This article was originally posted on The Huffington Post.
The trial of a Victoria-area teen who is facing child pornography charges for allegedly texting a nude picture of another girl without her consent will go ahead before a constitutional challenge, a judge has ruled.
Let's hope nothing like what is described below ever happens to your child, but if it does, here is some advice and tips from author, Jason P. Stadtlander. This article was orginally published on The Huffington Post.
In my last article, "Your Child: A Sheep Among the Wolves," I discussed the dangers today's parents are facing with the Internet and child predators. Today, I would like to focus on some of the more daunting questions dealing with what a parent can do when preventive measures are too late.
The case with Hannah Anderson and the Irish 17-year-old that was cyber-bullied after an Eminem concert are prime examples of children and social media run amuck. Anderson should never have had access to electronic devices until she and her family had time to grieve together and the Irish teen... well, I don't even know where to start there.
Did you catch this article about a theatre teacher explaining how she acts as a cyber-shield for students? It was written by Sue Scheff, author and parent advocate, and originally published on The Huffington Post.
Today's youth are inseparable from their smartphones, computers and social networks. When our kids, especially teens, spread their wings into the world of social media, it's important for them to understand how to be upstanding digital citizens.
Recently, I explained how parents can prepare and educate children on the risks of what lurks online by acting as a cyber-shield. However, parents aren't the only role models in a child's life. Teachers must be active participants in teens' digital lives. According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, students were less likely to bully others or send sexts if their teachers held discussions regarding responsible online and cell phone conduct.
Check out this article and perspective from child and adolescent psychotherapist and parenting expert, Katie Hurley.
No one wants to judge another parent. Or a group of other parents, for that matter. No, the call to end judgment among parents has been loud and clear for quite some time now. You can lose days of your life reading posts and articles on this very topic, if you so choose.
All families are different. We all have our own challenges. We all face our own stressors.
True. True. And true, again.
Your child has likely started back to school, which means new pens, pencils, binders and textbooks, but it also means new opportunities for digital dangers and threats. Is your child prepared to handle the back to school battle of juggling technology and learning? Are they prepared to combat cyberbullying or sexting pressures?
Check out this take on why one mom admits to oversharing online from HLN's Generation Overshare, a great site focused on the blurred lines between what we share online and what we keep private. The original post is written by Leslie Marinelli, award-winning humorist, writer, wife and mother of three.
Hi, my name is Leslie and I overshare on the Internet.
But before you lump me into the narcissistic duck-faced-selfies category, there is something I think you should know: I overshare because I care.
You see, I’m not out there Instagramming my atypical moles or tweeting blow-by-blow (pun intended) accounts of my children’s Bristol Stool Scale results.
A big win for cyber-bullying prevention in Ireland happened a few days ago. Read the excerpt from the original post by the Irish Examiner.
Cyber-bullying, homophobic and racist bullying all form part of the Department of Education's new anti-bullying measures.
All primary and secondary schools will have to adopt an anti-bullying policy by no later than the end of term next Summer.
Teachers will be responsible for recording bullying incidents and, where necessary, contacting the parents of the pupils involved.
The Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children has welcomed the measures.
"Online bullying is very prevalent and it's certainly something we would like to address and it's been mentioned within the procedures by the Department of Education," said Andrew Jackson, national anti-
Read the account from the first British person to be jailed for cyber bullying She speaks of her regret at posting a death threat online.
Keeley Houghton, 18, was sent to a young offenders' institute for three months in 2009 after writing on a social networking site that she was going to "murder" a fellow teenage girl.
The incident happened after an ongoing feud with Keeley's victim. Keeley said she she attempted to apologize to the girl on the night before she posted the message, but says her victim wouldn't listen.
"It was understandable, but I was so angry, even through to the next day," Keeley recalled on This Morning today (12 September).
"I was sat with a friend at my house and I wrote what I wrote. I don't even know what I was thinking. I didn't think she would see it. I wasn't friends with her on the social networking site."
Keeley, who is now a reformed character, removed the message within 24 hours and explained: "I knew it was wrong. I thought about it and thought, 'No, I shouldn't have written it'. So I just took it down.
"I don't know why I said it. It wasn't a threat I was going to go through with, it was just something I wrote at the time."
Read about this terrible story of a young tween that took her life after months of relentless cyberbullying.
It seems that the bullying, harassment and abuse that occurs on the social networking platform Twitter, one of the most popular social networking platforms in the world that’s meant to bring people together, has sadly become a common occurrence – it’s expected. As bad as the abuse has been over the past several years, it also seems that it’s escalating these days with racism, bomb threats, sexual and violent threats against women, etc.
Twitter has had a system in place to reduce bullying and harassment, but it’s just not effective and doesn’t work. The current system in place allows users to fill out a “report abuse” form, but this clearly doesn’t work. We see the abuse every day on Twitter. You don’t have to look hard to find it, all you have to do is click on something that’s currently trending or receiving negative feedback in the news and you’ll see massive amounts of profanity, bullying and threats.
