Solutions for Digital Safety - Youth and Media - 1 views
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1. Communication with your daughter or son is key. Build a trusting relationship through dialogue.
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2. Create an account to understand how the site works, but not to stalk your kids. They need room to explore, but if you are familiar with the media and technology that they consume, you can provide valuable guidance and suggestions. Surveillance, while possible, damages a trusting parent/child relationship.
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3. Ask your kids how they choose to represent themselves and why. Use MySpace as a resource to start a conversation about contemporary fashion, ideals, and media images.
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"Because being connected is such an integral part of teensâ lives, some youth may hesitate telling their parents about the harassment they encounter for fear that their online privileges will be taken away. The best way to combat cyber bullying or other forms of harassment is not to reign in or limit a teenâs use of technology, but to make sure adults keep the lines of communication open. In addition to keeping the computer in a public space, parents should also become more aware of what their children are doing online. They should consider the Internet as an opportunity to engage in conversation with their children about their interests, talents, and network of friends. It is important to emphasize with youth that there is a distinct connection between what happens online and in the "real world." Adults should communicate to youth that their actions have implications in a real world setting. Regarding cyber bullying in particular, adults must also relay traditional techniques of combating bullying, among them being to report incidents, keep records, and not to engage the bully. âItâs not new bullying, itâs just a vehicle,â says Nancy Mullin-Rindler, director of the Project on Teasing and Bullying at Wellesley College (Paulson, 2003). In addition, because research has shown that the majority of cyber bullies have been victims of traditional bullying, this approachâ-combating the behavior versus limiting the technologyâ-would ultimately help in preventing both cyber and conventional bullying. Cyber bullying poses a stickier problem for schools that are finding themselves in the middle of First Amendment debates. Despite the fact that whatever happens online (no matter where the location) typically spreads to the school environment, inevitably impacting studentsâ learning, does a school principal have the right to punish someone for what they say outside of school parameters? Because of this legal quagmire, schoolsâ