Online Safety 3.0 Empowering and Protecting Youth

1. Online Safety 3.0Empowering and Protecting Youth Larry Magid Co-director ConnectSafely.org Founder SafeKids.com & SafeTeens.com Presentation online @ www.SafeKids.com/mommy.ppt

2. Web 1.0… • “On the Internet nobody knows you’re a dog.” • --New Yorker, July 1993

3. On Web 2.0... “...everybody knows you’re a dog.” --Michael Kinsley, Slate.com, 11/27/06

4. Modeling matters

5. Cute, but is it healthy?

6. Is this a good thing? Kids 5-7 1 in 10 has a mobile phone Half have a TV in bedroom 85% have access to game consoles Based on study of UK children Source: UK Media regulator Ofcom as reported in Daily Mail

7. Children and “screen time” • The American Academy of Pediatrics advises no more than 1 to 2 hours per day of total screen time for children older than 2 (and zero screen time for children under 2) • That advice is a bit out of date considering the kids now have their “screens” in their pockets • Still, it’s a good idea to get your kids to unplug now and then.

8. Distracting preschoolers from screens • Provide distractions. Diversions work well for this age group -- and preschoolers love to help out. At dinner time, instead of busying them with the TV while you cook, ask them to sort all your pots and pans from biggest to smallest. • Practice togetherness. What kids this age need is a close, loving relationship with an active, involved caregiver. It's actually OK to do nothing but count dust bunnies, as long as you're together. • Do activities. Find a book of rainy-day activities that use household objects for easy little projects you can set up (and clean up!) easily. • Be physically active: Outdoor or even indoor activities that keep them physically active are good for your child's physical and mental health & yours too. Source: Items 1 to 3 from Common Sense Media

9. Elementary and middle school • Delegate chores. Working parents can feel guilty asking kids to do chores, but it's actually really good for them -- and it helps you, too. Just remember to keep them manageable. • Schedule play dates. If kids are going to use the computer or game console, invite a friend (or two) and make it social. That removes the isolating aspect of gaming, which can lead to game addiction, loss of empathy, and social withdrawal. • Grant privileges. Use screen time as a goal that kids have to work for. • Encourage creativity. If kids start exploring digital arts, encourage some of the off-line aspects, like drawing, sketching scenes, writing, costume design, etc. • Talk with them about the safe use of the technology Source: Items 1 to 4 from Common Sense Media

10. Safety by age • 2-4 Lapware: Parents should be present • 4-7 Begin to explore on own, parents close by • 7-10 Looking for independence, some peer pressure, check in often • 10-12 Social use of net, manage independence • 12-14 High social use, privacy concerns, exploring sexuality • 14-17 Physical & emotional maturity, more likely risk behavior, need to master self control Source: GetNetWise.org Safety by Age by Larry Magid

11. Online Safety 1.0 & 2.0 In both cases, it was children as victims 1.0Pornography & predators: Protecting children from bad adults. Children as consumers of information, not as creators and based on assumptions of risk, not actual research 2.0 Recognizing that kids can create content harm other kids and themselves. Protecting children from cyberbullying & posting inappropriate or dangerous content

12. What is Online Safety 3.0? • Research-based, not fear-based, so relevant • Flexible, layered – not one-size-fits-all • Respectful of youth agency – stakeholders in positive outcomes, not just potential victims • Positive, empowering: Not just safety from (bad outcomes) but safety for good outcomes • Full, constructive participation in participatory society

13. It’s not just about safety, it’s also about fun & learning Would you take your child to a playground simply because it was safe?

