-reported sexually aggressive behavior, whereas exposure to nonviolent x-rated material was not statistically significantly related.”
After reviewing empirical studies, Christopher Ferguson, Associate Professor of Psychology and Criminal Justice” at Texas A&M International University concluded, “Overall, pornography viewing effects on minors appears to be fairly minimum for most outcomes, particularly for “regular” non-violent porn. There appears to be little evidence overall that viewing non-violentpornography increases sexual aggression. Even for violent pornography the evidence is inconsistent at best.” He added that “the research also indicates what is called ‘violent porn’ is actually very rare.”
There is a lot of concern about the type of porn that’s online compared to what was easily available in the past. Porn is more explicit and it sometimes depicts acts that fantasize behavior that appears to be hurtful. Dr.Klein said that parents can help kids distinguish between fantasy and reality when it comes to sexually explicit material. Parents should explain to children that people in porn films are “actors and actresses and that they’re not really hurting each other.” He likened it to watching the 3 Stooges poke each other or kids playing with guns. “Just like some kids like to play with guns and would never hurt anyone, some adults like to play games with sex, but wouldn’t really hurt each other.”
Blocking and monitoring porn
If you feel that your child needs some restraint beyond what you can accomplish through conversation or house rules, you can put a filter on whatever devices the child uses. There are programs for computers and apps for smart phones that do a reasonably good job of blocking sexually explicit material without blocking appropriate sites. These programs are not perfect and they are not for every child but they can help a child control his or her impulses. If you use such a program, it’s best to discuss it with your child so he knows why it’s there. You should also consider removing the software or lessening its restrictions as your child shows signs of self-control.
To prevent accidental exposure, consider configuring your search engine for “Safe search.” You can do that within Google, but as easier option is to use SafeKids.com Child Safe Search page that’s powered by Google. Yahoo also has a safe search setting as does Microsoft’s Bing.
Of course there are ways around filters (including using a different device — porn can be viewed on any Internet connected device including game consoles, phones, tablets and even an iPod Touch) and ultimately your child will reach an age where you have no ability to control what they do, so remember that the best filter isn’t the one that runs on a device, but the one that runs on the computer inside the child’s head.
Finally, recognize that conversations like this are part of parenting. Difficult as they are, they can ultimately be good for your children and your relationship with them.
This article also appears on Forbes.com.
Rise in social media correlates with safer experiences for teens
Here’s a shocker for some. By two important measures, teens are safer online now than they were before the advent of social media.
A new report, “Trends in Youth Internet Victimization: Findings From Three Youth Internet Safety Surveys 2000 –2010,” (PDF) from the Crimes against Children Research Center (CCRC) found a decline in 2010 of both unwanted sexual solicitations and unwanted exposure to pornography compared to studies conducted in 2005 and 2000. 95% of all teens ages 12-17 are now online and 80% of those online teens are users of social media sites
According to a 2011 report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, “95% of all teens ages 12-17 are now online and 80% of those online teens are users of social media sites.”
As I wrote in my CNET News blog, a 2010 survey of 1,500 youth between 12 and 17 found that 9% had received an unwanted sexual solicitation in the past year. This compares to 13% in 2005 and 19% in 2000. In all three studies, some of those unwanted sexual solicitations came from other youth and the vast majority of them were not “aggressive.” Only 3% of the youth in 2010 said that offline contact was attempted or made. Most youth did not find the solicitations to be frightening or disturbing. That’s actually a bit lower than the 4% who had aggressive solicitations in 2005 and identical to the 2000 figure.
Unwanted sexual solicitation and porn down from previous years. Click graphic to enlarge.
Small increase in online harassment
There was a small rise in the percentage of youth who experienced some type of online harassment during the 12 months preceding the survey. Eleven percent had experienced harassment in 2010 compared to 9% in 2005 and 6% in 2000.
