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Creating a Lesson Plan with the Learning Designer

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I am a professor of mathematics, computer science and human rights in Moldova, the Causeni district, the village of Salcuta
I am happy to participate in online training.

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European Safer Internet Centres (SICs) develop various educational resources aimed at helping teachers, parents and carers, and children and young people, to discover the online world safely.

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Handbook on the internet and early sexualisation

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Handbook on the internet and early sexualisation

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European Safer Internet Centres (SICs) develop various educational resources aimed at helping teachers, parents and carers, and children and young people, to discover the online world safely.

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European Safer Internet Centres (SICs) develop various educational resources aimed at helping teachers, parents and carers, and children and young people, to discover the online world safely.

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"Terrible." That's what we said when YouTube gamer PewDiePie was found to have racist and anti-Semitic videos. "Tragic." That was the reaction when a Minnesota woman fatally shot her husband in a YouTube stunt gone wrong. "Shameful." That was the combined response to YouTube vlogger Logan Paul's broadcast of a dead body hanging in Japan's so-called suicide forest. But what's clearly offensive to parents is a big gray area for kids -- especially when it's one of their beloved YouTube celebs. The site's anything-goes attitude, stars who feel like personal friends, and -- frankly -- parents' disapproval only strengthen kids' connection to their favorite personalities. Still, it's important to discuss the outrageous behavior they're seeing and hearing about. Why? Because, next to you, YouTube is one of the most powerful influences in their lives.

While there's plenty of good stuff happening on YouTube, it's not surprising that its stars push the boundaries of good taste. For one, they're mostly young, unfiltered, and bound to make some very public mistakes. Also, the more extreme the antic, the more page views they get, which can translate into millions of dollars.

Here's the way these things usually go: A YouTuber does or says something totally shocking; half of the internet erupts into outrage; and the other half rushes to the YouTuber's defense. The offending video is taken down -- but not before people flock to the channel to see what the controversy is all about. To complete the cycle, the YouTuber issues an apology video. Along the way, the YouTuber increases his or her notoriety, racks up tons of views, and miraculously strengthens their fan base. Until recently, YouTube's parent company Google was issuing only minor punishments to YouTubers who cross the line -- while also taking a percentage of their ad revenue (which is bolstered by the page views). But Google is stepping up the consequences for hosts whose stunts go too far, although it remains to be seen whether or not this will have an impact. Even after his offensive videos were discovered and Disney dropped him from a planned deal, PewDiePie is still one of the highest-paid internet stars.

Parents recognize these stunts as sensationalistic and exploitive. But kids feel protective of YouTube and its stars. YouTube is their go-to for news, pop culture, and trends. The hosts introduce them to cool, trendy new stuff, from video games to makeup and fashion. YouTubers bolster this connection by collecting followers on all social media, including Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram, sharing intimate secrets, and even making personal appearances. Parents tend not to watch it as much, and kids feel like they "own" the platform. So when you throw shade on YouTube, kids can take it personally, and it can feel like a criticism of them. Here are some ways to open a discussion about YouTube so your kids won't shut down:

Talk about the way YouTube works. YouTubers earn money based on their number of page views and subscribers. The more page views, the more money. Often, this " attention economy" means saying or doing outrageous things for attention -- even negative attention.
Ask: Do you think YouTubers have to go to extremes to attract views? Is Google responsible for helping YouTubers make money off crazy pranks? Do you think it's OK to watch people get hurt or do risky things? Should advertisers pull their support when YouTubers cross the line?

Talk about YouTubers' influence. YouTubers influence kids more than traditional celebrities because of the close relationship they forge with their fans. Brands such as Pepsi, Doritos, and Taco Bell love partnering with YouTubers because it makes them look cool and increases awareness even when the YouTubers behave inappropriately.
Ask: Would you be more likely to want a product that's endorsed by a YouTuber? Would you boycott a product endorsed by a YouTuber who released offensive videos?

Talk about safety. YouTubers -- including the guy who cemented his head into a microwave -- have shown that they are willing to do almost anything in the competition for page views. It's important for kids to see the aftermath of such stupid pranks, like the press conference by the emergency team who had to forgo helping people with legitimate medical issues to rescue that doofus.
Say: Don't ever do anything illegal or dangerous! And make sure your friends don't either.

Talk about sticking to YouTube's good stuff. From Minecraft tutorials to cooking shows, there are lots of good shows on YouTube, as well as positive role models. Help younger kids make playlists of channels you've pre-approved and encourage them to get your permission before searching around on YouTube, which can bring up stuff that's not appropriate.
Ask: What subjects are you interested in? I wonder if they have a YouTube channel for that. Also, ask kids to tell you about their favorite YouTubers who don't do icky or risky stuff.

Talk about where you draw the line. Lecturing about how offensive some YouTubers are will probably fall on deaf ears. (Kids may even doubledown on their support for the offender so they don't look bad for liking someone who messed up.) Instead, simply state where you stand on such content. You want your kids to get the message that you trust them to make good decisions on their own.
Say: I won't watch shows where people risk their safety or make light of something really serious, like suicide or violence.

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Talking to Kids About YouTube Celebs Who Cross the Line

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"Terrible." That's what we said when YouTube gamer PewDiePie was found to have racist and anti-Semitic videos. "Tragic." That was the reaction when a Minnesota woman fatally shot her husband in a YouTube stunt gone wrong. "Shameful." That was the combined response to YouTube vlogger Logan Paul's broadcast of a dead body hanging in Japan's so-called suicide forest.

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ICT Tools Repository - Online Safety Course

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ICT Tools Repository - Online Safety Course

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Better internet for Kids

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Uploaded by Latvijas Drošāka interneta centrs on 2014-08-05.

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The eSafety Label is a European-wide accreditation and support service for schools which enables schools to review their own eSafety practices against internationally agreed standards

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eSafety Label is a Europe-wide accreditation and support service for schools, aiming to provide a secure and enriching environment, for safe access to online technology as part of the teaching and learning experience.
The eSafety Label website aims to be a one-stop shop for teachers, head of schools and ICT administrators when it comes to

evaluating their school's online safety

taking action to improve and reinforce it

sharing best practices among their peers

Thanks to the eSafety Label Community, schools can review their own online safety infrastructure, policy and practices against national and international standards.

The eSafety Label Community consists of almost 4,000 teachers and contact points (Ministries of Education, universities, Safer Internet Centres, etc.) from 38 countries!

eSafety Label - how was it born?

As a continuously evolving concept, eSafety or 'online safety' encompasses the skills, attitudes and behaviour of users online as well as the content they access and the online context in which they work. Recognising the growing needs of schools for assistance to manage their use of technology, a number of leading technology companies and Ministries of Education have joined forces with European Schoolnet to address the gap in a truly multi-stakeholder fashion.

The eSafety Label initiative was born out of this this joint commitment in 2012.

The pilot programme

The project was officially launched on Safer Internet Day 2012 and followed by a two-year pilot programme in which schools tested the platform and the increasing number of features and language versions. The schools' feedback shaped the nature of the eSafety Label services offered to schools and, in particular, the assessment and accreditation tool.

The result of this testing period demonstrated the need for a personalised Action Plan, which schools can download after completing the Assessment Form, helping them to understand their current both their online safety status, and the key areas to be improved. The eSafety Label was shaped in such a way that it be harmonious with previously existing initiatives on both a national and regional level across Europe.

The research programme

Before starting development, extensive research was carried in different countries, including Austria, Belgium (Flanders), Estonia, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the UK. The countries were chosen to guarantee good representation of high to low technology schools and varying online safety legislative and pedagogical frameworks. The research included extensive desktop research and stakeholder interviews.

In February 2012, European Schoolnet published a report describing the research phase and the specific design process of the portal, which took place from June to December 2011.

The full research report can be downloaded

Founding stakeholders

The eSafety Label was initiated as a multi-stakeholder project. It has come about because a number of leading companies (Kaspersky Lab, Liberty Global, Microsoft and Telefonica) and European Education Ministries (Belgium-Flanders, Italy and Portugal) recognised the growing needs of schools for assistance and decided to join forces with European Schoolnet to address the gap. The consortium has been supported in its actions through Ministries of Education and educational organisations in Austria, Estonia and Spain and it is extending into more and more European countries.

Become a partner

Present and future

Building upon the expertise in the field of online safety as well as the ongoing popularity of the eSafety Label initiative, the eSafety Label + project, Become the next eSafety Champion, was funded through the Erasmus+ programme and it is aiming to

empower eSafety Champions

map current needs and key priorities for European schools

share best practices among a wide community of teachers, heads of schools, ICT coordinators and the entire school ecosystem.

Find out more about the project on the dedicated area on this portal.

Visit the eSafety Champion area.

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eSafety Label is a Europe-wide accreditation and support service for schools, aiming to provide a secure and enriching environment, for safe access to online technology as part of the teaching and learning experience.

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Safer Internet Day 2016 | Play your part for a better internet

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Almost half (45%) of 13-17-year-olds have seen nude or nearly nude photos of someone they know being shared around their school or local community.