14. Learning shouldn’t be all work and no play Cartoon from Boston Globe article Pressure-cooker kindergarten (tinyurl.com/l39jsr)

15. Virtual worlds & learning • Global VW population: 186m now, 640m by 2015 (appx 25% annual growth rate) – Strategy. Analytics/09 • 5-9-year-olds will be “biggest growth sector” at 27% growth – 50m to 209.9m • 10-17-year-olds at 21% – 125m-395m • Adults will triple – 11.5m-32.5m • In 2008, VCs invested $590m in VWs • Global virtual goods market is $5 billion

16. Virtual worlds & future of education “Eventually virtual worlds will permeate into every aspect of education. They (virtual worlds and education) will be one - inseparable, impossible to distinguish or differentiate … Classes, from kindergarten to college, will be able to go inside a whale's stomach or visit ancient Rome, even design entire cities. The possibilities are endless and available.” (Source:horizonproject.wikispaces.com/)

17. Virtual worlds and young children • Can aid development of social, linguistic & tech skills • Can encourage creative expression & identity exploration • Look for parental controls & limits on chat • How does the world handle abusive behavior such as name calling, mean comments, etc • Beware of crass commercialism • A good time to teach critical thinking skills Some of these issues will be explored in an upcoming issue of Journal of Virtual Worlds Research

18. 64% of online teens create content Blog Post photos Post video Source: Pew Internet & American Life - 12/07

19. Online socializing reflects ‘real life’ • 75% of teens use social sites now (15.5m), 79% in 2013 (17.9m)–eMarketer/’09 • 91% use social sites to stay in touch with friends they see frequently (usually school-related). • 82% to socialize with friends they rarely see in person (distant friends). • 72% to make plans with friends. • 49% to make new friends. • 17% to flirt. Source: Pew Internet & American Life survey January 2007

20. 2 types of social networking ...on all devices, fixed and mobile: • Friendship-driven (84% of 15-25 YOs in a qualitative study at Harvard School of Education) • Interest-driven (80% involved in “at least one such online community) Source: Digital Youth Project, November 2008

21. Mobile social tools • Today’s phones are mobile computers with... • Mobile social networking • Photo- & video-sharing • Web browsing • 24/7 texting • Even less adult supervision • GPS & social mapping • Mobile phones will be the world’s primary tool for connecting to the Net by 2020.

22. Teens’ lives saved, thanks to social-network sites… • “Plan To 'Shoot Up' School Foiled” • Jan 12, 2009: “Deputies in Transylvania County [N.C] said they got a call from a sheriff’soffice in New York. A teenager there apparently came forward and said she met a 15-year-old on MySpace who said he had a dangerous plan.” • “Facebook friend saves life of suicidal teenager from the other side of the Atlantic”– UK’s Daily Mail, 4/5/09

23. What are they doingin there? Good or normative… • “Social producing” • Learning social rules • Designing profiles (self-expression) • Exploring identity • Writing blogs • Writing software code • Sharing/producing music • Producing & editing videos • Discussing interests • Social/political activism • Keeping in touch with friends long-term • Risk assessment

24. What else are they doing in there? Neutral or negative… • Seeking validation • Competing in a popularity contest • Venting • Showing off • Embarrassing self • Damaging reputation • Pulling pranks • Getting even • Threatening • Harassing • Bullying

25. What we worry about • Predation • Viewing inappropriate content • Posting inappropriate content • Misuse of child’s image • Cyberbullying & harassment • Online addiction • Online contributing to destructive, illegal or inappropriate behavior

26. Types of Online Safety • Physical safety – freedom from physical harm • Psychological safety – freedom from cruelty, harassment, and exposure to potentially disturbing material • Reputational and legal safety – freedom from unwanted social, academic, professional, and legal consequences that could affect you for a lifetime • Identity, property, and community safety – freedom from theft of identity and property Source: Online Safety 3.0 (items 1 to 3 courtesy Anne Collier)

27. Physical safety:Freedom from physical harm

28. You’ve seen the headlines

29. Question:What proportion of teens have been approached online by a predator? 1 in 20 1 in 10 1 in 7 1 in 5 Almost half

