Group items tagged

These powerful stories teach teens to examine their behavior and encourage them to be proactive in preventing victimization of themselves and others.Teens share their own "Real-Life Stories" about issues affecting them on the Internet such as cyberbullying, online enticement, and giving out too much personal information. At CTAP, we love these videos and frequently feature them in our workshops and trainings "Feathers in the Wind" and "You Can't Take It Back" are two of our favorites. "Amy's Choice" is also a compelling video clip.

In 2006, following extensive research into the educational potential of virtual worlds, Global Kids became the first nonprofit to develop a dedicated space for conducting programming in the virtual world of Teen Second Life (TSL). Within TSL, the organization has established Global Kids Island, which hosts interactive, experiential programs for teens from around the world. Specifically, Global Kids is conducting intensive leadership programming for youth, bringing youth from its New York-based programs into the space, and streaming the audio and video of major events into the world.

"Inconvenient Youth, a new non-profit, non-partisan network for and by teens has started recruiting and training young people to fight global warming, according to an Aug. 15 press release. Today the group launched with a three-day workshop on climate change at Stanford University attended by youth from around the world. "

Teen Tech Week is a national initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association aimed at teens, their parents, educators and other concerned adults. The purpose of the initiative is to ensure that teens are competent and ethical users of technologies, especially those that are offered through libraries. Some great ideas here for activities with cell phones!

Florida State lawmakers Monday took up a bill that would, for the first time, create a separate penalty for the increasingly common, and risqué, practice among teens - sending naked or suggestive pictures of themselves via cell phone or e-mail.

Formspring takes cybercruelty to a new low by making it appear consensual. You sign up for your own account, literally inviting others to bash you with their "honest" opinions. Because it appears consensual, it no longer seems like cybercruelty at all. It just becomes another avenue for teens to communicate, and it desensitizes them to what they're doing.

Sexting -- teens sending sexually explicit photos of themselves via cell phones -- has become the latest in a line of highly charged issues involving kids and the internet. A recent survey on sexting has claimed that one in five teens have sent nude or semi-nude photos of themselves, although at least one academic has questioned this finding

Following the recent death of a NY teen who committed suicide after being tormented by classmates, Dana Boyd reflects on the language of teens, who will frequently dismiss bullying as "stupid drama" in order to minimize its impact and save face because it distances both the perpetrators and the victims from pain. She recommends a focus on more positive concepts like "healthy relationships" and "digital citizenship" rather than the negative framing of bullying.

Flames of Moral Panic: You may have noticed that the media has fully embraced "sexting" [a term invented by the media] as the latest horror story about teens and technology. First it was about how the internet is teeming with predators a la "To Catch A Predator," with the most dramatic stories focusing on girls who met these predators in real life [read the real deal here: Online "Predators" And Their Victims]. Next it was about cyberbullying, highlighting the most extreme cases that ended in young people having to switch schools or even more tragically committing suicide. The latest is "sexting," where teens are naively sending and receiving sexually explicit photos or video of themselves to friends via cell phone, again, with the most dramatic cases highlighted.

Today's teens are growing up in a world where social media is everywhere. Regardless of whether or not they have access to these technologies or how they engage with them, there is little doubt that social media is playing a significant role in the changing landscape of American youth.\n\nThere are many ways to respond to this shift. The most popular response is panic. Every time a new genre of social media emerges and is adopted en masse by teens, many folks run around screaming that the sky is falling, the sky is falling! Of course, like clockwork, everything calms down once the old fogies begin adopting the technologies that they feared back when they were adopted just by the youngins.

For "real" answers about why and how kids text, we went to a pro - a teen who's been texting for years. Jasmine Gregory, 17, discusses her texting habits and offers advice to concerned parents/educators

Call it the green Facebook. There's a new social networking site where environmentally minded teens looking for a place to chat, share ideas, and learn about careers and university programs can now visit.

Two Mason teens charged with sending and possessing nude photos on their cell phones were sentenced on May 11. Both 15-year-olds pled guilty to contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The boy was sentenced to 30 days house arrest and the girl was told to write a research paper for the court on the dangers of sexting -- both will have to perform 100 hours of community service and give up their phones for 30 days.

This Web Wise Kids cell phone safety program for middle school children is titled It's Your Call. Based on true stories, it is an interactive game that allows users to play out difficult situations in the safety of cyberspace before they live them out in real life. The game offers teens guidance about responsible cell phone behaviors and how to use these devices to enhance their personal safety. Players become a live action character in an interactive movie and are presented with a series of difficult decisions in a slice-of-life context. The teens must make tough decisions and view the consequences of their actions in the video.

Move over, "texting thumb." A study came out this week about the rise of another physical ailment related to too much texting. Called cubital tunnel syndrome (CTS), it's basically a very unfunny funny bone: it occurs when a pencil-thick nerve gets pinched at the elbow. While it's not a new ailment-those of us over 30 call it tennis elbow-it's another reason to keep tabs on the volume of texts and Tweets your teens are tapping out. CTS is appearing more frequently in teens who keep their elbows bent while holding their cell phones or PDAs.

Doug Foderman and Marje Monroe of ChildrenOnline.org review concerns about Facebook and the risks for kids.\n\nThey have Facebook accounts and actually see it as a wonderful, and valuable, resource. However, just because Facebook says that anyone 14 years or old CAN use Facebook, doesn't mean that they should. It isn't an age-appropriate or developmentally healthy place for our children and younger teens to hang out. Facebook is not working to protect our children and the laws in our country are terribly inadequate to safeguard our children online, in general. Not enough is being done to protect and educate children and teens against the risks that come from using the Internet, and Facebook in particular. We (adults, parents, educators) need to do more.

When it comes to texting while driving, teens are a particular risk group considering that, according to Nielsen (PDF), "The average U.S. mobile teen now sends or receives an average of 2,899 text-messages per month" and apparently some of those texts are being sent and read from behind the wheel.

In the recent report, How Teens Use Media, Nielsen debunks many of the myths around teen media consumption. Download the full report.

In response to the recent rash of teen suicides related to cyberbullying, Perez Hilton appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show this week to say that he will be ending his crusade to bully people online. Hilton made a name for himself as a celebrity blogger, making nasty comments about celebrities and attempting to "out" gay and lesbian stars. See his YouTube video for the announcement. http://bit.ly/perezhilton_bullying The message is a bit rambling but he's definitely someone who influences teen behavior.

Actress and Singer/Songwriter Demi Lovato was bullied in middle school and now teams up with teens at Pacer.org for bullying awareness events designed to teach them how to support each other. Find out about Facebook's partnership in the effort at http://www.facebook.com/PACERCenter.