Meanwhile, seven in ten kids aged between 8 and 17 admit to viewing images and videos not suitable for their age online.

For parents - these statistics will be extremely alarming. In fact, you'd be forgiven for wanting to ban your children from the internet and social media altogether.

But before you start ridding your house of interent access, it's worth noting that the same study, conducted by the UK Safer Internet Centre, found that social media can also be a force for good for young people. 80% of the children surveyed said they felt inspired by an image or video online to do something positive in the last year and 17% said they had shared an image to encourage others to do something positive.

Today - on Safer Internet campaigners are urging parents and children to help make the internet a safer, more positive space. "We need to harness [young people's] enthusiasm and empower them to 'Be the Change' and use the power of image to help create a better internet," said Will Gardner, Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre which runs Safer Internet Day.

MORE: IN THE MARKET FOR A NEW SMARTPHONE? CHECK OUT OUR TOP SCORERS HERE

So how do we make sure our children are using the internet appropriately? Especially since 56% of kids admit they have shared images or videos on a public social media profile that can be seen by anyone.
Here are the GHI's top five tips when it comes to helping kids grasp privacy online.

1. Educate yourself
According toNorton Security, children are likely to imitate their parents' behaviour, so parents should lead by example and make sure they keep what they share private. Don't know how to adjust your Facebook Privacy settings? Then follow our step-by-step guide. You can also visit Facebook's Privacy Basics, which offers tips on improving the security of your social media account and helps you understand who can see your content. If you log-in to Facebook today, you'll see a big banner at the top of your screen encouraging you to check your privacy and security settings.

2. Discuss the risks
Once something is posted online, it's extremely difficult to erase. Make sure children are aware of this and that they shouldn't post or share anything that their older self might be embarrassed about or that will hamper their future career. The NSPCC recommendsthe Granny Rule - where you ask your children whether they would want their Granny to see what they're sharing. While this advice is usually given in relation to sexting (sharing explicit pictures or videos of yourself or explicit messages) here at the GHI we think it's a good barometer for anything being shared online.

3. Be a good digital citizen
Encourage kids to report anything they see online which is offensive, upsetting or inappropriate, including images and videos. Both Facebook and Twitter have a Report button where you can flag any inappropriate posts. For other inappropriate images shared online, contact theInternet Watch Foundation. Any instances of online grooming must be reported to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP). If your child doesn't don't know how to make a report, or is uncomfortable doing so, encourage them to come to you so you can help them.

4. Strong passwords
Make sure kids use strong and unique passwords across all their accounts and that they know the should never share these with their friends. This reduces the risk of their accounts being accessed without their consent and items being posted or shared that way. See our advice onhow to create strong passwords.

5. Be there for them
The most important thing is to ensure that you are there if something goes wrong. Your child might be very embarrassed to discuss any issues they are facing so reassure them that they can turn to you no matter what.

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i'm worried about what my kids see online

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can i stop my kids seeing inapproriate content online

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Nearly half of all children have seen explicit material being shared

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Almost half (45%) of 13-17-year-olds have seen nude or nearly nude photos of someone they know being shared around their school or local community. Meanwhile, seven in ten kids aged between 8 and 17 admit to viewing images and videos not suitable for their age online.

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UNICEF released their report Perils and Possibilities: Growing up online, based on an international opinion poll of more than 10,000 18-year-olds from 25 countries, revealed young people's perspectives on the risks they face growing up in an increasingly connected world.

The new report that shows online violence and exploitation is a reality in the lives of children worldwide, but many are not provided with resources and knowledge to protect themselves. Children from very poor communities, such as in the Philippines, Madagascar, El-Salvador and Brazil have been targeted by adult offenders through the internet.
There are a number of interesting findings;

Two-thirds of 18-year-olds in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean believe children and adolescents are in danger of being sexually abused or taken advantage of online. This compares to 33% polled in the Middle East and North Africa.

Two-thirds of interviewees in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean either believe strongly, or somewhat, that friends put themselves at risk online, compared to 33% in the United States and United Kingdom.

Eighteen-year-olds in the United States and United Kingdom are most confident they can avoid online dangers with 94% strongly or somewhat agreeing they can protect themselves on social media. In the Middle East and North Africa only 41% strongly agree and an additional 37% agree somewhat.

Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa appear to value meeting new people online most, with 79% saying it is either very or somewhat important. In the United States and United Kingdom 63% say it is not very, or not at all important to meet new people online.

In Central European countries, 63% of interviewees strongly agree they would tell a friend if they felt threatened online, compared to 46% who would tell their parent. Only 9% would tell a teacher.

Let's dig a bit more into this report.

More than half, ( 53%) of the 10,000 18 year-olds that were polled around the world strongly agreed that online dangers exist.

With more than half believing there are online risks and dangers, 90% believe they know how to avoid these problems.

Despite recognition that dangers
exist online, nearly nine out of 10
adolescents think they have learned
how to protect themselves on
social media and know how to avoid
dangerous situations while using the
Internet.

Whenever you are being harassed or bullied online, especially if virtual violence or otherwise is involved, being able to tell someone is imperative. With younger people we encourage them to tell their parents, however we know at times this can be difficult. They fear their will lose their online privileges or not be taken seriously.

In this report the majority of adolescents polled said the would turn to a friend, and that's okay. As long as you tell someone.

54% said they would tell a friend.

48% said they would tell a parent.

19% said they would tell a teacher.

Today sexting is considered the new flirting. So if you share flirty pictures with your boyfriend or girlfriend keep in mind, those images will typically have a life span longer than the relationship. If you simply look at the divorce rates today, 40% of first marriages end in divorce, while 60% of second ones end that way - the promise of a young relationship may not be long lasting. Don't assume your sexy images will be kept private even if your friend makes a promise they will be - once there's a break-up, all bets are off. It's why we see the rise in revenge porn and sextortion.

67% of girls agreed they would be worried if someone made sexual comments to them online.

47% of boys said they had the same concern (a significant difference).

The fact that less than half the boys have the same concern shines the light on the fact that we often read so much about women being targets online when it comes to digital shaming, harassment, revenge porn and more. I'm not saying it doesn't happen to men - but we do hear an overwhelming amount of stories that revolve around the female gender.

To engage children and adolescents in ending violence online, UNICEF is launching #ReplyforAll, which is part of its global End Violence Against Children initiative. #ReplyforAll puts adolescents' front and centre as messengers and advocates to keep themselves safe online. Children and adolescents will be asked to give their advice on the best ways to respond to online violence or risks and to raise awareness among friends through social media. This work has been supported by the WePROTECT Global Alliance, which is dedicated to ending the sexual exploitation of children online through national and global action.

UNICEF, together with the WePROTECT Global Alliance, is calling on national governments to establish coordinated responses between criminal justice systems including law enforcement, and child welfare, education, health and the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sectors, as well as civil society, to better protect children from online sexual abuse and exploitation.

"When young people, governments, families, the ICT sector and communities work together, we are more likely to find the best ways to respond to online sexual abuse and exploitation, and send a strong message that confronting and ending violence against children online - indeed anywhere - is all of our business," said Williams.

About the WePROTECT Global AllianceThe WePROTECT Global Alliance is dedicated to ending the sexual exploitation of children online through national and global action. Its vision is to identify and safeguard more victims, apprehend more perpetrators and create and internet free from this crime. The WeProtect Global Alliance is comprised of governments, companies and civil society organizations signed up to the commitments made at the WePROTECT Children Online summits in London (2014) and Abu Dhabi (2015) and the members of the Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online.
About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

The full study is here: http://www.unicef.org/endviolence/endviolenceonline/files/UNICEF_Growing-up-online.pdf

Tags: Bullying, cyberbullying, End Violence Online, Online Violence, Unicef

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Perils and Possibilities: Growing Up Online - Sue Scheff Blog

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UNICEF released their report Perils and Possibilities: Growing up online, based on an international opinion poll of more than 10,000 18-year-olds from 25 countries, revealed young people's perspectives on the risks they face growing up in an increasingly connected world. The new report that shows online violence and exploitation is a reality in the lives ...

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Better Internet for Kids - Latest helpline trends reveal drop in cyberbullying - Hotlines

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INHOPE is the International Association of Internet Hotlines - a network dealing with illegal content online and committed to stamping out child sexual abuse from the internet. INHOPE Hotlines receive anonymous reports from the public on content they suspect to be illegal.

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An animated basic introduction to the concept of "media literacy". Media literacy curricula encourages students to ask questions about what they watch, hear, and read. Treating “media” as any sort of text that can be read, trained students will be able to detect bias and propaganda, and determine the reasons for these.

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Designed and Developed by Will Earp, South West Grid for Learning Trust Ltd

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SWGfL is a charity dedicated to empowering the safe and secure use of technology globally. Find out more about online safety and security on our website

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SWGfL Digital Literacy - Curriculum Overview

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Helping Students Identify Fake News with the Five C's of Critical Consuming

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Order and Invoice Support

Please Note: In our effort to protect our customer's data, we will no longer take or store credit card data in any manner within our systems. As of April 30, 2016 we will not accept credit card payments via e-mail, fax or standard mail. Please note, when contacting via phone it is not secure to leave credit card information on voice mail. We take our customers' security seriously and believe that this approach is in the best interest to protect our customers and our company alike.