30. It’s a trick question

31. What the 2000 and 2005 surveys actually asked • “In the past year, did anyone on the Internet ask you for sexual information about yourself when you did not want to answer such questions? • “In the past year, did anyone on the Internet ever try to get you to talk online about sex when you did not want to?” • “In the past year, did anyone on the Internet ever ask you to do something sexual that you did not want to do

32. Not necessarily “online predators” • Solicitations not necessarily from “online predators”. They were all unwanted online requests to youth to talk about sex, answer personal questions about sex or do something sexual. But many could have been from other youth. • Solicitations not necessarily devious or intended to lure. • Most did not view the solicitations as serious or threatening • Almost all handled unwanted solicitations easily and effectively. Mostreacted by blocking or ignoring solicitors, leaving sites, or telling solicitors to stop. • Extremely few youth (only 2) were actually sexually victimized by someone they met online.

33. The surveys found No solicitations in 2000 study led to physical contact. Only 2 in 2005 did. “Risk is statistically so rare, it can’t be estimated.” - CACRC

34. Online predators and young children “Internet predators don't hit on the prepubescent children whom pedophiles target. They target adolescents, who have more access to computers, more privacy and more interest in sex and romance.” Janice Wolak "Online 'Predators' and Their Victims" American Psychologist, the journal of the American Psychological Association

35. 3.4X “Posting personal information does not by itself increase risk.”--Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 2/07

36. Question Has the growth in young people’s use of the Internet correlated with a rise in sexual abuse against children?

37. SA Sub 1990-2005* Answer: No 51% Decline (during the period of the Web’s existence) Rate per 10,000 Children (<18) Confirmed cases of child sexual abuse Source: NCANDS / Finkelhor & Jones, 2006

38. Putting it into perspective Pennsylvania Internet crimes for 4 year period vs. child sexual assaults in 1 year • Nationally • 30-40% of victims are abused by a family member • Another 50% are abused by someone outside of the family whom they know and trust. • Only 10% are abused by strangers. • Darkness to Light Foundation 8 5 183 144 9,344 Source: Nancy Willard, Center for Safe & Responsible Internet Use, Jan. 2009. Based on FY 06/07 reports from rape crisis centers in PA & data from PA’s AG Ofc.

39. Psychological safety: Freedom from Inappropriate content

40. Exposure to Porn • 42% of youth Internet users had been exposed to online pornography in the past year. • Of those, 66% reported only unwanted exposure. • Wanted exposure rates were higher for teens, boys, and youth who used file-sharing programs to download images, talked online to unknown persons about sex, used the Internet at friends’ homes, or scored in the borderline or clinically significant range on the Child Behavior Checklist subscale for rule-breaking. Depression also could be a factor for some youth. Youth who used filtering and blocking software had lower odds of wanted exposure.

41. Content concerns • Sexual content • Hate • Violence • Illegal activity • Harmful/self destructive activities • Substance abuse (including alcohol & tobacco

42. Tools • Filter incoming • Block outgoing • Monitoring & Reporting to parents • Control time online • Total amount of time/access times

43. Integrated into security products & free from some ISPs

44. Two excellent free choices * Monitor activities * Set age appropriate rules Helps you talk to your kids about safe online behavior

45. Child friendly browsers Set limits and know what your kids are doing.

46. Consider • Monitoring vs. filtering or both • Disclosed or stealth mode • Parental remote access for monitoring & changing permissions • What to do when you find something • How to talk to kids about inappropriate behavior/content

47. Fences are not sufficient To be safe around all water, we teach kids to swim

48. Ultimately, the best filter runs between the child’s ears, not on a device Protection that last’s a lifetime Training wheels for young kids

49. “You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. About some you will say, ‘I don’t choose to go there.’ With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.” From: Oh! The Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss

50. It’s all about “family values” “Decisions about acceptable media content are extraordinarily personal; no two people or families will have the same set of values, especially in a nation as diverse as ours.” Adam Thierer Parental Controls & Online Child Protection