Study Released on Teens and Digital Media

Guess what adults...Social Networking isn't that bad after all...who knew?

Some people hear the names of sites like MySpace, FaceBook, YouTube and Second Life and immediately their minds conjure up images of cyberbullies, online predators, and online scammers just waiting to steal the identities of unsuspecting internet users. This blog also publicizes those dangers on a regular basis. Every now and again a story or a study comes out with the positive ways in which web 2.0 technologies are being used by teenagers. This past week, a New York Times article reported on a study released by the MacArthur Foundation. In the study, it was found that teens who socialize online develop important social and technical skills. In the article, one of the lead researchers of the study said that, "their participation is giving them the technological skills and literacy they need to succeed in the contemporary world. They’re learning how to get along with others, how to manage a public identity, how to create a home page.” Researchers found that teenagers tend to fall into two distinct categories of engagement with digital media, "friendship-driven participation" and "interest-driven participation". The teens that fall in the friendship driven category, tend to hang out and communicate online with existing friends while teens in the interest driven category seek out information from online communities dedicated to that particular interest. These online communities are usually outside of the teen's local peer group and can consist of other teens and adults from around the world. The study also shows that teens are very interested in learning from their peers online and that the internet provides a platform in which youth can submit ideas or work and receive feedback from people all over the world. These teens tend to explore new interests and tinker with various forms of new media. Through these experiences, they acquire new technical and media skills. The teens in this interest-driven category tend to become self-directed learners and invite feedback from their peers. A report on the study also pointed out this very important detail:

most youth are not taking full advantage of the learning opportunities of the Internet. While most youth use the Internet socially, they may overlook learning opportunities. Serious learning opportunities are abundant online in such subjects as astronomy, history, creative writing, and foreign languages. Youth can connect with people in different locations and of different ages who share their interests, making it possible follow pursuits that might not be popular or valued with their local peer groups.

It is always important for parents and caretakers to be aware of who teens are socializing with online and what they are posting on their profiles, but it is also equally important to encourage teens to be creative, take positive risks, and learn new things...just like they should offline.

An executive summary of the study can be found here.

What You Post Online Can Have Consequences!

Students need to be aware of what they and their friends are putting about themselves online. As more and more teens (and tweens!) post pictures, videos and information about themselves on social networking sites, they need to understand that what they post could have serious consequences whether they like it or not. Let's take a former New England Patriots cheerleader as one example. Fox news reported last week that a New England Patriots cheerleader was dismissed from the squad because of some photographs that surfaced on various web sites, including the extremely popular social networking website, Facebook. The photos, which were of the cheerleader and an unconscious man at a party, featured some very objectionable content written on the individual she was pictured with. As a result, the Patriots let her go from the squad.

This is another example in which photos posted and shared online can have some negative consequences in your professional life. Now, there can arguments made that the Patriots overreacted, or that online pictures shouldn't be a factor of your employment, but the fact is that more and more employers and schools are taking these things into serious consideration when deciding the fate of prospective employees or students. In fact some employers and college admissions officers are searching Social Networking sites of prospective applicants to get an idea of the type of person they might be hiring or accepting into their educational institution. It is very important that students are aware of their "digital footprint". What images of themselves are they posting online? What types of photos are their friends posting? Sometimes, it is a friend or acquaintance that may post an inappropriate photograph of you online, and usually, once it is online you have no control over that image or video. Career Builder released a survey earlier this fall which states that one-in-five employers use social networking sites to do research on their job applicants. The article also adds that one-third of those hiring managers have found content that caused them to dismiss the candidates from consideration. The two top areas of concern were about job candidates who posted information about themselves drinking or using illegal drugs, and candidates who posted provocative or inappropriate photographs of themselves.

On the other hand, sometimes a good online image can be beneficial to you. In the same survey, 24% of hiring managers that did research on potential job applicants stated that they found content that help solidify their decision to hire the candidate. The top two positive factors that helped influence the hiring decision were that the candidate's background supported their qualifications for the job and that the candidate had good communication skills. So, a more professional social networking profile can actually increase your chances of getting a job.