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Please Note: In our effort to protect our customer's data, we will no longer take or store credit card data in any manner within our systems. As of April 30, 2016 we will not accept credit card payments via e-mail, fax or standard mail.

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Who owns your data? (Hint: It's not you)

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The Proposal for a Council Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning has now been published. It repeals and replaces the 2006 Recommendation. So what's new? What are the competences European citizens need to acquire? Some have been slightly updated, while others have undergone significant changes.

There's is also a significant change of terminology: it is recommended that DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES be used instead of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and IST (Information Society Technology) because "it is considered the most appropriate term to refer to the full range of devices, software or infrastructure. With the increased, varied and embedded use of mobile devices and applications, references to 'computers' and 'the Internet' are removed, but are still classed under the broad term of digital technologies." I think it really hits the mark.

The Proposal lists the following 8 competences along with explanations:

LITERACY COMPETENCE - "can be developed in the mother tongue, in the language of schooling, and/or in the official language of the country. The key element is that a good level of literacy needs to be ensured in at least one of these languages to allow for further competences development."

LANGUAGES COMPETENCE - "focus is on helping people to communicate across borders, to make use of mobility within Europe and in a globalized economy."

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGICAL ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICAL COMPETENCE - as in 2006, "with their emphasis on critical questioning and problem solving, they are prerequisite for the functioning of technologically advanced, knowledge based societies and economies. This new title strengthens the understanding of science as a process and way of thinking and includes a reference to the increasing need of financial literacy."

- is aligned with the Digital Competence Framework (2013), which includes 5 areas: (1) Information and data literacy, including management of content, (2) Communication and collaboration and participation in society, (3) Digital content creation, including ethical principles, (4) Safety and (5) Problem solving. The description of this competence "should try to be significantly flexible to be relevant in today's society and in the future, recognising the embedding of social media and the emergence of new technologies, such as Artificial intelligence, robots, virtual and augmented reality." (How great is this part that I underlined!)

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND LEARNING COMPETENCE - "includes three specific aspects:
- personal - including self-awareness, physical and mental well-being
- social - covering interpersonal interactions and working with others
- learning - focus on lifelong learning strategies and career management skills.
It also addresses a number of transversal skills from the 2006 Framework (creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, decision taking, self-regulation,...) as well as some new ones, such as resilience, ability to deal with uncertainty and complexity.

CIVIC COMPETENCE - "includes active citizenship, participation, involvement and building a sustainable future and further highlights the role of citizenship, democratic values and human rights in today's increasingly connected global societies. Understanding the need to support sustainable societies, economies and ecosystems, as well as practice sustainable lifestyles is a key element of this competence."

ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETENCE - "is aligned with the JRC Entrepreneurship Competence Framework. In addition, creativity and the ability to plan and manage processes are highlighted as essential dimensions of an entrepreneurial mindset.

CULTURAL AWARENESS AND EXPRESSION COMPETENCE - "takes into account a wider range of contemporary forms of cultural expressions and also to more clearly describe how this competence is a crucial element in understanding, developing and expressing ideas and one's place or role in society, or in other words, being able to view and shape the world with a sense of identity that is constructed in relation to others. Positive and open-minded attitudes towards other cultures and cultural differences are highlighted.

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The Proposal for a Council Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning has now been published. It repeals and replaces the 2006 Recommendation. So what's new? What are the competences European citizens need to acquire? Some have been slightly updated, while others have undergone significant changes.

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In chapter six young people learn more about copyrights and how to be creative online. The according lesson plans to this chapter are provided on this page as well.

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Lesson plans for Chapter 6, The artist in you:

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Lesson plans for Chapter 6, The artist in you:

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Media Scholar Henry Jenkins on Participatory Culture and Civic Engagement

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Media Scholar Henry Jenkins on Participatory Culture and Civic Engagement

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Media Scholar Henry Jenkins on Participatory Culture and Civic Engagement

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Kids bulletin
Education Austria
Austrian Ministry of Education
Austrian Safer Internet Centre,
Mediataitoviikko
Netherlands
Sweden
Trust Me

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10 December 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of commemorating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adoption in 1948. This landmark document serves as a testament to the global commitment to protect the rights of every human being, regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. As we mark this day in 2023, the theme underscores the need for "Freedom, Equality and Justice for All".

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10 December 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of commemorating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adoption in 1948. This landmark document serves as a testament to the global commitment to protect the rights of every human being, regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

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 European Handbook for Teaching Privacy and Data Protection at Schools

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 European Handbook for Teaching Privacy and Data Protection at Schools

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Under the framework of the ARCADES research project, for the past 18 months, three European data protection authorities (DPAs) – from Poland, Hungary and Slovenia – as well as the Research Group on Law, Science, Technology & Society (LSTS) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) have looked for best practices in teaching privacy and personal data protection at schools.

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Digital Defenders vs. Data Intruders – Privacy for kids!

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Digital Defenders vs. Data Intruders – Privacy for kids!

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EDRi (European Digital Rights) has recently published a booklet ‘Your guide to Digital Defenders vs. Data Intruders - Privacy for kids!’, to help young people between 10-14 years to protect their privacy.

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For many years, schools have been required to be compliant with data protection laws. Many of us that work with schools are all too aware of the difficulties they face in achieving compliance. Here at the South West Grid for Learning and the UK Safer Internet Centre (SIC), we know that schools work to achieve compliance through a variety of means. Some rely on local authority staff, or the Information Commissioners’ Office for support, advice and training. What is clear is that practice remains inconsistent and that data breaches are occurring.

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the Cloud – from the Luxembourg Safer Internet Centre

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the Cloud – from the Luxembourg Safer Internet Centre

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10 December 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of commemorating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adoption in 1948. This landmark document serves as a testament to the global commitment to protect the rights of every human being, regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. As we mark this day in 2023, the theme underscores the need for "Freedom, Equality and Justice for All".

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10 December 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of commemorating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adoption in 1948. This landmark document serves as a testament to the global commitment to protect the rights of every human being, regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

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Guide to apps - BIK Portal - BIK Community

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The Better Internet for Kids (BIK) guide to online services aims to provide key information about some of the most popular apps, social networking sites and other platforms which are commonly being used by children and young people (and adults) today.

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What are the five C’s of critical consuming?

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What are the five C’s of critical consuming?

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John Spencer

Posted on December 8, 2016

If you like this sketchy video, I encourage you to subscribe to my channel and be the first to see my latest short videos.

I used to teach a class called photojournalism. I usually referred to it as "digital journalism," because people assumed we were a photography class. Students created videos, podcasts, documentaries, and blogs with the goal of sharing their work with an authentic audience. On the surface, this might not seem all that practical. After all, newspapers are slashing their budgets and laying off staff. Why teach an elective class in a subject that doesn't connect to a decent job market?

But here's the thing: whether we feel like it or not, we are all citizen journalists. We are all researchers. We are all sharing information online and publishing it on social media. We are all curating and producing content even if only a fragment of the population creates videos, podcasts, or blog posts. Social media is a fusion of space (social) and publishing (medium). Although it can simply feel like a place to hang out, every social media platform uses elements of traditional media. Just look at the terms: subscribers, news feed, followers, publish.

The gatekeepers are gone, which means it is easier than ever to publish your work to the world. This is exciting. I get to write a blog a few times a week. I get to make sketchy videos and post them to and Facebook. I get to record a podcast. I love digital media.

But there's a cost. It's also easier than ever to spread misinformation. And fake news has become a real issue in recent times. Here's a disturbing trend from the last U.S. election:

We see this with students. According to a Stanford study, only 25% of high school students were able to identify an accurate news story when also given a fake one. Students also had a hard time distinguishing between real and fake photographs as well as authentic and staged videos.

Researchers used the words "bleak" and "dismaying" to describe it. But it's not going away anytime soon and that's a very real problem.

So, how do we fix it?

Well, here's a five-step process that I've used with students. A word of caution. It's not perfect and there are probably other models out there but I thought I would share it just in case you might want to use it. We call it the 5 C's of Critical Consuming.

The 5 C's of Critical Consuming.

#1: Context - Look at the context of the article. When was it written? Where does it come from? Have the events changed since then? Is there any new information that could change your perspective?

#2: Credibility - Check the credibility of the source. Does the site have a reputation for journalistic integrity? Does the author cite credible sources? Or is it satirical? Is it on a list of fake news sites? Is it actually an advertisement posing as a real news story?

#3: Construction. Analyze the construction of the article. What is the bias? Are there any loaded words? Any propaganda techniques? Any omissions that you should look out for? Can you distinguish between the facts and opinions? Or is it simply all speculation?

#4: Corroboration: Corroborate the information with other credible news sources. Make sure it's not the only source making the claim. If it is, there's a good chance it's actually not true.