Although sometimes used to indicate cyberbullying, harassment is not the same as bullying. The survey asked youth “did you ever feel worried or threatened because someone was bothering or harassing you online.” Bullying (cyber and otherwise) is defined by the Olweus Bullying Prevention program and most other experts as “aggressive behavior that involves unwanted, negative actions”along with “a pattern of behavior repeated over time” that “involves an imbalance of power or strength.”
Rise in social media
The mostly good news comes at a time when the majority of American youth are using social media, most notably Facebook. The first survey took place years before Facebook or MySpace, and the 2005 study before most teens were using Facebook (Facebook wasn’t open to high school students until September, 2005). Correlation doesn’t necessarily imply causation so I’m not suggesting that Facebook has necessary caused unwanted solicitation or pornography to decline. But it obviously hasn’t caused it to increase.
Could social networking be diverting kids from more dangerous sites?
I’m speculating, but I do wonder though whether a case could be made that social media has made kids safer and less prone to unwanted pornography. For one thing, kids are now spending time in sites like Facebook instead of chat rooms which were always the most problematic venue for unwanted solicitation. And, Facebook and most other social networking sites prohibit nudity and other sexually explicit content so, while kids are on Facebook they are very unlikely to stumble into pornography. Again, I don’t have data to support this but it sure seems likely.
The authors of the study made the same observation, pointing out that “youth have migrated from chat rooms to social networking sites over past several years. In social networking environments, youth may be confining more of their interactions to people they know, thus reducing online unwanted sexual comments or requests.”
Disclsoure: Larry Magid is co-director of ConnectSafely.org, a non-profit Internet safety organization that receives financial support from Facebook, Google, Tagged and other social media companies.
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SafeKids.com adds Online Safety FAQ
Excuse me for posting about a post. I know it seems strange but I added this FAQ over the weekend and it’s just now getting featured. Because of the way WordPress works it’s down in the stack so a bit harder to find. So, if you haven’t aready done so, please check out our new:
Online Safety FAQ
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Facebook Empowers Friends to Prevent Suicide
by Larry Magid
When Anne Collier and I wrote our long out-of-print book, MySpace Unraveled, we pointed out that MySpace was the largest referrer to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. We noted that kids were alive because of the way friends had reached out to save their friends.
Facebook, of course, took MySpace’s place in that regard but now Facebook and the Lifeline have teamed up to make it easier to report friends in distress and for people who are suicidal to have a live chat with a prevention specialist.
In a CBS News CNET podast interview, the Lifeline’s Lidia Bernik told me that “a lot of people would rather communicate via chat or text, as opposed to calling.” To that end, Facebook offers a direct link to a Lifeline page where people can have a live confidential chat with an expert.
In her blog post about the announcement Anne Collier called this the “911 of the social web,” adding that friends can be “first responders.” She said, “Neither a Web site nor a national hotline can immediately or fully be ‘there’ for someone if the people on that person’s friends list – the people he or she interacts with from day to day – aren’t there to notice.”
Important development
To me, this is a natural evolution in the long term relationship between Facebook and the Lifeline and it’s an important development for anyone who understands how important social media has become in so many people’s lives.
The bottom line is that friends need to help friends. And being a friend today means using any means available – including social media — to support each other.
Bernik said that if you see someone who is in distress, the best response is to reach out to that person directly but “if you’re not comfortable doing that,” you can use the Facebook reporting tool to make sure that Facebook reaches out. Facebook will only pass on information to the Lifeline or authorities in the event of a “life threatening emergency.”
The National Suicide Prevent Lifeline can also be reached at 800 273-TALK (8255).
For more, see the guest post of U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin linked from Facebook’s safety page.
Disclosure: Larry Magid is co-director of ConnectSafely.org, a non-profit Internet safety organization that receives financial support from Facebook. ConnectSafely also serves on Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board and helped organize a meeting last year between Facebook officials and suicide prevention specialists, including Lifeline staff.
This post also appears on Forbes.com.
Can YouTube for Schools Usher Education into the 21st Century?
This post appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on December 12, 2011
by Larry Magid
Credit: YouTube
Google has launched a YouTube for Schools service to make educationally relevant videos available for use in school. It’s a great idea, but for it to actually be used in schools, many districts around the country will have to modify their filters to allow teachers to access at least this portion of YouTube.
