1. Online Safety 3.0: From
Fear to Empowerment
Larry Magid
Co-director
ConnectSafely.org
Founder
SafeKids.com
Revised March 21, 2012
Slides are available at
SafeKids.com/cue2012
More at OS3.ConnectSafely.org
2. I wrote this in
1994. Too bad
people are still
following this old
advice
3. Evolution of online safety
Children as victims:
1.0 (most of the 90’s) Pornography & 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 (around 2007) Protecting children from peers.
Recognizing that kids can create content harm other
kids and themselves. Cyberbullying & posting
inappropriate or dangerous content
5. And pretty much the same model online in
the 80’s and 90’s
Me, in 1981 on my
Apple II with an
acoustic MODEM
CompuServe
1981
Mosaic
browser, 1993
6. But, in case anyone didn’t notice,
things have changed
Media is now:
• One to one
• One to many
• Many to many
We are all publishers and
youth are leading the charge
7. Which calls for a new approach to
“online safety”
• Research-based, not fear-based, so relevant
• Flexible, layered – not one-size-fits-all
• Respectful of youth – stakeholders in positive
outcomes, not just potential victims
• Positive: Not just safety from (bad outcomes)
but safety for good outcomes
• Comprehensive = Incorporates safety, security,
citizenship, and research/information literacy
From Online Safety 3.0 (os3.connectsafely.org)
8. • View youth as participants and stakeholders in positive
Internet use rather than potential victims, and empower
them to protect themselves & each other
• Promote good citizenship
• Teach media literacy & critical thinking
• Understand the value of informal learning
• Be accurate and honest about risks
• Encourage industry to engage in best practices, including
promoting good citizenship in the communities they run
Elements of Online Safety 3.0
os3.ConnectSafely.org
9. The ‘net’ is mostly like the physical
world, but …
• What’s posted can be permanent
• Material can be copied and pasted
• Lots of people can see it
• You don’t know for sure who’s seeing it
AND
• Disinhibition: Lack of visual cues reduces
empathy
Source: adapted from danah boyd:
Taken out of Context, 2008
10. We need to understand risk,
not exaggerate it
• Of course there are risks online, but
they are not anything new or special
• Pay attention to the research
• Include children in the discussion
• Understand the limits of regulation and
the benefits of education
11. Fear works only if it’s
credible & actionable
• “How people respond to fear appeals depends on
their assessment of the threat and their perceived
efficacy.
• When assessing threat, the audience considers
severity, or the seriousness of it, as well as their
susceptibility, or the likelihood that it will happen to
them.”
Based on research from Kim White @ Michigan State
http://www.thcu.ca/infoandresources/publications/fear%20appeals%20-%20web%20version.pdf
12. Boomerang effect
If the perception of threat exceeds perception of
efficacy…
• They will avoid the message
• Deny they are at risk
• Mock the message or become angry at the source or
issue (and ignore it).
• They may even increase their unhealthy behaviors
(boomerang effect).
14. Predator Panic of 2004-2006
Was based on faulty interpretation of accurate data
“1 out of five youth received an unwanted “sexual
solicitation”
15. “Juvenoia”
“There are features of the Internet that increase risk for
young people above what they already encounter or what
they encounter in other environments, or what they used
to encounter.” BUT …
Source: David Finkelhor: The Internet,
Youth Safety and the Problem of
“Juvenoia.” http://bit.ly/AxCVVD
16. Things are getting better, not worse
• Sexual abuse of children down by 61% from 1992 to 2008
• Teen pregnancies (15-17) down 43% 1991-2007
• Teen suicides down 38% 1990-2007
• % of kids feeling sad down 17%
• Modest increase in math & writing proficiency
• High school drop-out rate down 33% 1995-2008
• Crimes committed by juveniles down 33% 1996-2008
Source: David Finkelhor: The Internet, Youth Safety and the
Problem of “Juvenoia.” http://bit.ly/AxCVVD
17. Moving right along
The Internet Safety Technical Task Force found that:
“Bullying and harassment, most often by peers, are the
most salient threats that minors face, both online and
offline.”
Which naturally leads to ….
19. It’s a problem, not an epidemic
Source: Teens, Kindness and Cruelty on Social Networks : Pew Internet & American Life,
November, 2011
20. Sexting Panic
A 2008 survey found that 20% of teens had sent or posted
“nude or semi-nude images of themselves”
Which led to stories like this:
21. Source: Crimes Against Children Research Center, Dec , 2011
• 1.3% sent an image where they
showed breasts, genitals or
someone’s bottom
• 2.5% sent an image where they
were nude or partially nude
But a 2011 study found
22. Should we eliminate all risks?
Why do we allow
sports, sharp
pencils &
“dangerous” books
in school, but ban
social media?
