Online Safety 3.0

Larry Magid, Ed.DCo-director

ConnectSafely.orgFounder

SafeKids.comEducation Committee Chair:

Obama Admin’s Online Safety Technology Working Group

Slides are available atSafeKids.com/mais

I wrote this in 1994. Too bad people are still

following this old advice

Evolution of media

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

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

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

Almost universal among youthIn the US:• 95% of 12-17 year olds use Internet• 70% go online daily• 46% several times a day• 80% of online teens use social

networkingIn Europe• 9-16 year olds spend average of 88

minutes per day online*

Source: Teens, Kindness and Cruelty on Social Network SitesHow American teens navigate the new world of "digital citizenshipPew Internet & American Life Project, November 2011

* EU Kids Online / Sept 2011

OS 3.0 = Empowerment

• 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)

• View youth as participants and stakeholders in positive Internet use rather than potential victims, and empower them to protect themselves.

• Promote good citizenship

• Teach new media literacy

• 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

Of course there are risks in life, so…

Who can best protect youth?

Or young people themselves?

The ‘Net effect’For the most part, the online world is pretty much like the “real world,” but there are a few special things to think about

• It 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 reducesempathy

Source: adapted from danah boyd: Taken out of Context, 2008

Fences have their place but …

To keep kids safe around all water, we teach kids to swim

Ultimately, the best filter runs between the child’s ears, not on a

device

Protection that lasts a lifetime

Training wheels for young kids

Adults are worried about

•Predators

•Posting/sending inappropriate content

•Cyberbullying & harassment

•Privacy and Reputation

And while these are risks•Online predator risk is extremely low•Only 2% of kids sent a “sext”•85% of US kids have not been harassed online in last 12 month•Across Europe, 6% of 9 to 16-year-old internet users have been bullied online. 3% confess to having bullied others.•81% of US teens use privacy controls

• 62% friends only• 19% friends of friends

Source: Teens, Kindness and Cruelty on Social Network SitesHow American teens navigate the new world of "digital citizenshipPew Internet & American Life Project, November 2011* EU Kids Online, Sept 2011

1 Digital natives know it all: Only 36% 9-16-year-olds say it is very true that they know more about the internet than their parents

2 Everyone is creating their own content:Only 20% recently used a file-sharing site or created an avatar, half that number wrote a blog. Most children use the internet for ready-made content.

3 Under 13s can’t use social networking:38% of 9-12-year-olds have a social networking profile.

4 Everyone watches porn online: One in seven children saw sexual images online in the past year

5 Bullies are baddies: 60% who bully (online or offline) have been bullied only 1% had a bad experience.

7 Offline risks migrate online: It cannot be assumed that those who are low-risk offline are protected while online.

8 Putting the PC in the living room will help: Advice is out of date

9 Teaching digital skills reduces online risk: The more digital skills a child has, the more risks they are likely to encounter as they broaden their online experience. What more skills can do is reduce the potential harm that risks can bring.

10 Children can get around safety software: Fewer than one in three 11-16 year-olds say they can change filter preferences. And most say their parents’ actions to limit their internet activity is helpful.

Top 10 myths about children’s online risks

Source: EU Kids Online / Sept 2011

How you treat others affects your risk

* EU Kids Online +Internet Safety Technology Taskforce

“Among those who do not bully others, being bullied is relatively rare 8% offline only, and 4% online”*

“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.” +

We are not raising a generation of monsters

• Most kids don’t bully

• Most kids (69%) say people their age are mostly kind to each other on social networking sites

• 20% have been bullied in past year

• 12% have been bullied in person

• 15% have been victims of “online meanness.”

Source: Teens, Kindness and Cruelty on Social Network SitesHow American teens navigate the new world of "digital citizenshipPew Internet & American Life Project, November 2011

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

Example of positive norming

Source: Assessing Bullying in New Jersey Secondary Schools: Applying the Social Norms Model to Adolescent Violence: Craig, Perkins 2008

Thank you!

Larry Magidlarry@connectsafely.org

Slides are available atSafeKids.com/mais