The Internet is a maze of dangers for kids, right? Cyberstalkers, bullies, online predators and callous jerks lurk, waiting to lure your child to a dark alleyway or call her names on Facebook. Video games and chat programs seduce kids away from homework while viruses and porn throng the shadows.

That’s how it’s often portrayed, but that’s not how Danah Boyd sees it.

She knows a thing or two about the Internet, too. Boyd is a researcher at Microsoft and a professor at NYU. She’s also something of a rock star in the world of social media research, where she studies how young people use the Internet.

It’s not as bleak as it seems, she says.

In fact, the Internet can be good for kids.  Continue reading »

Tweet

1

Pin It

Get ready to start canceling your daughters’ Facebook accounts.  A federal judge has ruled that teenage girls’ ability to publicly publish racy pictures of themselves is protected free speech.

Two high school volleyball players, 15 and 16, published photos of themselves wearing lingerie and sucking on phallic-shaped lollipops, among other very suggestive poses.  After learning of the photos, their principal suspended them from all extracurricular activities, including playing on the volleyball team.  He later reduced the extracurricular suspensions to not allowing them to play in a handful of games, but the girls felt that wasn’t enough and fought back by suing the school with the support of the ACLU.  Yesterday, an Indiana judge found the school’s actions in violation of the girls’ first amendment rights.

As reported at Forbes.com, the judge ruled that, ” … it’s unconstitutional for schools to ‘discipline [students] for out of school conduct that brings ‘dishonor’ or ‘discredit’ upon the school.’”  Even the school’s code of conduct did not apply, with the court finding the girls’ behavior would not have disrupted the school’s activities or its students.

Continue reading »

Tweet

8

Pin It

Who need parental controls online when you have Big Brother?

Parents needn’t worry about monitoring their kids’ activity on the Internet. Apparently Big Brother is doing it for them.

A 13-year-old boy in Tacoma, Wash., recently underwent a federal interrogation by a Secret Service agent after he posted something they didn’t like on his Facebook page.

Vita LaPinta updated his status to warn President Obama of possible retaliatory attacks by other terror members after the death of Osama bin Laden. The Secret Service interpreted the post as a threat against the president.

Continue reading »

Tweet

0

Pin It

Does the virtual world pose more threat to your child than the real one?

I began blogging 18 months ago. Shortly thereafter, a friend of Caroline’s told me that I was putting my family in harm’s way by doing such. “How do you figure?” I asked. “Because anyone could find you,” she answered. ”They could look you up and get your address.”

“Call me crazy, but couldn’t folks find you?” I countered. “I mean, you’re in the phone book. Your kids are in the school directory.”

“Yes,” she admitted, “but I don’t tell stories about my kids on the Internet. I don’t have their pictures online for anyone to see.” I didn’t bother to correct the woman (she has plenty of pictures online via Facebook), but I did tell her this: “You tell plenty of stories about your child in real life. And more folks see your kids each and every day in the real world than see my kids in the virtual one.”

Continue reading »

Tweet

5

Pin It

Ask parents what they worry about when their girls spend time online, and predators are at the top of everyone’s list. Immediate threats to our kids’ welfare are obviously every parent’s primary concern. But there is more to worry about online than a predatory attack—and there are fewer controls in place protecting our daughters from these more subtle threats. Several experts recently revealed their biggest worries about girls using the internet. Here are the 5 biggies:

1. Online predators

The internet can encourage a false sense of trust and connection.  There are many technology tools available to help filter questionable content, but parent education and monitoring is a must.

Continue reading »

Tweet

0

Pin It

Is this the first step toward your toddler's future first kiss?

The world of online flirtation may have just hit a new frontier. An invention from Japan claims it “can effectively transmit the feeling of a kiss” via computer communication. The device is controlled by the movements of the first user’s tongue, which are transmitted through the computer to the device in the second user’s mouth. It’s on a single computer now, but the idea is that it could be networked and deliver the kiss remotely, over the internet.

I’m a bit skeptical about the “effective” aspect, considering the machine seems to lack LIPS. Maybe that part is coming in a later incarnation. At this point, it’s a big white box with a straw sticking out of it. Not very appealing. Still, it’s a  move in the direction of that virtual reality sex stuff people have been talking about for decades (many decades, if you consider science fiction).  How long might it take for something like this to evolve into something you could buy at the store and plug into your phone? Ten years, maybe? Just in time for our kids!

See the “Internet Kiss” machine in action:

Continue reading »

Tweet

1

Pin It

Something far more sinister than books is being viewed at libraries in New York City

We spend a lot of time at our local library. My 2-year-old daughter is a ravenous reader (or, rather, she’s ravenous at the idea of having other people read to her) and enjoys changing up her material once or twice a week to supplement our permanent book collection at home. However, I’m not sure how much we’d frequent the library if we found other people surfing for porn online while we’re also paying a visit.

That’s why it’s a good thing we don’t live in New York City, where patrons at the 200-plus library branches are permitted to watch whatever they want on computers. A NYC library spokesperson says viewing electronic smut is covered by free speech and the protection of the First Amendment.

I’m all for the First Amendment (I guess), but I’m so not into my kid browsing the Curious George books and stumbling upon someone browsing something far more curious than the cheeky monkey’s latest escapade.

Continue reading »

Tweet

5

Pin It