23. Fences have their place but …
To keep kids safe around all water,
we teach kids to swim
24. Ultimately, the best filter runs
between the child’s ears, not on a
device
Protection that lasts a lifetime &
works on any “device”
Training wheels for young kids
25. How you treat others affects your risk
* EU Kids Online +Internet Safety Technology Taskforce
“Youth who engage in online
aggressive behavior by making rude
or nasty comments or frequently
embarrassing others are more than
twice as likely to report online
interpersonal victimization.” +
“Among those who do not bully
others, being bullied is relatively rare
8% offline only, and 4% online”*
26. Approaches to empowerment
• Encourage student-led initiatives
• Work on “cultural change” initiatives like:
• Pink Shirt Day
• Friend Zone
• Poll your students about bullying and attitudes
• Celebrate “random acts of kindness”
• Celebrate diversity & bravery
Based on: Changing the Culture: Ideas for Student Action by
Anne Collier, Mia Doces and Lisa Jones
27. A few tips for educators
• Create a bullying prevention team
• Involve parents and community
• Integrate “reflection” into discipline program
• Support for targets (“it’s not your fault”)
• Connect students with positive adults
• Increases resiliency, reinforces positive
behavior
• Positive staff behavior: Don’t let students see
staff acting as bullies
Source: Empowering Bystanders in Bullying Prevention, by
Stan Davis
28. Bullying prevention programs
• A structured curriculum that provides youth with materials
over at least several sessions.
• One-shot assemblies or pulling a few bits and pieces from
a program is not going to make a difference.
• Teach youth new skills. These should be spelled out in the
program
• Activities must let youth practice these new skills in active
ways
• Take a whole school or community approach to prevention.
Offer training for school staff, involvement of parents, and
assistance to help the school improve its response to bullying
concerns and reports
Source: Implementing Bullying Prevention Programs in Schools: A How-To Guide.
By Lisa Jones, Mia Doces, Susan Swearer, and Anne Collier
(cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/7491)
29. Social norms approach
• People emulate how they think their peers
behave
• If people think their friends don’t smoke,
they’re less likely to smoke.
• Same is true with over-eating, excessive
alcohol use and other negative behaviors,
including bullying*
*Assessing Bullying in New Jersey Secondary Schools: Applying the Social
Norms Model to Adolescent Violence: Craig, Perkins 2008
30. Example of positive norming
Source: Assessing Bullying in New Jersey Secondary Schools: Applying the Social Norms
Model to Adolescent Violence: Craig, Perkins 2008
31. Resources
• Born This Way Foundation (BornThisWay.org)
• Center for Safe & Responsible Internet Use (CSRIU.org)
• Committee for Children (http://www.cfchildren.org/)
• ConnectSafely.org
• Cyberbullying Research Center (cyberbullying.us)
• GenYes.org
• Kinder & Gentler World Working Papers
(cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/7491)
• Olweaus Bullying Prevention Program (Olweus.org)
• RulerApproach.org: Social & emotional learning
• StopBullying.gov
In 1994 I wrote Child Safety on the Information Highway and “My Rules for Online Safety.” I guess I must have done a pretty good job, because lots of Internet safety educators are still using those “rules.” Unfortunately, they’re more than a decade out-of-date. The world is a lot different than it was in 1994. Back then, most people in the world weren’t even on the Internet. Most of those online were using proprietary services like CompuServe or the Source or even cruder electronic bulletin boards, often running on old Apple II computers.
----- Meeting Notes (3/16/12 15:07) -----Like a deer in the headlights, people tend to be paralyzed when they're afraid
THERE NEVER HAS BEEN A STUDY ON HOW MUCH CHILDREN ARE SOLICITED BY “PREDATORS.” NOTE THE HEADLINE: “All Children Vulnerable to Online Predators”. IT’S A TRICK QUESTION BECAUSE THE SURVEY WASN’T ABOUT PREDATORS. It was about unwanted sexual solicitations from anybody – flirting is often an unwanted sexual solicitation, as the researchers defined the term. Here’s what the 2000 study this refers to – updated in 2006 with the figure 1 in 7, so the no. of solicitations had gone down – actually said....READ THIS:“Youth identify most sexual solicitors as being other adolescents (48% in 2000; 43% in 2006) or young adults 18-24 (20%; 30%), with few (4%; 9%) coming from older adults, and the remaining being of unknown age.” THE TOTALS: 68% teens & 18-24-year-olds in 2000; 73% in 2006.
THESE ARE ALL IMPORTANT BUT VERY GENERAL – CERTAINLY EACH INCIDENT IS UNIQUE AND NEEDS CARING INDIVIDUAL TREATMENT - a full, nonconfrontational, child-caregiver discussion that looks at the situation’s circumstances. The psychological damage can be considerable – some kids have suicidal thoughts.School counselor I spoke with several years ago would find out all the parties involved, get them in a room, and do bully-victim reverse role-playing (empathy training). In families and schools, some of these incidents can be turned into TEACHABLE MOMENTS (maybe anonymized?) for all parties’ benefit.
Putting up a fence might keep a kid away from a specific swimming pool but teaching them to swim protects them around all water and helps them enjoy the water as well.