Most schools have some type of filters in place designed to block pornography and other inappropriate material, and it’s common for these filters to also block social media, including all of Facebook, MySpace and YouTube. Schools that accept federal E-rate funding are required to block materials that are obscene, depict child pornography or are harmful to minors — but there is nothing in the federal rules that require schools to block social media.
Treat social media like books and sports
It’s a good thing schools don’t treat books and sports the way most treat social media.
There have always been books that are inappropriate for a school setting. But rather than ban all books, schools allow the ones that support their curricula and encourage children to explore literature in general. When it comes to sports, schools recognize that there are dangers — every year, lots of children are injured and some die from sports related injuries. But rather than ban sports, schools embrace them and make sure that kids have good coaches, safety equipment and rules to ensure fair play.
Of course we could just let the kids play in the street without any training, Of course we could just let the kids play in the street without any training, supervision or mandatory safety equipment. That’s how many schools approach social media — including such things as videos on YouTube or resources on social networking sites.
It’s not as if kids are staying away from social media just because they can’t use it at school. They’re using it at home, at friends’ houses and — via their mobile devices — anywhere they happen to be. It’s not as if kids are staying away from social media just because they can’t use it at school. They’re using it at home, at friends’ houses and — via their mobile devices — anywhere they happen to be. Their non-school hours are filled with use of technology and social media. Maybe schools ought to put a sign at the front gate that reads, “You are now leaving the 21st century.”
Teachers and parents as social media partners
It’s time for teachers — and parents — to become young people’s partners in the use of social media. Just as we teach reading and supplement the use of books with great mentors in the classroom and encourage fair play and skill development with coaches on the athletic field, we need to incorporate educators into our kids’ use of social media.
I’m not suggesting that kids be allowed to polish off their Facebook profiles in school or dish the dirt with their online friends while they should be paying attention in class. But completely blocking domains like Facebook.com or YouTube.com denies kids access to some incredibly useful material.
There are thousands of Facebook pages dedicated to a wide variety of subjects that can be used in schools. If you search for “Facebook education,” you’ll find links to numerous ways that Facebook and other social media can help teachers supplement their existing materials. One article that comes up in that search, “100 Ways You Should be Using Facebook in Your Classroom” lists some incredibly useful projects like encouraging kids to follow news feeds relevant to course material, share book reviews, practice a foreign language, create their own news source, keep up with politicians, post class notes, brainstorm and lots more.
Even more than Facebook, Google’s YouTube can be an incredibly useful resource in school. Sure, there are plenty of inappropriate videos on the user-supplied service. But there is also a wealth of resources from a very wide variety of sources, including the Smithsonian Institution, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UC Berkeley, PBS, TEDTalks and the amazing educational videos from Kahn Academy, which are used in schools throughout the world. You can find some of this material — along with tips on how to use YouTube in the classroom — at YouTube.com/teachers.
Because many schools simply ban YouTube, these incredible resources are not available for use in the classroom. Kids can watch them at home or on the way to school via the mobile devices, but not on school computers. Preventing distractions such as videos of cats dancing on a piano or keeping kids from age-inappropriate videos in school makes sense, but not at the expense of preventing kids and teachers from accessing a vast library of educationally sound videos.
As part of the launch of “YouTube for Schools” (schools can sign up at youtube.com/schools), Google is encouraging school districts to open up their filters so that teachers can access YouTube.com/edu. Hopefully school administrators will see the value in this and find ways to unblock at least this portion of YouTube.
Disclosure: Larry Magid is co-director of ConnectSafely.org, a nonprofit Internet safety organization that receives financial support from Facebook and Google.
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Online Safety FAQ
by Larry Magid
Here are some common concerns that parents have about their kids’ use of technology.
Is my child at risk from online predators?