#5: Compare: Compare it to other news sources to get different perspectives. Find other credible sources from other areas of the ideological or political spectrum to provide nuance and get a bigger picture of what's actually happening.

When we teach students media literacy, and they learn how to consume critically, they learn how to think critically. And critical thinking citizens are good for democracy. And that's good for everyone.

Listen to the Podcast

Just click on the audio below to listen to this Creative Classroom podcast. You can also listen to it on the go by subscribing on iTunes (ideal for iPhone users) or Google Play and Stitcher (ideal for Android users)

http://www.spencerauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Fake-News-Is-a-Real-Problem.mp3

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Fake News is a Real Problem. Here's How Students Can Solve It.

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John Spencer Posted on December 8, 2016 If you like this sketchy video, I encourage you to subscribe to my channel and be the first to see my latest short videos. I used to teach a class called photojournalism. I usually referred to it as "digital journalism," because people assumed we were a photography class.

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CRAP -  Currency, Reliability, Authority, Pictures

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CRAP -  Currency, Reliability, Authority, Pictures

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I frequently blog about evaluating sources-- it was the subject of my very first post--so it should come as no surprise that I liked "Crap Detection, A 21st Century Literacy" from the Libraries and Transliteracy blog, which I found through the Librarian in Black. I wanted to point out two great items featured in the...

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A Kit for Teachers,Students, Parentsand Professionals

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A Kit for Teachers,Students, Parentsand Professionals

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Inform yourself to protect yourself!

Cyberbullying is a worldwide problem and one that is growing - fast! Because cyberbullying can happen in a variety of ways, each of which needs to be dealt with differently, it's important that you are able recognize them. In this blog post we take you through the 10 forms of cyberbullying so that you have the knowledge to protect your children.

Before we consider the different forms, it is important to define what we mean by cyberbullying.

"Cyberbullying is the use of inappropriate behaviour, strength or influence, whether directly or indirectly, and whether verbal, written, physical or through displays of or use of imagery, symbols or otherwise, to intimidate, torment, threaten, harass or embarrass others, using the Internet or other technology, such as mobile telephones." David Fagan, Lawyer, BizLegal.eu

1. Exclusion

Exclusion is the deliberate act of leaving you out.

Exclusion is the deliberate act of leaving someone out.

Exclusion can happen in a number of ways:

Your child might be excluded from friends' parties or activities.

Your child's friends are having online conversations and tagging other friends but not them.

Your child isn't using social networking sites or doesn't have a smartphone and is deliberately excluded from conversations by others because of this.

2. Harassment

Harassment is a sustained, constant and intentional form of bullying comprising abusive or threatening messages sent to your child or to a group.

This is a very dangerous form of cyberbullying. It can have serious implications for your child's wellbeing. The messages are generally unkind or malicious, can impact their self-esteem and confidence, and can make them fearful. The constant messaging means that there is no respite from the cyberbully. The cyberbully makes extreme effort to cause fear and pain.

3. Outing

Outing is a deliberate act to embarrass or publicly humiliate your child or a group through the online posting of sensitive, private or embarrassing information without their consent.

Outing can happen in a variety of ways and the information revealed can be serious or trivial. Even reading out your child's saved messages on their mobile phone can be considered a form of outing. Personal information should not be shared and if someone reveals private information deliberately be sure your child knows to report it as cyberbullying

4. Cyberstalking

This form of cyberbullying can extend to the cyberbully making real threats to your child's physical wellbeing and/or safety. Cyberstalking can also refer to the practice of adults using the Internet to contact and attempt to meet with young people for sexual purposes. It is a very dangerous form of cyberbullying and can have serious consequences if something isn't done immediately to stop it.

5. Fraping

Fraping is when somebody logs into your social networking account and impersonates your child by posting inappropriate content in their name.

Fraping is a very serious offence, which many people believe to be funny and entertaining, but it's not. Impersonating somebody online and ruining their reputation can have serious consequences. Remember Google never forgets so everything rude or otherwise posted online will never be fully gone, even if deleted.

6. Fake Profiles

Fake profiles can be created in order for a person to hide their real identity with the intention of cyberbullying your child.

The cyberbully might also use someone else's email or mobile phone to cyberbully them. This would make it appear as if someone else has sent the threats. The cyberbully is afraid in case their identity is revealed, therefore they choose to use fake accounts. This usually means that the cyberbully is someone that your child knows very well, because if they didn't know them, the perpetrator wouldn't have to hide their identity.

7. Dissing

Dissing is the act of sending or posting cruel information about your child online, to damage their reputation or friendships with others.

It can also include posting material online such as photos, screenshots or videos. The cyberbully wants to put your child down, so draws attention to what they are saying about them to make other people think they're not cool. The cyberbully is usually someone your child knows. This can make it really upsetting.

8. Trickery

Trickery is the act of gaining your child's trust so that they reveal secrets or embarrassing information that the cyberbully then shares publicly online.

The cyberbully will 'befriend' your child and lead them into a false sense of security before breaking their trust and sending their private information to a third party.

9. Trolling

Tolling is the deliberate act of provoking a response through the use of insults or bad language on online forums and social networking sites.

The troll will personally attack your child and put them down. Their main aim is to make them angry enough to act in the same way. Trolls spend their time looking for vulnerable people to put down. Usually they are looking to make themselves feel good by making others feel bad.

10. Catfishing

Catfishing is when another person steals your child's online identity, usually photos, and re-creates social networking profiles for deceptive purposes.

A catfish is someone who wants to hide who they are. They will look at your child's social networking profile and take any information they want to create a fake persona. Sometimes they will only take your child's photos and use fake names and information; at other times they could take their name and personal information. It can be hard to understand why a catfish does this but it is important to know that they are potentially damaging your child's online reputation.

Please share this blog post with other parents you know so that they can inform themselves on the 10 forms of cyberbullying. Thank you for being a good digital citizen!

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Check out the resources below to find more information and advice on how to tackle this issue:

Cyber-Bullying First Aid App

The #Up2Us Anti-Bullying Kit

Cyberbullying Guidance by Childnet

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The ENABLE Approach- empowering parents to raise resilient children (by European Schoolnet)

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The ENABLE Approach- empowering parents to raise resilient children (by European Schoolnet)

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The ENABLE Approach- empowering parents to raise resilient children (by European Schoolnet)

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ENABLE for educators (by South West Grid for Learning)

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ENABLE for educators (by South West Grid for Learning)

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ENABLE for educators (by South West Grid for Learning)

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How to set up an effective Peer Support scheme in your setting (by The Diana Award)

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How to set up an effective Peer Support scheme in your setting (by The Diana Award)

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How to set up an effective Peer Support scheme in your setting (by The Diana Award)

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Talk to someone

Worried about something you have seen online or concerned about your child? Childline and the National Parents Council Primary offer free advice and support service.

Childline is a support service for young people up to the age of 18.There is a 24hr telephone, online and mobile phone texting service.

The National Parents Council Primary enables and empowers parents to be effective partners in their children's education.

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This is a proactive and creative space for young people. It is a place where young people can get advice on internet safety issues and become more involved in making the internet a better place for all users. Find out more about our youth leadership programmes and youth-centred events.

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The Web We Want (WWW) website is available in 12 languages and provides materials for teens as well as a range of open education resources for teachers, including interactive lesson plans and worksheets, to facilitate instructions about online safety issues.

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All lesson plans provided in the Web We Want handbook for educators align with the European e-Competence Framework, which helps identify and describe ICT-related competences according to the European Qualification Framework approach and outlines the methodological choices behind it.

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Understanding, Preventing, Responding

Project deSHAME is a collaboration between Childnet, Save the Children (Denmark), Kek Vonal (Hungary) and UCLan (UK), co-financed by the EU.

It aims to increase reporting of online sexual harassment among minors and improve multi-sector cooperation in preventing and responding to this behaviour.

New research into young people's experiences of online sexual harassment published on 6th December. Click here to read more. Press Release [6th Dec] UK youth targeted with sexual harassment on the internet

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Understanding, Preventing, Responding Project deSHAME is a collaboration between Childnet, Save the Children (Denmark), Kek Vonal (Hungary) and UCLan (UK), co-financed by the EU. It aims to increase reporting of online sexual harassment among minors and improve multi-sector cooperation in preventing and responding to this behaviour.

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Another report from the Children’s Society 

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Another report from the Children’s Society 

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The tool is based on the six learning types from Diana Laurillard's Conversational Framework - a model of the conditions necessary for learning to take place. The six learning types are: Read/Write/Listen (or Acquisition), Inquiry, Practice, Production, Discussion and Collaboration. In principle, a good learning design will contain a mix of all of these types of learning.

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Talk to your group to decide on the chosen the preserve and protect the area . At home : connect to the school's website and write your description in Googledoc Group . If you see another member of your group wrote that you can leave comments were written , then come back later to write your ideas.

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Attention young professionals! What's in your digital baggage?

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Attention young professionals! What's in your digital baggage?

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Attention young professionals! What's in your digital baggage?

