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.

The “Trump Effect” on Adolescent Bullying Behaviors at School post thumbnail

The “Trump Effect” on Adolescent Bullying Behaviors at School

American presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton recently remarked that: “Parents and teachers are already worrying about what they call the ‘Trump Effect.’ They report that bullying and harassment are on the rise in our schools, especially targeting students of color, Muslims and immigrants.” (August 25th, 2016, Reno, NV) But is this accurate? It came out of […]

A Teen’s Thoughts on Social Media post thumbnail

A Teen’s Thoughts on Social Media

I get a chance to meet and hang out with a lot of youth as I help schools educate their faculty, staff, and students about promoting positive teen technology use. With some, I’ve developed a friendship and have met their parent(s), and it has provided me a sounding board off which I can bounce ideas, […]

What you need to know about Musical.ly post thumbnail

What you need to know about Musical.ly

Musical.ly, an increasingly popular app with tweens and teens, allows individuals to create and share short videos that are lip-synced to songs of their choice. Remarkably, there are 80 million registered users, with around 10 million of those active on a daily basis.  These “Musers” – as they are called – upload an average of […]

Ignore, Unfollow, or Unfriend? Managing Facebook Connections in Conflicted Times post thumbnail

Ignore, Unfollow, or Unfriend? Managing Facebook Connections in Conflicted Times

We all have them: Facebook friends who post something annoying, inappropriate, inaccurate, or upsetting. It could just be accidentally misspelled words or misused vocabulary. Or debating whether slaves helped to build the White House. Or it could be something much worse. Sometimes these posts stem from carelessness, naiveté, or ignorance. Other times they are clear […]

Revenge Porn Research, Laws, and Help for Victims post thumbnail

Revenge Porn Research, Laws, and Help for Victims

With presidential candidate Hillary Clinton recently pledging at a town hall meeting that she would do whatever she could to end revenge porn (and cyberbullying [call us, Hillary, we can help! Donald, you too!]), I thought it was time to take a closer look at the phenomenon. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about […]

Sextortion post thumbnail

Sextortion

When I think of the term “sextortion” I think of an offense marked by deceit, manipulation, and the callous exploitation of human vulnerability. I think of trust being violated, and I think of absolute heartbreak from the fallout. Finally, I think of wounds from which it seems very hard to recover. It also reminds me […]

Review of “UnSelfie” post thumbnail

Review of “UnSelfie”

Parenting expert and educational psychologist Dr. Michele Borba released a new book last week. This by itself isn’t newsworthy (she has, after all, published roughly a book a year for the last quarter of a century). But this latest contribution has the potential to have a significant impact on parents and their children. I’ve followed […]

Should You Give Your Kid Snapchat or Instagram? post thumbnail

Should You Give Your Kid Snapchat or Instagram?

Parents are constantly asking me about their kids and their social media participation. Among other things, they want to know what app or site they should start their child on.  I could recommend some that are specifically designed for young eyes and ears, but those aren’t as popular as the ones that the mass of […]

Teaching Snapchat Safety to Teens post thumbnail

Teaching Snapchat Safety to Teens

In my last blog entry, I sought to help readers unfamiliar with Snapchat with a primer on its background, use, and notable features. While emphasizing that the vast majority of youth use the app in positive ways (based on our extensive anecdotal observations), there are some negatives that may arise on rare occasions. It is […]