Although it can happen, the risk of a child or teen being harmed by someone they met on the Internet is very low. There has been widespread misunderstanding of a 2005 study that found that 1 in 7 youths had received an unwanted online sexual solicitation but the authors of that study — the Crimes Against Children Research Center posted a fact sheet that explains that these solicitations are typically not from predators and most of the recipients of the solicitations did not view them as serious. “Most were limited to brief online comments or questions in chat rooms or instant messages. Many were simply rude, vulgar comments,” and “Almost all youth handled unwanted solicitations easily and effectively.”
ConnectSafely.org advises young people to “be cautious when communicating with people you don’t know in person, especially if the conversation starts to be about sex or physical details. Don’t lead them on – you don’t want to be the target of a predator’s grooming. If they persist, call your local police or contact CyberTipline.com.”
How common and dangerous is cyberbullying?
A 2011 study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 15% of teens say they have been the “target of online meanness and 19% had been bullied. The largest source of bullying (12 percent) was in person, followed by text messaging (9%). Eight percent said they had been bullied via email, a social networking site or instant messaging and 7% were bullied via voice calls on the phone. Girls are more likely to have experienced what we typically call “cyberbullying,” while boys and girls are roughly equal when it comes to in person bullying.
A 2011 EU Kids Online (PDF) study from the London School of Economics found that “across Europe, 6% of 9- to 16-year-old Internet users have been bullied online, and 3% confess to having bullied others.” In the U.S., the Cyberbullying Research Center found that 20% of “randomly selected 11 to 18 year old students in 2010 indicated they had been a victim at some point in their life.”
The impact of cyberbullying can range from inconsequential to extremely severe depending on such factors as the severity or the bullying and the reliance of the person being bullied.
Here are ConnectSafely’s Tips to Help Stop Bullying.
How common is sexting and what are the dangers?
An often cited but flawed 2009 study suggested that 20% of youth had engaged in sexting but that study included young adults. More credible studies from the Pew Internet & American Life Project and the Crimes Against Children Research Center (CARCC) paint a much less dire picture. The 2011 CARC study found that 2.5% of 12 t0 17 year-0lds had sent a nude or nearly nude picture of themselves and that 1.3% had sent a picture that showed breasts, genitals or “someone’s bottom.”
The CACRC study also found that older teens are far more likely to send a sext than younger kids. More than seven in 10 (72%) of the kids who had sent nude or partially nude images were 16 or 17.
The Pew study found that about 2% of teens had sent nude or nearly nude pictures of themselves.
About 7% of youth had received a nude or nearly nude image in the past year, but a single image could be sent to multiple kids.
For more, see ConnectSafely’s Tips to Prevent Sexting.
What special risks are associated with Facebook, Google+ or other social networks
The risks associated with social networking are based on how you and people you interact with behave on those networks. What you post can affect how people feel about you and what others post can affect you as well. For example, if someone posts rude or mean comments about you (sometimes called cyberbullying), it can be hurtful and demeaning. It’s also possible for people to post unflattering or inappropriate photos of other people.
There are also some security risks, especially if others get hold of your password or if you click on links in social networks that take you to websites that distribute malicious software (“malware”) that can infect your computer or phone.
The good news is that since 2000, before there were any social networks, the risk of kids receiving an unwanted sexual solicitation or being exposed to unwanted pornography has actually decreased.
Can social networks harm a person’s reputation?
It’s certainly possible for anything you post on a social networking site to affect your reputation. That’s why it’s a good idea to avoid posting any picture or comment that you wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing with the public now or in the future. Learn to use the services privacy protections but, even if you have your privacy settings turned on, there is the possibility not only that what you post could affect your reputation among your friends who can see it but there is the further possibility that someone could copy and paste it and share it with others.
How much is “too much” time online?
You know what they say about “too much of a good thing.” The biggest problem with spending too much time online is that it can take away from other important activities including physical activity and in-person socializing. There are no hard and set rules as to how much time kids or even adults should be spending online, but if it starts to interfere with other aspects of your or your child’s life, then you’ve almost certainly gotten to that point.
What is the impact of pornography on kids?