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8 Things You and Your Teen Need to Know About Sexting

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8 Things You and Your Teen Need to Know About Sexting

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8 Things You and Your Teen Need to Know About Sexting

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Teen Sexting and Its Impact on the Tech Industry

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Teen Sexting and Its Impact on the Tech Industry

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"Teen Sexting and Its Impact on the Tech Industry"

danah boyd
Read Write Web 2WAY Conference 2011
June 13, 2011
[This is a VERY rough unedited crib of the actual talk.]
Citation: boyd, danah. 2011. "Teen Sexting and Its Impact on the Tech Industry." Read Write Web 2WAY Conference. New York, NY, June 13.
[In French thanks to Fred Pailler][This talk was written to be addressed to a room full of tech entrepreneurs and Internet geeks. It's a call to action to the tech industry. I'm sharing it widely but its context is important since the implicit "you" in the room refers to those involved with startups.]
Most of you have probably read the panic-laden stories about teens who got caught sexting. You may even have read the salacious stories about teachers who sext with students. And, unless you've been on a remote island this month, you've probably heard countless jokes about Anthony Weiner's recent sexting scandal. While most Americans had never heard of the term "sexting" a few years ago, it's hot news these days. And while you might have read these stories in the press, you might not realize how relevant they are to you. More than any other teen phenomenon, more than Justin Bieber or cute cats, teen sexting is something that you need to deal with. And you need to deal with it ASAP, both because it's the right thing to do and because you face serious legal liabilities if you don't.

When first coined by Australian press only a few short years ago, the term "sexting" referred to the idea of sending sexually explicit content via text messaging. For the most part, folks were referring to the sending and receiving of lewd textual messages, the mobile phone equivalent of cybersex in early text-only chatrooms. Yet, by the time that this term hit the mainstream press in the United States, it became synonymous with the sending and receiving of nude or erotic images or video by any Internet-enabled means possible. And, until Representative Weiner made a fool out of himself, it was mostly used to connote teenage stupidity.

Even if you're not a parent, you've probably heard examples of where teen sexting goes terribly awry. Teens who share intimate photos with their significant other only to be publicly shamed when the photos go viral after a breakup. Mean girls using sexted images to harass and bully. Children being arrested and prosecuted for the production, possession, and dissemination of child pornography of themselves by rogue prosecutors. It didn't take long for sexting to shift from being about adult flirtation via the mobile phone to being used to connote child-produced child pornography.

When you read press coverage of sexting, it's hard not to throw your hands in the air and exclaim "Kids these days! What are they thinking!?!?!" Answering that age-old question is my job. I'm an ethnographer and I spend a great deal of time running around the United States hanging out with teenagers to understand why they do what they do when they use technology. The bulk of my talk today is meant to explain the cultural logic behind teen sexting. I want you to understand why teen sexting is a very rational act with very irrational consequences. But I also want you to understand that teen sexting is not just an issue for the anthropologically inclined. It's a real issue that has real impact for the tech industry. And if you're in the business of user-generated content, cloud computing, or mobile services, you need to start paying attention to this issue.

CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
Before I talk about the world from teens' perspective, I need to start by explaining why "sexting" is such a big legal issue for startups and the tech industry more generally. And to do so, I need to talk about Child Pornography. First, please understand that I'm describing the state of the world in very generalized terms. I may be a visiting researcher at Harvard, but I'm not a lawyer. So if you're trying to figure out how to best abide by the law, make sure you talk to someone who can give you legal advice as it relates to your jurisdiction. Second, before we even talk about child pornography, please recognize that not all sexting is child pornography, but the two have collided in very uncomfortable ways.

Child Pornography is NOT a photograph of your child in a bathtub. It is NOT a photograph of naked toddlers running around on the beach. Unless it is your job to find and combat child pornography, you have most likely never seen the kinds of content that this term is meant to reference. And you never ever ever want to. Child Pornography, dreadfully named, is meant to refer to the photographic evidence of a crime against a minor. We're talking about pictures of two-year-olds being brutally raped. Horrific images that eat at your soul. When the Child Pornography laws were first written in the 1970s, most tried to verbally describe the content that might be found in such images because "I know it when I see it" is never a good way to write legal statutes. But the description has only left people more confused. Generally speaking, child pornography laws address images or videos that include sexually explicit content involving a minor. The penalties for creating, possessing, or distributing child pornography are intentionally strong because the crimes being referenced are particularly heinous. Any reasonable person who saw the images that the laws are meant to address would want to prosecute the perpetrators to the full extent of the law. Unfortunately, since most folks don't see these images, they mistakenly assume that Child Pornography laws also refer to naked kids.

Child Pornography laws predate the Internet but when the Internet emerged, those engaged in this heinous crime quickly recognized the technology as a new mechanism for distribution. Just as the Internet helped enable the spread of all sorts of good content, the Internet also enabled the reproduction and distribution of horrific content. Once again, legal agencies around the world stepped in to criminalize child pornography online and to hold everyone involved accountable, including Internet Service Providers like Comcast and Online Service Providers like Facebook. Keep in mind that child pornography is NOT protected speech. It is meant to refer to crime scene photos representing the harm of a minor; it is not simply pornography involving a child. So the U.S. courts concluded that it cannot be protected under the first amendment.

While they vary by jurisdiction, the penalties that websites and tech companies face for knowingly hosting child pornography are steep in most countries around the world. We're talking tens of thousands of dollars per image per server per day. There's also a reporting requirement. When U.S. companies learn of a Child Pornography image being hosted on their servers, they're required by U.S. federal law to not only remove the offending content from all servers, but to immediately report known incidents to authorities (typically to the FBI via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children). ISPs and OSPs are encouraged to work directly with NCMEC through their "ESP Liaison" program to combat child pornography on their services. Again, all of this is completely reasonable if you keep in mind the kinds of images we're talking about. Getting them off of servers as fast as possible is critical, in part because images of this kind are typically trafficked, such that they are reproduced and distributed quickly by illegal criminals.

LANDSCAPE CHANGE
Unfortunately, the legal efforts to combat child pornography did not predict two things:

1. The emergence of Web2.0 and user-generated content

2. Teenage sexting for fun

In the early days of the web, when the reporting laws were constructed, websites pretty much controlled the content on their websites. There weren't that many companies hosting image and video content. And services that allowed everyday people to share content were primarily private. There were, of course, exceptions. And services like AOL and Tripod and the institutions behind various Usenet groups worked diligently to combat child pornography. But with the decline of hosting costs and the rise of Web2.0 and social media and user-generated content, things quickly got much more complicated. Suddenly, every mom-and-pop website had to address a legal liability that they didn't even know existed. And, for the most part, only learned about at a point of crisis. There's nothing more daunting than Child Pornography for a 2-person startup team with no investment money who copied-and-pasted a Terms of Service agreement from their favorite website because they don't know any lawyers. Even venture capitalists tend to have little idea of the legal liabilities presented by Child Pornography, let alone bright-eyed bushy-tailed entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, webcams proliferated and the cost of camera-enabled cell phones declined and the popularity of online photo-sharing increased. And all of a sudden, a myriad of teenagers around the world started taking pictures of themselves and posting them onto the Internet. And the line between what is sexy and what is sexually explicit quickly blurred. To complicate matters more, these technologies come together at a time when teenagers are racing into networked publics, bringing every element of teen drama into the digital environment. So the mean girl behavior mixes with the slut shaming mixes with explicit image content.

Put these two together and you've got a ticking time bomb. All of a sudden, prosecutors determined to "teach those kids a lesson" start prosecuting teenagers for creating, possessing, and distributing child pornography of themselves. The age-old practice of "slut shaming" takes on an entirely new meaning when photographs are used. Schools panic and just suspend everyone. Kids start committing suicide over the emotional costs of being shamed. Websites panic because they can't tell the difference between a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old, let alone determine the intention behind the posting of the images. Attorneys general cherry pick which companies they want to pick on. And the news media takes the most egregious cases out there and hypes them as the latest teen craze. In short, sexting has become a disaster for pretty much everyone involved.

WHAT ARE THE KIDS THINKING!?!?
So now it's time to talk about teens and what they do. The first thing to know is that there's nothing new about teens taking explicit photos of themselves. I myself am entirely guilty. In going through a box of Polaroids that I took in high school, I stumbled across a series of photos that I took after having acquired a copy of "Our Bodies, Ourselves." Taking a picture seemed like a much more reasonable way of figuring out what was "down there" than trying to get a mirror angled right. Thank goodness my mother had no idea that she was housing child pornography produced by her daughter. In talking with adults from various communities, I was surprised to learn how many had taken photographs of themselves as teenagers, trying to be sexy or sexual. The Polaroid regularly came up as the camera of choice since it seemed that most realized that such images weren't appropriate for Ritz Camera. Of course, I remember when my brother worked at Ritz Camera... he was regularly shocked by the images that people wanted developed and I remember him having to report some of those images to the police. So while the sexting craze is certainly an Internet-era phenomenon, it's important to remember that the taking of such images is not new.

