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Larry Magid discusses the rights of a child and freedom of expression as components of digital citizenship.

Authors Anne Collier and Larry Magid have published a free 35-page guide for parents in partnership with IKEEPSAFE. The online resource provides parents with the perspective and how-to information they need to help their teens optimize their privacy and safety on Facebook.

Excellent video tutorial by Larry Magid of ConnectSafely.org. It walks users through the process of setting up privacy settings on a Facebook account.

Larry Magid and Anne Collier offer practical tips for educators and parents on how to prevent teen sexting (the sharing of nude photos by cell phone).

Larry Magid writes that we need to "remind ourselves and our children that this kind of behavior is not only wrong, but it's abnormal and weird. Plenty of research shows that people are influenced by "social norms," how they think others behave. If people know that their neighbors don't smoke, they're less likely to smoke. The same is true with bullying. In other words, most people are nice and they're the ones we need to emulate. It's time to tune out the loudmouth boors who demonstrate their own inadequacy by picking on others."

Larry Magid and Anne Collier of ConnectSafely.org have put together HELPFUL TIPS TO PREVENT SEXTING for Educators, Parents and Students. They did a lot of research to pull these tips together, including talking with current prosecutors, a formal federal prosecutor and legal scholars and they include what-to-do advice for parents with kids involved. Getting teens the facts will help with the trend.

Larry Magid discusses the shift in thinking -- from a focus of constraint and protection against predators to one of developing a culture of responsibility and digital citizenship. For those "at risk" students, school psychologist, Patti Afgatson, suggests that we consider using health prevention models for Internet safety education - basic safety advice for most youth and intense counseling from mental health professionals for the small minority of young people who are taking extraordinary risks both on and offline.

The ConnectSafely forum is co-directed by cybersafety experts, Larry Magid and Anne Collier. It provides opportunities for parents, teens and experts to discuss safe socializing on the fixed and mobile web.

Anne Collier has been writing about Family Internet issues through her weekly publication, NetFamilyNews for over a decade and her thoughtful opinions and analysis of noteworthy events are widely respected. Together with CBS Reporter, Larry Magid, she is co-author of MYSPACE UNRAVELED and co-director of the web site, CONNECT SAFELY.ORG. You can subscribe to her weekly publication. She also keeps a blog with timely updates in between publications.

Despite being developed by a 17-year old as a way to randomly video chat with people from around the world, ChatRoulette has quickly become a cause for concern about children (and adults) seeing objectionable activities. Larry Magid offers advice on what it would take to make the technology a much more useful video social networking site.

Larry Magid gives us an update on how to adjust our Facebook privacy settings. Note: defaults are public. You'll need to reviews all of your settings.

These tips were written in April 2009, after several reported cases of teens being prosecuted for taking, distributing and possessing pictures of themselves or friends. While we are aware that such activity is inappropriate and risky, we do not feel that - in most cases - law enforcement should treat sexting as a criminal act. Except in the rare cases involving malice or criminal intent, law enforcement should play an educational role, along with parents, community leaders, school officials and other caring adults. "Sexting" usually refers to teens sharing nude photos via cellphone, but it's happening on other devices and the Web too. The practice can have serious legal and psychological consequences, so - teens and adults - consider these tips!

While there is increased awareness of the dangers of bullying and rightful concern over suicide, the percentage of youth who report being physically bullied actually decreased between 2003 and 2008 from 22% to 15%, according to a peer reviewed study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

Bullying isn't caused by technology and it's not cured by it either. It's about relationships.

How one person's rant against his own company in a public media forum brought far more attention than he desired.

Cybersafety in a Web 2.0 World: What Parents & Policymakers Need To Know [PDF]

Interview with the Honorable Melissa Bean, Larry Magid, Nancy Willard and Sharon Miller Cindrich.

Online Safety 3.0 enables youth enrichment and empowerment. Its main components - new media literacy and digital citizenship - are both protective and enabling. Ideally from the moment they first use computers and cellphones, children are learning how to function mindfully, safely and effectively as individuals and community members, as consumers, producers, and stakeholders. The kind of online well-being we identify as "online safety" isn't logically something completely new and different added on to parenting and the school curriculum.

A survey of 1200 teens and young adults (conducted by Knowledge Networks for the Associated Press and MTV) found that 22% of the digital youth reported they have been targeted for digital abuse, either through cell phone, email or internet monitoring by someone they were dating.

Adults need to be good role models. Politicians need to think about this the next time they consider demonizing (as opposed to criticizing) an opponent. Media personalities and talk show hosts need to think about the messages they're giving to children when they engage in name calling. We all need to be aware of comments we make in the presence of children and even people who comment on blogs need to think about the difference between legitimate criticism and derision. Children learn by observing our behavior, and there are plenty of adults who behave like bullies. Changing behavior isn't easy, but it's not impossible. I've been watching episodes of the TV show Mad Men, which is set in the 1960s when it was acceptable to smoke around other people, ride in cars without seat belts, leave trash everywhere, make derogatory comments about minorities, and treat women as inferior beings. We haven't yet completely eliminated any of those dangerous or antisocial behaviors, but we've come a long way. With concerted effort and national leadership, we can do the same with bullying.