This issue is fraught with controversy partially because of inconsistencies in the research but also because of moral, social and religious issues that affect people’s opinions on this topic. One interesting piece of research looked at the relationship between exposure to both violent and non-violent X-rated material on adolescents found that ”consumers of violent x-rated material are almost six times more likely than nonconsumers of violent x-rated material to report sexually aggressive behavior” while those looking at non-violent x-rated material are no more likely to report sexual aggression than those who haven’t looked at that material.”
It is also important to distinguish between occasional use of pornography and excessive or obsessive use as well as the types of images being looked it.
Images that depict minors, commonly referred to as “child pornography” or “child abuse images” are illegal to create, transmit or posses.’
Is there any danger in online games?
Some online games — including some played on video game consoles — have a chat feature that allows you to interact ith other player. This can greatly enhance the enjoyment of the game, leading to camaraderie among teammates or friendly ribbing between opponents. But like any chat tool, it can also be misused. Children need to be cautioned not to give out information in any chat area that could allow a person to contact them in the real world and parents need to be aware of the possibility (however unlikely) that someone could be using these chat tools to engage their children in inappropriate conversations.
Other “dangers” of online gaming include spending too much time online and spending too much money on games that require or encourage in-game purchases.
Here are ConnectSafely’s Tips for Smart Videogaming.
What are the dangers associated with mobile phones?
Today’s smart phones are pocket-sized computers so just about anything that can be done with a PC can also be done with a smart phone, including email, web surfing and live chat along with texting. Smart phones can also be used for video chat and as still and video cameras so it’s important that kid understand the risk of impulsively taking and sending inappropriate photos and videos. Kids can be bullied via cell phones and, like all media, there is the danger of spending too much time or using the phone at inappropriate times. It’s a good idea for kids (and adults too) to turn their phones off at night when it’s time to sleep.
Also, almost all of today’s phones are location-aware which means that the phone is able to pinpoint the user’s location. There are many apps that can pass on that location information to others so youth need to be cautioned to be very careful about how they use these services and to only share there location with close family and friends and to stop sharing it with anyone who ceases to be a trusted friend.
For anyone behind the wheel, the most distracted driving is a serious risk. Never text and drive and be careful when talking on the phone. It’s not just a matter of “hands-free,” it’s also the issue of focus. Don’t let your conversation distract you from your driving.
For more, see ConnectSafely’s Cellphone Safety Tips.
How can my kids and I protect our security?
The simple answer is to think critically about the information you provide. If you get an email that asks you for a password and user name, question whether it’s legitimate and — even if you think it is — don’t click on any links but type in the address of the site yourself to avoid getting caught up in a “phishing” scheme. Make sure you have secure passwords and that you never give them out to anyone (except kids sharing them with parents). Be sure that your computer or device’s operating system are up-to-date and use up-to-date security software. Be very careful about any apps you install on a smart phone or software you download on a computer and also be aware of games and other apps you run on social networking sites.
Should I install Internet filtering or monitoring software
Filters can usually prevent young children from accidentally stumbling on troubling or inappropriate material, but they are less effective at keeping older kids and teens from deliberately visiting blocked sites. There are several ways to get around filters, including using another computer, mobile phone or tablet that’s not filtered.
Monitoring tools can inform parents of where their kids are going but some kids –especially teens– feel that it’s an invasion of their privacy and many would argue that it’s not necessary or helpful.
The use of these tools are personal decisions that every family needs to put thought into. If you do use a tool, it’s a very good idea to tell your kids that it’s there and for parents to think about how to wean their kids away from filtering and monitoring as they get older and/or more responsible. Ultimately, the only filter that can fully protect your child isn’t the one that runs on a computer or a phone but the the one that runs in the computer between their ears. It’s important to teach critical thinking skills to help children make good decisions on and off the net now and as they mature. With any luck, your child will grow up and become independent so it’s important they they develop their own controls rather than relying on those imposed by parents or schools.
Do consider configuring your search engine for “safe” or filtered search or use SafeKids.com’s Child Safe Search (powered by Google).
For more see: Digital citizenship and media literacy beat tracking laws and monitoring
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