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.
More Insight about the School’s Ability to Respond to Off-campus Threatening Speech
Schools across the United States continue to grapple with the question of when they can intervene in off-campus incidents that impact the school environment. A case recently decided by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals examined this issue once again. In January of 2011, Taylor Bell, an Itawamba Agricultural High School (Mississippi) senior, posted a […]
The Secret to Safety on Anonymous Apps
Despite the recent flurry of increased media attention, anonymous online environments and mobile applications have been around for many years. The social media site Formspring.me arguably introduced the world to the potential consequences of anonymous communications when it launched in 2009. Long before that, though, users routinely created fictitious MySpace profiles or pseudonymous online blogs. […]
After School, Another Anonymous App for Teens
After School is the latest mobile device application to take schools and parents by storm. We first became aware of the social media app when it was introduced in the fall of 2014. It created quite the controversy back then and was even removed from the App Store, at least for a brief period. It […]
The Importance of your Digital Reputation
We live in a society where online searches tend to influence – if not drive – many of our decisions. If we are looking for a good doctor in the area, a potential vacation spot, or advice on what electronics to purchase this holiday season, we will perform searches using our phone, tablet, or computer. […]
Advice for Adult Victims of Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying affects all age groups, including adults. Learn about different strategies and get help for adult victims of cyberbullying. We get a lot of emails, phone calls, and comments on this blog from adults who are being bullied though technology. These adult victims of cyberbullying stress to us that cyberbullying is not just an adolescent […]
MusEffect: Inspiring Cyberbullying Prevention Through Dance in 2015
Over the last year, we’ve been in touch with Los Angeles-based non-profit dance company MusEffect after seeing their passion to use their talents towards cyberbullying prevention. Their Public Service Announcement, 953K – Inspiring Action Against Cyberbullying, generated over 1.2 million views and inspirational stories of healing and resolution from audiences across the globe. We particularly […]
Cyberbullying Prevention Software Encourages You to ReThink
Last October, we profiled Trisha Prabhu, who as a young teenager designed software intended to reduce the prevalence of cyberbullying by invoking the conscience of users before they post or send a malicious or cruel text. Her project and efforts have deservedly received much praise on a national and international level, and Justin and I […]
How Empathy, Kindness and Compassion Can Build Belongingness and Reduce Bullying
I have known Dr. Patti Agatston for almost ten years now, and our work meets at the intersection of teens and technology. Justin and I hold her and her colleagues in the highest respect because like us, they make sure that the information they share is based on solid research instead of sensationalistic anecdotes or […]
Teens Charged with Possessing Naked Images of…Themselves
Two sixteen-year-olds from Fayetteville, North Carolina, did what many teens who are in romantic relationships do: they talk, they text, they hang out. And they sent each other nude photos. Research shows that at least one-third of teens have engaged in this kind of behavior at some point in their lives. Technically speaking, though, youth […]
Doxing and Cyberbullying
Slang for “dropping documents,” doxing (also spelled doxxing) typically occurs when someone collects another’s private personal information, such as a home address, contact information or social security number, and subsequently broadcasts or “outs” that information to the public without permission. Crash Override Network (a task force made up of people who have previously been targeted) […]
