Read the latest news and brand new pieces on youth, social media, and emerging technologies! We focus on preventing harm and promoting positive online behaviors.

Most Teenagers Aren’t Asking for Nude Photos post thumbnail

Most Teenagers Aren’t Asking for Nude Photos

A recent New York Times headline caught my attention: “Teenagers, Stop Asking for Nude Photos.” Sage advice, I must admit, but I wondered where this was coming from. In the article, Psychologist Lisa Damour argues that we have long been warning children about the dangers (reputational and potential legal consequences) of sending sexually explicit images, […]

Teens Talk: What Works to Stop Cyberbullying post thumbnail

Teens Talk: What Works to Stop Cyberbullying

Many people like to ask me what works to stop cyberbullying when it happens. While I have some ideas on this question (over 15 years of studying the problem will lead to more than a few thoughts!), Sameer and I also like to hear directly from students about what they think will work, and—maybe more […]

A Teen’s Perspective on Social Media post thumbnail

A Teen’s Perspective on Social Media

Each year, we like to share a teen’s perspective regarding their social media use so that youth-serving adults can be “in the know” as to what adolescents are up to these days. I hope it updates you and provides an instructive viewpoint on the way in which teens approach technology use, friendships, online hate – […]

Positive Post-It Day post thumbnail

Positive Post-It Day

In case you haven’t heard, Positive Post-It Day is a worldwide phenomenon – and it all began with a Canadian teenager in the fall of 2014 who wanted to flip the script on bullying. Alberta student Caitlin Haacke was bullied at school and threatened on Facebook with suggestions to take her own life. Instead of […]

The Social Bond: A Practical Way for Schools to Reduce Bullying post thumbnail

The Social Bond: A Practical Way for Schools to Reduce Bullying

If you work in the youth safety space, you know that certain initiatives (such as resilience building) have focused on targets of bullying and cyberbullying. Other programming has concentrated attention on aggressors – to the kids who harass, humiliate, and threaten other youth offline and online. Here, restorative practices and social emotional learning (anger management, […]

Digital Self-Harm: The Hidden Side of Adolescent Online Aggression post thumbnail

Digital Self-Harm: The Hidden Side of Adolescent Online Aggression

“You should jump off a roof and kill yourself.” “You’re pathetic and don’t deserve to be alive.” “If U don’t kill yourself tonight, I’ll do it for you.” Each of these comments was recently posted to a popular anonymous social media app. I was contacted by a police officer who was investigating the incident. We […]

Be Careful Who You “Friend” Online: A Cautionary Tale post thumbnail

Be Careful Who You “Friend” Online: A Cautionary Tale

In our school assemblies, Sameer and I regularly talk with students about using social media safely and responsibly. One part of this discussion focuses on encouraging youth to only connect on private accounts with those they know and trust. In general, if a Facebook user, for example, has their privacy settings configured in a way […]

My Fulbright Award for Bullying and Cyberbullying Prevention post thumbnail

My Fulbright Award for Bullying and Cyberbullying Prevention

This past summer, I served as a Fulbright Specialist at the Anti-Bullying Centre (ABC) at Dublin City University (DCU) in Dublin, Ireland. It was an amazing experience. I just wanted to take a few minutes to share what it involved, who I spent time with, and how it made an impact – not just short-term, […]

The Skinny on Sarahah post thumbnail

The Skinny on Sarahah

Sarahah is the latest social media application to create a stir. Simply put, Sarahah is a one-way, many-to-one anonymous messaging system that allows people to send messages to a particular person without the recipient knowing who sent them. These can come from people you know (from those in your phone contacts, for example) or from […]

Harmful Speech Online: At the Intersection of Algorithms and Human Behavior post thumbnail

Harmful Speech Online: At the Intersection of Algorithms and Human Behavior

    Last week, I attended a workshop at Harvard entitled “Harmful Speech Online: At the Intersection of Algorithms and Human Behavior.” Sponsored and organized by the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, and Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics and Public Policy, its goal was to “broadly explore harmful speech […]