Engaging in various forms of social media is a routine activity that research has shown to benefit children and adolescents
by enhancing communication, social connection, and even technical skills.
Because of their limited capacity for self-regulation and susceptibility to peer pressure, children and adolescents are at
some risk as they navigate and experiment with social media.
There are 2
major reasons. First, 13 years is the age set by Congress in the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which prohibits
Web sites from collecting information on children younger than 13 years without parental permission. Second, the official
terms of service for many popular sites now mirror the COPPA regulations and state that 13 years is the minimum age to sign
up and have a profile
"Children are inherently social creatures. Take one look at a playground and you'll see young kids interacting with one another, practicing their social skills, and learning the lay of the land. So, it's only natural that children would want to follow the popular trend of joining an online social network…right? After all, their friends are doing it.
In this article, we will explore social networking websites and how children below the required age to join are able to open accounts. We will also discuss the social networking dangers and positive effects of social networks on young children and offer helpful tips for parents who wish to guide their kids towards a safe direction."
"Data Dealer is an online game about collecting and selling personal data - full of irony and gleeful sarcasm. It´s a browser/serious/edu/impact game about digital culture and surveillance and aims to raise awareness about online privacy in a new and fun way. The English version was released in May 2013. Let's call it a bastard offspring of certain shiny 2010 Facebook Games and the 1990 TV simulation game Mad TV, reborn with the souls of South Park and Bruce Schneier. And it´s also available on Facebook! Oh, the irony.
In today´s digital age virtually everything we do is recorded, monitored or tracked in some way: Data Dealer is a unique interactive exploration of this personal data ecosystem."
"At what age is it appropriate for young people to start using social media? Few can say for sure at this point. There is the argument for the fun and freedom Facebook represents. And for the social skills that it could arguably help develop in young people. Perhaps it can even be a bridge for the socially awkward student yearning to reach out to his or her peers?"
A study into parents' need for cybersafety information, including what topics they would like more information on, and the format that they would like to receive it in. The study is based on research undertaken by the ACMA in 2009. Research consisted of a brief qualitative phase, followed by a national telephone survey of 600 parents of children in the 4 to 17 age range.
People are trading their privacy for influence! This irreversible global trend is shaping a communication battleground that will impact on every aspect of our future.
The concept of relinquishing privacy is a scary proposition for many people, generally in loose correlation to their age. Similarly the idea of a profound change in societal influence is generating resistance and fear in traditional power centres and institutional mediators of meaning. Governments, corporations, media empires and a host of heritage institutions and their practices will change dramatically as contemporary forces shift the nature of influence.
"Disney has just acquired Togetherville, a social network for kids 10 years of age or younger, we've confirmed with the company. Terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed at the moment."
This binder is an attempt to collect and organize Digital Citizenship resources by age (grade level). Often when we think of Digital Citizenship, we only think about the safety aspects of it but being a digital citizen is much more than just being safe. The nine elements of Digital Citizenship as outlined in the book Digital Citizenship in Schools by Mike Ribble and Gerald Bailey
"ABC Pool is a social media site where you can share and engage with creative work and collaborate with the people who make it. It's a place to upload images, text, audio, and video. Anyone, any age, anywhere can contribute to Pool.
Pool is run by the Australian public broadcaster and has a number of projects to which you can contribute independently or co-create with others. It's a place to meet collaborators, and Creative Commons licensing provides a way to share your work in a safe legal framework. All Pool members are asked to follow the guidelines and to report inappropriate items or comments."
By now, we know that social media behavior differs, based on factors like gender, age and nationality. It turns out, how you manage your social media privacy may depend on similar indicators.
ZoneAlarm created the below infographic, based on a 2012 study by Pew. The research points to gender-specific privacy practices. For instance, men are nearly twice as likely as women to profess regret for posting online content. On the other hand, men are more likely to maintain public social media presences.
"This report is designed to give an accessible overview of media literacy among UK children and young people aged 5-15 and their parents/ carers (-1-). The purpose of this report is to support people working in this area to develop and promote media literacy among these groups.
This report is the third full report since our survey began in 2005. It is therefore able to show trends over time for many of the questions asked. Due to different survey periods and focus, some comparisons are made with 2005 and 2007 data, and others with 2007 and 2008, and change over time is highlighted against either 2007 or 2008 accordingly. "
Important note about whether we actually do students a disservice by supposedly sheltering them from the big, bad online world, or whether we miss a valuable learning opportunity to help them learn how to use the resources effectively, efficiently and safely.
In fact, we need to rely on trusted members of our personal networks to help sift through the sea of stuff, locating and sharing with us the most relevant, interesting, useful bits. And we have to work together to organize it all, as long-held taxonomies of knowledge give way to a highly personalized information environment.
But it does suggest that we as educators need to reconsider our roles in students' lives, to think of ourselves as connectors first and content experts second.
Just like they should authenticate a website, students should verify the quality of an online learning partner.
How do we manage our digital footprints, or our identities, in a world where we are a Google search away from both partners and predators? What are the ethics of co-creation when the nuances of copyright and intellectual property become grayer each day? When connecting and publishing are so easy, and so much of what we see is amateurish and inane, how do we ensure that what we create with others is of high quality?
"Words are powerful. We should use words with care. We need to help people of all ages understand the power of words, and the responsibilities we have as citizens in our face-to-face communities as well as online communities. These are conversations about citizenship, digital citizenship, ethics and respect. These are conversations we need to have in our homes, in our schools, in our churches, and in other contexts where we have opportunities to dialog and reflect about behavior."
By blocking students from the digital world, the jobs of administrators and educators are made easier, but if people became teachers, education leaders or parents because it was easy, they’ve selected the wrong profession.
Establishing a purposeful online identity of which one can be proud is an important skill to teach students.
Anyone can begin making a difference and contributing real work at any age.
Never before in history have kids had the ability to create and publish so much content, so easily. Never ever have people had the ability to access so much information without leaving a seat. These are awesome abilities that come with awesome responsibilities. These abilities and responsibilities require skills that are taught and not inherited. Educators need to have the authority to teach these skills. Educators need to be trusted to teach these skills.
"Our students need adults to stop being afraid, and stop hiding, so education can get out of the shadows and into the light of the world in which our children live."
"What does privacy mean in an age of ongoing privacy breaches? With new privacy law coming online in Australia on March 12, our Privacy in Practice series explores the practical challenges facing Australian business and consumers in a world rethinking privacy."