Kids are always collecting text messages, images, contacts, downloaded applications, check-ins and location histories. An Android device allows a parent to understand what the child is doing with their smart phone in just minutes. With an iPhone, parents review contacts and mobile images while also utilizing suites of family locator tools. But what about checking on the photo downloads and the issues that arise when kids visit photo sharing sites.
Parents Automatically Work to Protect Their Children
Almost like a knee-jerk reaction - parents have a heightened sense of protection of their kids. Its is natural for the emergent technologies to raise concerns, if not eyebrows.
The explosion of social media has led to the prevalent misuse of innocent social tools by predators. Today it seems almost inevitable that however small the chance might be - your children or teenagers may have photos that will fall into the wrong hands.
If big brother isn't around, Big Brother can keep an eye on your kids while you're away. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry estimates that thousands of children arrive home from school to an empty house every day. Furthermore, thousands of parents make the decision every week to leave children home alone. Once kids start reaching the tween ages, many parents allow them to stay home alone for a few hours at a time. This can be a bit unsettling—how can parents gain peace of mind while giving kids the independence they crave?
Home Security Systems
Today's home security systems go far beyond entering a code to get in the door. According to www.SecurityCompanies.com, smarthome technology allows homeowners to do everything from controlling the thermostat to accessing live video surveillance via their mobile devices. So if you'd rather not give out the code to younger family members, simply arm and disarm your home security system from your smartphone when you get the call they're at the front door.
This is one study that all parents (and all people in general, really) need to check out! It is all about teens, social media and privacy and has great facts on what teens post, what social media sites they use the most, what areas they are concerned about while online, and much more. This study is full of great information. The more you know, the better equipped you will be to keep your kid's safe!
Check out this very interesting study done by the University of New Hampshire on the dangerousness of online predators. What are your thoughts?
Original article taken from Fosters.com.
A new University of New Hampshire study challenges the view that online predators are a distinctly dangerous variety of sex offender, requiring special programs to protect youth.
The study from the UNH Crimes against Children Research Center finds that sex offenders who target teens increasingly use Internet and cell phone communications to lure teens into sexual relationships. In crimes that involve such communications, offenders who meet and recruit youth online operate in much the same way as offenders who meet and know youth in ordinary offline environments.
Check out this helpful article of online etiquette for teens and tips for parents from the Sooke News Mirror.
Fact: The Internet is here to stay.
Fact: So is cyberbullying.
Ironically (and most helpfully), the Internet is a great source on how to deal with cyberbullying.
StopABully.ca offers up the following statistics on cyberbullying:
Ninety per cent of parents are familiar with cyberbullying.
Seventy-three per cent of parents are concerned about it.
Check out this great infographic from HLN's Generation Overshare, a great section for all things digital parenting.
Here is some great information about current laws in US states in regard to sexting from the blog at Lawyers.com.
States continue to outlaw sexting by teens – to each other or to adults – even as it grows more popular among them.
The Problem of Permanence
Cyberbullying is a growing problem among children, but the effects can last much longer than the event itself. Once something goes online, it can be almost impossible to take it down...and humiliation can follow a child for the rest of their life. However, some teachers are turning to a new method of watching and controlling things: "Friending" or following their students.
The keystone of this strategy is the fact that social media sites, by design, are intended to share information with a particular group of people. This can be as small as a Tweet group of friends or as long as an essay re-published to thousands of people with one click of a button. However, as easy as it is to follow students, following the bullies with the intention of stopping their behavior is not the best strategy for preventing cyberbullying, even if teachers are the ones doing it.
The embarrassing political troubles of the unfortunately but aptly named former Congressman Anthony Weiner has catapulted the term “sexting” into cultural consciousness once again, prompting a sudden discussion on what, exactly, “sexting” is—and whether we should be worried about it. Dr. Keith Ablow, FOX News’ psychiatry expert, weighed in with a column entitled “What Weiner’s sexting scandal tells us about young women today,” concluding that it tells us that too many women are not having Private Part Pinups texted to them against their will. Rather, Ablow writes, “I can tell you that the average young woman no longer balks at sexting, watching pornography, or being the aggressor sexually in a relationship.” Slate.com noted that while the rates of boys and girls sexting—specifically, sending nude pictures of themselves—are pretty much the same, boys are far more likely to send these pictures on to their peers, resulting in often savage bullying that has culminated in tragedies like the recent suicides of several young girls. While Monsieur Weiner’s recurring predicaments have prompted a lot of snickering from the media, the “sexting” problem in general has become decidedly unfunny.
Social media is a phenomenon that has swept over the youth of the world. With different ways to connect to each other, the appeal is large for these types of sites. The newest that has been on the upward trend is Ask.fm, and it has been for both positive and very negative reasons. Here are some things you need to know about the site overall and some tips on how to prevent bullying and cyberbullying through Ask.fm.
The Site
Ask.fm was founded in 2010 in the country of Latvia. It was created as a rival to Formspring and has a similar layout. Users create a profile in which they open themselves up for questions. Some of these questions can be fun and casual, such as “What is your favorite sports team?”
