UW-Eau Claire Professor of Criminal Justice Justin Patchin talks about the research he is doing as a Co-Director of the Cyberbullying Research Center.

"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?"

"We recently helped a 17-year-old get a topless photo and fake profile removed from a social networking site. But even though content was deleted, the picture and fake profile lived on as "cached" or archived content in the Google Search index. So the content removal process didn't end with the social networking site. The next step was to submit a request to remove the cached content from Google, called a "content removal request." It's important to note that the picture and fake profile would have naturally dropped out of Google the next time its Web crawler indexed the updated page. But if you want to expedite the removal process, the way the user above did, here's how:"

Google has teamed up with the Citizens Advice Bureau in the UK to launch a new initiative that will see the search giant and the independent charity launch a adverts in newspapers, on public transport and online to promote safer Internet use and help users adopt safer practices when online, The Telegraph reports. The campaign is the first of its kind for Google, which sees the company promote something other than one of its products, but will concentrate on safe password adoption, logging out of web browsing sessions on public computers and increasing only safety by incorporating more elaborate ways to sign-in to an account, to ward of potential attackers.

Twenty years ago, good citizenship took place in the microcosm of the classroom and was simply rewarded with a certificate of merit. Today, with its millennial twist, global digital citizenship reaches far beyond the playground fence. And its stewards are enriched with a much deeper understanding of how their actions affect their own lives as well as those of their peers - at home and around the world. That's why students must take an active role in identifying and establishing ethical digital use. They need to be involved in the critical thinking and policy creation that affects ultimate change. It's called "buy-in" … and these days, our savvy students require it if they'll be expected to have a healthy relationship with technology.

If you worry that your child is being harassed, there's a way to keep the cowards in check. BullGuard Mobile Security is a parental control app and web service with the ability to monitor Internet activity: messages, pictures, downloaded content, and Internet sites. Remote access gives you the ability to apprehend any mean messages before your child does and delete them if necessary. You can then blacklist any unwanted contacts from messaging systems, email, and social networks. GPS tracking is included too, so you can make sure your child arrives at school on time and even locate a lost or stolen phone. If the phone is stolen, you can remotely lock and wipe out the device. And conveniently, if you can't find it all of your contacts, calendars, and other info are backed up on a server -- so you can reload onto a new device.

Approximately 32 percent of students report being bullied at school. Bullied students are more likely to take a weapon to school, get involved in physical fights, and suffer from anxiety and depression, health problems, and mental health problems. They suffer academically (especially high-achieving black and Latino students). And research suggests that schools where students report a more severe bullying climate score worse on standardized assessments than schools with a better climate. This is all common sense to educators. They have known for decades that students need to be in safe, supportive learning environments to thrive. And the vast majority care deeply about keeping children safe.

"The recently released Public Discussion Paper, supporting the development of Australia's first Cyber White Paper, makes use of the term 'digital citizenship'. It's an odd term. Citizenship has traditionally been associated with being part of a nation, for example an Australian citizen. National citizenship has also been associated with a set of rights (the right to vote, the right to a level of protection, etc) and obligations (abide by the laws of the land). This concept of citizenship is underpinned by the notion of mutual consent. Citizens' consent to governments' political authority in return for governments' exercising their power justly, legally and in the interests of their citizens. This agreement between citizens and governments is commonly referred to as the 'social contract'. "

"Consumption of digital content has become a daily part of teen and pre-teen students' lives and teachers around the world are looking to keep pace with educational resources about Digital Citizenship, according to a 2011 survey conducted by the National Council for Digital Citizenship (NCDC). NCDC conducted a survey of International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) members last April to gain insight into educators' understanding of digital citizenship and classroom needs. More than 1,200 respondents completed the survey. The results were notable"

"The new game, called 'Stop That Post', "teaches kids why it is important not to reveal personal information on the Internet. The focus of the new game involves players racing to stop their friends and family members from posting embarrassing information and images online," according to the game's press release."

"The Cybercitizen Awareness Program educates children and young adults on the danger and consequences of cyber crime. By reaching out to parents and teachers, the program is designed to establish a broad sense of responsibility and community in an effort to develop smart, ethical and socially conscious online behavior in young people."

"Twitter reveals that the product - which will be rolled out to a select few this week - will incorporate the following features: See how Twitter content is being shared around the web Track the amount of traffic from Twitter to a company's website - including clicks per tweets Measure the effectiveness of 'official' Twitter buttons An API allowing third party analytics tools to incorporate this data"

The purpose of this white paper is to help association executives create effective social media policies for themselves, their staff, and key volunteers. We'll use our own social media guidelines as a template. We'll show you the building blocks we used to write the guidelines, and explain what risks each section is meant to address. We hope you will feel free to use it, edit it, and put it into language consistent with your own organization.

"The policy should be in tandem with the technology use policy, but its main focus should be to appropriate the use of social media platforms, tools and websites and also to clearly describe the consequences of inappropriate use. Consistent enforcement of the policy, once implemented, is absolutely essential to maximize the policy's effectiveness. While a company's social media policy must be tailored to its specific workplace, there also are many common elements that should be included in any social media policy."

"I wish I could say that teaching students about copyright is easy, because in a world where digital tools are making creating and sharing content easier than ever, understanding copyright is incredibly important. But intellectual property law is exceedingly complex, making even a nominal introduction to the ideas surrounding copyright -- copyright law, fair use, the public domain -- a challenge. "