Teenagers and adults both need to understand that what they post online can have consequences in their professional lives. Eric Esteves, from TechBoston, went out to Boston Asian Youth Essential to speak to a group of teenagers about this very topic. He didn't tell students that they shouldn't be online, or that they shouldn't have social networking pages. He encouraged them to be careful about what they are posting. He explained to them that even though they can set their own profiles to private, photographs of themselves might get posted publicly by their friends. He had a good rule of thumb, which was not to post anything that you wouldn't want your parents or grandparents to see. He wasn't there to discourage the students from using social networking, but to encourage them to use it in a positive manner.

For more information on safe social networking for teens, please check out these links:

Social Networking Safety Tips from the Federal Trade Commission

NetSmartz 411 - How to keep my child safer while using a social networking website

Phishing Video Explanation

Common Craft is a company that creates videos that help to educate the public about different types of technology. They try to make the videos as straightforward as possible with little high tech jargon so that they are easy to understand. They do a fantastic job of explaining things like blogs, wikis, social networking and other web 2.0 technologies with a set of videos called "In Plain English". They recently posted a video entitled Phishing Scams in Plain English. The video does a nice job of explaining what some phishing scams are and who to contact if you are being targeted.


Phishing Scams in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.

Congress Passes Bill That Promotes Internet Safety

Schools systems around the country may be required to educate their students about internet safety in order to receive e-Rate funds according to the recently passed Broadband Data Improvement Act. According to an article in e-School News, The law includes language from an earlier proposed bill called the Protecting Children in the 21st Century. The language that the new law included from the proposed Protecting Children in the 21st Century act requires schools receiving e-Rate funds to teach students about appropriate behavior on social networking and chat room web sites, as well as the dangers of cyber bullying.The bill also says that the Federal Trade Commission will conduct a nationwide program to "increase public awareness and provide education regarding strategies to promote the safe use of the Internet by children."

You can look at the actual law here

Superintendent's Bulletin Warns of Phishing Scheme

The Superintendent's Bi-Weekly bulletin had a warning for people that are receiving emails that claim to be from the City of Boston Credit Union. These emails are NOT from the City of Boston Credit Union. These emails are an example of phishing, which are emails sent to try and get the user to provide their personal information such as account numbers, passwords and social security numbers. According to the bulletin, these emails have been in several forms including the following:

• Surveys with a cash reward if you enter your personal information
  
• Implications that your account is in jeopardy of being closed unless you enter your information
  
• A notice that we are updating our security enhancements, so please enter your personal information
  
• Plus, many other schemes to entice people to enter their personal and confidential information.

All of these emails are fraudulent. This is a classic example of a phishing scheme. Once you input your personal information it is sent to a criminal who may use that information to commit identity fraud. They may also sell your information to a third party who may use it to open up credit cards or obtain loans in your name. Banks, credit unions, brokerage firms and other types of financial institutions will not send an email to ask you to input personal information! If you ever have any questions about whether or not your financial institution is looking for something from you, give them a call using the phone number from one of your financial statements.

Remember, it is always a good idea to periodically check your credit report with one of the three major credit agencies just to make sure you have not fallen victim to identity theft. By law, you are entitled to a free credit report once every twelve months from these agencies. The Federal Trade Commission website about identity theft is full of helpful information about strategies to avoid a problem and what to do if someone does steal your identity.