Second, it's important to remember that most teens never get caught for their participation in sexting. Thus, what you read about in the press is not actually representative of what teens do or why they do it. The vast majority of sexting goes unnoticed by anyone. While no one has perfect numbers, Pew has found that 4% of teens ages 12-17 have sent sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images of themselves to someone else via text messaging while 15% of the same age cohort have received them. Needless to say, older teens are more likely to have sent or received them. It's not a rare practice, but it's not typically a visible one. Because the vast majority of sexting actually takes place between two people who are in a relationship. And while there are numerous stories of how a jaded lover turned malicious, the vast majority of relationships do not end that bitterly.

Third, there's a whole range of image types that could be conceived of as sexting. Certainly, we would include lewd images taken of the genitals or photographic depictions of sexual acts. But what about artistic nudes meant to mirror the works of the great painters and sculptors? What about pictures of scantily clad individuals meant to arouse? What about bikini photographs? What about locker room photographs where the subject doesn't even know about the photo? The line is not that easy to draw. It's not easy for parents to draw it, for technologists to draw it, or for judges to draw it.

Let me now turn to tell you about some of the cases of sexting that I came across in my fieldwork so you can better understand what's taking place.
STORY #1: SEEKING FAME
In 2006, I sat down to interview my first teenager as part of my dissertation project. Traviesa was a Hispanic 15-year-old from Los Angeles who wasn't doing particularly well at school. We opened up her MySpace so that she could walk me through her profile and my heart froze. Her page was covered with artistically-styled but explicitly sexual nude and semi-nude photos of herself. I tried to maintain my cool because it was clear that Traviesa was perfectly comfortable showing her page to me. I stammered as I began to ask her about these pictures and she looked at me peculiarly. She told me that she wanted to be a model and that she was working hard to break into the business; she believed that she was going to be found on MySpace, just like Tila Tequila.

At the time, Tila Tequila was a 25-year-old model sometimes referred to in the media as the "MySpace Queen." Although she was first "discovered" by Playboy at the age of 18, she didn't have much success in starting her modeling career until she was able to use MySpace to attract attention, which she managed to leverage to kickstart a modeling career and, eventually, an MTV reality show.

Traviesa believed that she too could become famous if she exposed herself online. Still stammering, I foolishly asked her if she was worried that such images would reduce her chances of getting into college. She laughed in my face, poignantly telling me that there was no way that she was getting into college in the first place. From her perspective, fame was the only way out of her community.

To my knowledge, Traviesa never got into trouble for her photographs, but she never found fame either. Her pictures would undoubtedly be considered "child pornography" given the sexualized nature of them. Yet, they are precisely that... They are pornographic images of a child, created by a child to mirror the imagery of adult pornography. And they are Traviesa's response to a sex-saturated society and a series of messages telling her that the only way that she is likely to succeed in this world is by using her body to get attention.

We may find horror in Traviesa's story, but let us not forget that we live in a society that feeds off of the dramas of celebrities. We keep giving Paris Hilton airtime, ever since she leaked a pornographic video of herself. Sex sells in an attention economy and teenagers want to participate in that economy too. And they don't understand why they shouldn't be allowed when they see it all around them.
STORY #2: SEXUAL EXPRESSIONS
In 2009, I was invited to talk to a group of young women about online safety. The organizers of the event wanted me to have an honest conversation with these girls about what they were doing online and what the consequences were. During that group conversation, the topic of sexting emerged. One girl explained that she thought sending slutty photos was wrong, but another immediately dismissed her, explaining that the best way to "get a man" is by sending him photos to tempt him. The conversation spiraled out of control as the different girls weighed in with their opinions, some voicing disgust and others offering techniques for good photographic angles. I asked how many of them had sent a sexy photo and half of them raised their hands. Then a distinction emerged. Some believed that sending these images was appropriate as a mechanism of flirtation while others thought it was only appropriate once _in_ a relationship.

The attitudes of this group of teens were echoed in a focus group that the New York Times ran in 2011. Kathy, one of the teens the Times interviewed, explained: "At my school, if you like a boy and you want to get his attention, you know what you have to do." This sounds like the peer pressure narratives of the past, only with a twist. Because Kathy also points out that "There's a positive side to sexting. You can't get pregnant from it, and you can't transmit S.T.D.'s. It's a kind of safe sex." Kathy's logic is perfectly reasonable, especially once you realize that "age of consent" laws in different parts of the country allow teens to legally have sex around the ages of 15 or 16 (even if there are certainly teens who start having sex before that age). Teens are absolutely flabbergasted to learn that it's legal for them to have sex but not to take naked pictures of themselves. From their perspective, that makes absolutely no sense. Because, from their perspective, the consequences of having sex are much more significant than the consequences they image of posting a naked image. Little do they know that they could be charged with child pornography statutes and be forced to register as a sex offender.

The girls in the room in Boston were not shy and whatever insecurities they had were masked by performative confidence. They believed they were strutting their stuff and sexting was just another practice in a long line of practices meant to signal that they were cool, sexy girls. While their presentations were muted by school clothing requirements, it was pretty clear from their makeup, perfume, and dolled-up-hair that fashion was another way in which they proudly displayed their sexuality. They saw the digital environs as a space to take it one step further, without worrying about the lurking purview of adults.

When I asked the girls about how they felt about the fact that these images might spread, most shrugged their shoulders. One told me that she wouldn't care if other boys saw them because they'd only get more "cred." I asked her how she would feel if teachers found them and she looked at me with horror. Another explained that even if a boy was cruel and shared it with other boys, he'd never share it with teachers. From their perspective, sexting was OK as long as it was contained and everyone expected it to be contained.
STORY #3: VIRAL SPREAD
While most of the stories I heard about sexting from teens were personal and intimate, in every school I visited, teens could invariably recount one story of a sexting "incident" at their school or a nearby school where things went terribly awry. An incident that involved people they actually knew. (Which, by the way, is quite different than the predation story where teens typically referred to Dateline or made-for-TV movies.) They quickly became formulaic. Formula #1: Boy and girl are dating, images are shared. Boy and girl breakup. Spurned lover shames the other by spreading images. Formula #2: Girl really likes boy, sends him sexy images. He responds by sharing them, shaming her. Or, interestingly, vice versa, with girl shaming boy who likes her. Cuz, much to most people's surprise, teen boys are just as likely to share naked photos as teen girls.

What I found in talking with teens is that boys will share pictures of girls with other boys; girls will share pictures of boys with other girls; and girls will also share pictures of girls with other girls; but boys will never share pictures of boys with other boys out of fear of being seen as gay. We live in a homophobic society, regardless of what Glee might try to convey. Thus, it's usually the pictures of girls that spread further and faster. While the viral spread of sexting images may involve technology, it's primarily spread among peers. Only occasionally does it leak into the world of adults. And when it does, that's when things become a complete disaster.

In a very wealthy community, various girls that I interviewed recounted the story of Jade, a girl who used to go to their school but had since graduated. Jade was the daughter of the headmaster of an elite private school. One day, Jade's mother received an email from an alumnus pointing her to a pornographic website that he had "accidentally" stumbled upon. There was a video of Jade masturbating. Apparently, Jade had been video-chatting with a boy. She knew that he was watching her when she masturbated, but she did not know that he was recording her act, let alone that he would upload the video to a pornography website. Needless to say, this incident caused massive uproar in this privileged community.

Unlike Traviesa and the girls in Boston, Jade had no idea that her sexual acts were being recorded. She had no idea that what had taken place might provoke intense legal scrutiny. Luckily for her, the entire incident managed to stay out of the watchful eye of local prosecutors. Jade certainly received her share of shaming by her peers, but, in the end, that wasn't the most costly aspect of the situation. Y'see... while Jade could stomach the social humiliation, her mother kicked her out of the house and cut her off, for she was 18 by the time the video leaked. Like many teens whose sexting becomes visible, Jade's parents' reactions became more hurtful than the embarrassment of the video itself. Of course, this is nothing new.. parents regularly their children out of the house if they get pregnant too. But it's interesting that sexting is now seen on par with pregnancy in terms of parental reactions.

ASSESSING THE SITUATION
Each of these three stories tells a different aspect of sexting, revealing some of the messiness that we have to consider when we grapple with this practice. Given the various sexting practices out there, there are five core questions that we must all consider when reflecting on sexting.

1. How old are the various participants involved? We must think about the subject of the image, the sender, and the recipient.

2. How explicit is the content being shared? Are we talking about bikini photos or are we talking about depiction of sex acts?

3. What is the intention behind the creation of the image? Are we talking about self-portraits, images created under coercion, or images created without the knowledge of the subject?

4. What is the intention behind the sharing of the image? Is it being shared for a private sex act or a flirtation? Or is it being shared to humiliate or shame someone? Or is it being shared for personal profit?

5. How does someone feel when they receive these images? Is the recipient delighted to receive the image or is it received as a form of harassment?

What you might quickly notice is that NONE of these five questions can easily be answered by a computer algorithm. They are hard questions. And, at best, only two can be answered by a trained law enforcement officer. And their ability to guess age or categorize the explicit nature of these images is fuzzy at best. Because most of the questions that we really want to ask are about intention and feelings. Because if we're just looking at the images, we don't know the story behind them.

Here's where we have a major problem. The tech industry is trapped between a rock and a hard place without any clear formula for how to manage. Most companies use their Terms of Service to exclude nudity, giving them the right to obliterate all pornographic images. This outrages free speech advocates who rightfully point out that adult pornography is legal speech. It also pisses off breastfeeding advocates who rightfully point out that a woman's naked breast isn't pornographic. And then you have artists, art historians, nudists, anthropologists, and a whole host of other constituents who can all point to reasonable images where nudity isn't an issue. Not to mention the cultural complications involved when topless sunbathing is kosher in some cultures while revealing the shoulders is pornographic in others. But even if a company excludes all nudity, that doesn't necessarily protect them against child pornography issues. Nudity isn't a necessary component of child pornography. A sex act involving a child, even if you cannot see genitals, is still child pornography.

Even if a company uses a broad brush to exclude anything that might possibly be conceived of as pornographic or obscene, regardless of the age of the people in the images, they have a new problem, because they're required by law to report any images that include minors in them. And how do you tell if someone is 17 or 18? How do you know what needs to be reported and what doesn't?

And while reporting might be a good thing for tech companies, it doesn't necessarily help the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to receive an onslaught of pictures of teens sexting. NCMEC is a shining example of a non-profit working diligently to make the world a better place. But they're not equipped to handle an onslaught of images of 17-year-olds being stupid. They've got limited resources and we all really want them to be focused on addressing the problems of 2-year-olds being raped. So having companies send them every sexting image doesn't help them even if it is the correct response to the law. Of course, what company wants to take on the legal liability of determining if something is a sext or a crime scene photo? Because if the image was taken under coercion, we don't want to treat it like a sext. But how can we know? As you can see, it's a mess.

MY LACK OF ANSWERS
For the last 20 minutes, I've woven a nasty hairball in your brains. And this is the point of the speech where I'm supposed to give you rainbows and kittens and unicorns and untangle the mess I've created to give you clearcut answers for how to proceed. But I can't. Not because I don't want to but because the answers aren't clear. Sexting represents a trainwreck where policies and politics have collided with the tech industry in the most uncomfortable ways possible. And not because the tech industry is trying to misbehave but because no one has the perfect solution.

Luckily, on the teen front, the tides are beginning to turn. Countless states have started enacting "sexting laws" to give judges leeway in how they deal with teens that get charged with child pornography laws. Cuz no one benefits when a rogue prosecutor decides that he's going to "teach those kids a lesson" by charging them with child pornography violations. Not only does this ruin teens' lives, but it devalues the child pornography laws in the first place. This is most salient when dealing with the "registered sex offender lists." Although most parents think that only the most hideous criminals are listed as registered sex offenders, any teen who took a plea-bargain over a child pornography charge is now on those lists. The laws are starting to change. Not fast enough to help all teens out there, but it's happening. And thank goodness.

Unfortunately, the story in the tech industry isn't so good. We don't have clear laws that give us a standard set of practices for how to proceed, especially for the little itsy bitsy startups who are just trying to innovate. All of the big players are brilliant at not only abiding by the laws but working directly with FBI to try to combat this hideous problem. Many smaller folks in the tech industry would prefer to play ostrich, praying that they don't have to deal with this nightmare. But that's not going to solve a damn thing. And when they realize they have to cope, each small company is trying to come up with operationalize-able policies. While we're doing a great job of creating interoperable technologies or collaborating across the industry to create standards, we're doing a dreadful job of opening up about customer service "best practices." And we're doing an even worse job of innovating around really hard problems like this. Few entrepreneurs want to hear about the darker, messier side of user-generated content. I realize that few people thrive on addressing gloom-and-doom, but it's high time that the most innovative minds in this industry start grappling with hard problems. Cuz even if folks don't want to do it for altruistic purposes, there's a lot of money to be made by finding solutions to these challenging issues that plague the whole industry.

I am working hard to understand all of the nuances of sexting and I promise that I will do everything in my power to make what I learn available to you as I develop it. But I have favors to ask of three different constituent groups here in the room.

1) Would all of the customer service people out there who have to face this issue as a part of their job step back and start innovating for the industry as a whole. Help develop best practices for dealing with this complex issue. Create industry-wide or startup-scene-wide collaborations to deal with the messiness. Engage the public - and the broad community of users - to find solutions to this challenging issue. In the tech industry, we often talk about the value of transparency, but when it comes to our corporate policies, we're dreadful at acting on what we preach. When it comes to finding policy solutions to address the nuances of sexting, there's no corporate benefit from being isolated and insular. So I'd love it if someone would take a leadership role in working across companies to develop a strategy for addressing the technical policy issues around sexting.

2) In addition to best practices, we need to work out the best policies for making sure that we're all focused on getting rid of child pornography while not overwhelming NCMEC with sexting. The law isn't going to be magically changed and it shouldn't be ignored so we need to get our brains together and think about what kinds of policies will make sense. The answer is not self-regulation because we need the infrastructure to be strong for combating Child Pornography. But we need solutions that help us combat all of the crazy edge cases so that we can do the right thing. And so that new companies in this space can also follow the law without having to wade through massive confusion.

3) The tech industry is booming and venture capital is flowing. There has to be an innovative entrepreneur out there who wants to tackle the complex issues brought up by sexting. Companies need policies to navigate these murky waters, but they also need tools. As I've said before, there aren't clear algorithmic answers and these are very hard problems. But this is a room full of really bright people who love to tackle really hard problems. So I beg all of the creative engineers out there who really want to make a difference to help find a way to provide companies with tools that will allow them to manage this properly.

To give you an example of how this can work, I want to highlight the PhotoDNA project that Microsoft built along with Hany Farid from Dartmouth College; this tool was donated to NCMEC to combat child pornography. Because NCMEC has a database of egregious photos, this tool can be used by companies like Microsoft and Facebook to identify images that are almost certainly an exact replica of or a modified version of one of the most horrific images of child pornography out there. It's truly a fabulous piece of technology that really helps NCMEC do its job better. And while it doesn't end child pornography, it does put a significant dent into the dissemination of it. This is what happens when bright minds try to tackle a complex problem.

I'm confident that, with some time and a lot of prodding, the laws across the country will stop prosecuting teenagers for their childish stupidity. But I'm also fully confident that teens, adults, and politicians will continue to foolishly upload problematic content of themselves. In fact, no matter how much we educate the population, or how many politicians have to publicly apologize, I expect that there will be more foolish content produced each year than in the previous year. And society will eventually chill out about the mistakes people make.

But every technology company out there will be screwed if we don't come together and devise policies and technologies that allow us to manage the onslaught of user-generated content. Frankly, we've only begun seeing the tip of the iceberg. Cloud computing and mobile computing are both about to make the whole UGC picture even more messy. I implore you to help me figure out this puzzle sooner rather than later. And if you don't want to do it for me, do it for your lovable customer service staff who could desperately use your innovations. And if you don't want to do it for them, do it for your children, your nephews, your cousins, or all of the other young people that you know who might get accidentally caught up in this just because they are exploring their sexuality.

Related Reading:

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"Teen Sexting and Its Impact on the Tech Industry"

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danah boyd Read Write Web 2WAY Conference 2011 June 13, 2011 [This is a VERY rough unedited crib of the actual talk.] Citation: boyd, danah. 2011. "Teen Sexting and Its Impact on the Tech Industry." Read Write Web 2WAY Conference. New York, NY, June 13.

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Understanding, Preventing, Responding

Project deSHAME is a collaboration between Childnet, Save the Children (Denmark), Kek Vonal (Hungary) and UCLan (UK), co-financed by the EU.

It aims to increase reporting of online sexual harassment among minors and improve multi-sector cooperation in preventing and responding to this behaviour.

New research into young people's experiences of online sexual harassment published on 6th December. Click here to read more. Press Release [6th Dec] UK youth targeted with sexual harassment on the internet

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Understanding, Preventing, Responding Project deSHAME is a collaboration between Childnet, Save the Children (Denmark), Kek Vonal (Hungary) and UCLan (UK), co-financed by the EU. It aims to increase reporting of online sexual harassment among minors and improve multi-sector cooperation in preventing and responding to this behaviour.

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'Webwise' is the Irish internet safety awareness node. Webwise promotes the autonomous, effective, and safer use of the internet by young people through a sustained information and awareness strategy targeting parents, teachers, and children themselves with consistent and relevant messages. Webwise develops and disseminates resources that help teachers integrate internet safety into teaching and learning in their schools.

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Sexting.be - A holistic approach to sexting

In Belgium, Child Focus, Sensoa, Jong & Van Zin, Mediawijs and O'kontreir have joined forces to address the issues surrounding sexting, especially in case of 'sexting gone wrong'. The result? Sexting.be, an online portal for everyone who has questions about sexting.