Internet Safety Poster Contest

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Information Technology is holding an internet safety poster contest for 4th and 5th grade students. The deadline for the contest is December 19, 2008 and here is what the judges are looking for:

• Posters depicting Internet safety (being careful not to download viruses, not giving out personal information on the Internet, no cyberbullying, opening email only from people they know, be careful opening email attachments, don’t give your password to friends, don’t post personal pictures, don’t meet anyone “offline” that you’ve only met online).
• Hand drawn (large, dark text is easier to read, crayons & markers work best).
• Poster cannot include trademarked images such as Disney characters.
• Spelling counts!
• Size: 11” wide x 8.5” high (Landscape layout).
• Each Poster Art entry must be accompanied by a completed School Entry Form.
• One child per Poster Art entry and artwork.
• Student’s name, school, town, grade, etc. should not be written on the front of the art work. In order to protect the student’s personal information, this type of information should be written on the back of the poster.
  

Contest Winners:

• Three Grand Prize winners will be selected, and will be recognized by Governor Deval Patrick. The winning artwork will be submitted into The National Cyber Security Awareness 2010 Calendar Contest. The school contact person named on the School Entry Form will be notified by telephone as well as by email from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Information Technology Division personnel.
• Any posters selected to be used in the MS-ISAC 2010 Cyber Security Awareness calendar will include the student’s first name and name of school.
• Winning posters will be featured on our Security Web Site (www.mass.gov/itd).
• All entries submitted become the property of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Information Technology Division and may be used in future publications. Poster Art will not be returned.
  

Requests for poster entry forms and questions may be directed to Bob Milosavljevic, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Information Technology Division at 617-626-4490 or emailed at Bob.Milosavljevic@state.ma.us

You can also check out the Mass.gov Cyber Security Awareness Month web page for information, resources and webcasts about cyber safety!

Education Week Holds Live Chat on Cyberbullying

Edweek.org sponsored a live chat focused on cyberbullying today. The chat featured Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin who are Internet-safety experts who are co-authors of the new book Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying. They also created www.cyberbullying.us, an information clearinghouse on cyberbullying.

One educator asked how can a teacher know that a student is being bullied, if most of the bullying happens out of school, online? Dr. Patchin answered that educators are very good at sensing when a student is distressed and to ask them what is causing their distress. He also says to make the student feel safe and welcome, so that they feel comfortable in talking to the teacher about the issue. This is extremely important as research shows that most kids do not tell teachers or their parents when they have been cyberbullied. I think another tell tale sign to look out for is if you have a student who is all of a sudden, chronically absent, or withdrawn from the other students in the class.

More than one participant in the chat asked what grades/ages are most affected by cyberbullying. The answer was that they seemed to see the most evidence of cyberbullying happening in 7th and 8th grade, which is also true of traditional bullying. They also suggest that cyberbulying prevention education should take place in elementary school.

Another educator asked a question, that I myself ask..."1. By definition, what is bullying? 2. What is cyberbullying?"

The answer to this question was:
Bullying can be defined as unprovoked aggression often directed repeatedly toward another individual or group of individuals. We define cyberbullying as “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.” Conceptions of cyberbullying victimization must stem from the target's perspective.

Net Family News had reported on a very interesting article from the Journal of Adolescent Health a couple of weeks ago questioning the definition of what cyberbullying is. Is it automatically cyberbullying when a kid gets an email or text message from someone else insulting them? Or is cyberbullying repeated harrassment of a victim over and over again? Are there levels of cyberbullying compared to cyberharrassment?

Another very common question that was asked was, "At what point does what appears on the Internet become a school issue/responsibility in terms of discipline?"

Dr. Hiduja answered:
"When it substantially or material disrupts learning, interferes with the educational process, compromises the value system that the school district and school are trying to foster, infringes upon another student's rights (civil rights or their ability to learn without distraction and harassment), when it is obscene, when school-owned technology is used to mistreat others, and when it involves a school-sponsored activity or a school-sponsored resource. With this said, we encourage informal responses and only suggest formal responses (changes of placement, suspensions, expulsions) in severe cases."

Other questions and topics that were discussed were about online gaming and cyberbullying as well as parent education, acceptable use policies, teacher and student education. I encourage you to read the entire transcript of the chat, it is full of information about cyberbullying.