In recent years sexting has become a rather 'hot topic' both on and offline having often been in the spotlight for negative reasons. When done voluntarily and consensually, sexting in itself is by no means negative, and it is considered to be a normal part of young people's sexual development and exploration of their own sexuality, desires and boundaries. If the basic condition of mutual trust among participants to the act of sexting is broken, things can very easily go awry with very grave consequences.

Sexting.be offers new research, insights, tips and tools surrounding the topic of sexting. Schools, individual teachers and scholars are offered specific and interesting tools in order to help them tackle secondary sexting in their classrooms.

For schools, we developed a policy enhancing tool called ' Let's talk about sexting' which allows them to develop a tailor-made policy to prevent sexting from going wrong, as well as helping them handle it when it does go wrong. Teachers can use the lesson plan called 'Sexting@School', which allows them to discuss sexting, online media and sexuality with their students. Teachers in secondary education can use this tool to reflect together with their class on issues such as:

what kind of photos can be shared with others,

what the right to be forgotten is

respect / empathy / trust / intimacy and integrity

advice on how to sext safely

Discussing sexuality with teenagers can sometimes prove tricky if they are asked to talk about it with adults and not peers, which is why Sexting.be also includes a tool only for them: the SEXTMACHINE Chatbot . This Facebook Messenger chatbot empowers young people and helps them deal with sexting situations in their own language, teaching them:

how to say 'no' when they don't feel comfortable with sending nude pictures,

how to sext in a safe manner

how to react when they receive a sext that wasn't meant for them in the first place

Explore the Sexting.be resource on the Better internet for Kids (BIK) portal and find out more about the work of the Belgian Safer Internet Centre, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline and youth participation services on our website.

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Better Internet for Kids - Sexting.be - A holistic approach to sexting

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In Belgium, Child Focus, Sensoa, Jong & Van Zin, Mediawijs and O'kontreir have joined forces to address the issues surrounding sexting, especially in case of 'sexting gone wrong'. The result? Sexting.be, an online portal for everyone who has questions about sexting.

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New sexting challenges - experiences from Denmark

A recent research report, deSHAME, Digital Exploitation and Sexual Harassment Among Minors in Europe, found that 8 per cent of 13-17 year olds in Denmark, Hungary and the UK had shared nude/nearly nude images of other people that they knew without their permission but 41 per cent had seen people sharing nude/nearly nude images of someone that they knew. Similarly, the research found that 27 per cent had witnessed young people sharing images or videos of someone they know doing sexual acts in the last year.

So, while not universal, the sharing of this type of image is by no means uncommon. The question of how to deal with it is complex and governments and law enforcement agencies around the world are grappling to find the most effective way to address the problem. Indeed, there is a growing argument from some which is suggesting that young people should perhaps be told how to sext safely. After all, they argue, we talk about how to have safe sex, so why not safe sexting, particularly when the messages telling young people not to do it are falling on deaf ears if we are to believe the research reports.

In many countries, the sending of a "sexual" image of someone under the age of 18 is a serious criminal offence as the images are often deemed to be child sexual abuse images (or indecent images of children). Such crimes carry serious penalties but, in many countries, law enforcement agencies recognise the difference between teenagers who have shared images and an adult who has a sexual interest in children sharing them, and many are keen to ensure that the system does not criminalise young people who have made a mistake. Consequently, the recent story from Denmark of over 1,000 young people all facing criminal charges for sharing a video of two fifteen-year olds having sex has generated a lot of debate around the world.

The article from Reuters explains that Danish police were tipped off by Facebook about the video that had been shared by 1,004 young people. When Facebook is made aware of such content on its platform it removes it and refers the incident to Interpol who, in this case, passed the information back to the Danish police. The Danish police have now charged all 1,004 young people and a number of cases were tried in court last week to help set a precedent. One 20-year-old man was given a 30-day suspended prison sentence. He will have a criminal record and also be placed on the sex offenders register for at least ten years meaning he will not be able to get a job which involves working with children and young people.

As you might imagine, there are some very different views about the Danish approach. Some clearly think that these were just young people doing what young people do - acting on impulse, thinking that something was funny and not considering the consequences for themselves or the others involved. Some have suggested that as the video was shared so widely, it is impossible to apportion blame to any individual - others disagree.

What is interesting is that there is a significant feeling that actually this was the right response. What the young people did wasn't acceptable in any way; it showed a lack of respect for the two people in the video and saying that this was just young people being young people and messing around and not realising the consequences of their actions is not okay. The more we make excuses, the more likely this sort of thing will continue. Lau Thygesen, a police inspector with North Zealand Police who is the lead investigator on the case said " We've taken the case very seriously as it has had serious consequences for those involved because of how the material has been spread. And it must be stopped."
Superintendent Flemming Kjærside, who leads Denmark's cyber-related sexual offences unit, said: " The most important thing is the victims ... they will suffer from this for the rest of their lives." He also noted that this type of thing is a problem in many countries but that no other countries are making such a big effort to tackle it.

In 2016, Jessie Hunt a youth health sector support worker in Australia published a position paper: Beyond sexting: consent and harm minimisation in digital sexual cultures. In it she suggests that resources to tackle sexting are not effective and offers a set of adapted principles for applying harm reduction to digital sex education. More recently, the Belgian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) has launched sexting.be, an online portal for everyone who has questions about sexting. It includes a policy enhancing tool which allows schools to develop a tailor-made policy to prevent sexting from going wrong (as well as helping them to handle it when it does go wrong).

No doubt the media interest in the Danish case will continue - what is clear is that we need to find more effective ways to deal with the challenges and perhaps acknowledge that, up to this point, we haven't got it quite right. A recent blog by Lykke Møller Kristensen notes that, as a society, we gave young people a smartphone and the ability to do whatever they wanted with it - and now we are punishing them when they get it wrong. As parents, teachers and adults we have not been there enough for our children and young people to support them - we take it for granted that when things go wrong they can figure it out for themselves! As our colleagues from the Danish helpline, Center for Digital Paedagogik, pointed out, it is important that we use this event to grow wiser - the debate and discussion must continue.

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Better Internet for Kids - New sexting challenges - experiences from Denmark

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A recent research report, deSHAME, Digital Exploitation and Sexual Harassment Among Minors in Europe, found that 8 per cent of 13-17 year olds in Denmark, Hungary and the UK had shared nude/nearly nude images of other people that they knew without their permission but 41 per cent had seen people sharing nude/nearly nude images of someone that they knew.

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When we ask students to name the trusted adults in their lives, they regularly list you - their teachers, school counselors, and other adults they encounter during the school day. Your role in their lives often extends beyond teaching primary academic subjects - which may mean that you will be asked to provide support for something you don't feel prepared to respond to. Like sextortion.

The students in your school are growing up in a world that is likely very different from the one you grew up in - especially when it comes to social media. It's cliche but true: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat - these are today's gathering places. The space where youth engage in the normal adolescent behavior of exploring and testing their boundaries.

As a preventative measure, we want to teach kids how to safely navigate the Internet, how to recognize when something may be getting out of control, and how to access help when needed.

In order to do this, we need to educate ourselves and be prepared to be a safe adult that they can turn to when they need help. We also need to understand our responsibilities as that adult, and know how to respond thoughtfully, whether as a mandated reporter or concerned adult.
1. LISTEN
Stephen Covey, author and educator, has noted that, "Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply." This method of "listening" can actually prevent us from hearing. Carefully listen to what your student is telling you - through both their words and body language.
2. CREATE A SAFE, NON-JUDGEMENTAL SPACE
Asking for help is not easy. Youth who experience sextortion can feel extreme fear, judgement, and shame. These feelings can prevent them from seeking help. Abusers may also use these feelings to control their victims. How you respond in this moment can inform how your students view themselves.

Remember, children make mistakes - just like adults do. Consider your words, your tone, and your body language. Express encouragement and appreciation for the student's initiative to share and/or ask for support.
If the student is being sextorted.
Whether we as adults like it or not, many children do not understand the potential consequences of certain behaviors and thus engage in sexting. This does not mean that those or other images of them should be used for sextortion.

It is important to communicate that what has happened to them is wrong and not their fault, regardless of whether or not they were involved in producing and distributing the original image.
If the student is sextorting someone else.
Communicate that you understand it isn't easy to admit your behavior is wrong, and that they've taken an important step in seeking help to stop.
3. RESPOND If the student is being sextorted.
It is important to consider the impact of this experience, and connect the student to resources and support. Youth have reported significant psychological and physical effects from sextortion, and may not know how to seek help. When responding to youth, ask few, but key questions about basic safety and providing support. Remember, it is not within your role to investigate, and asking too many questions could have a negative impact on the youth and/or a potential future investigation.

If a student is expressing a need for support or difficult feelings, you might ask, "Would you like to talk to someone (counselor, mentor, therapist) about how to best handle this? "

If students express suicidal thoughts or talk about hopelessness, consider whether it is safe for them to go home without some form of formal assessment by a school counselor or therapist. Ask if they are having "thoughts about harming themself or others?" If they answer yes, they should be seen by a school counselor or therapist immediately.

If a student expresses fear or is hesitant to share information, ask a question to assess safety such as, "Are there times when you don't feel safe?" If they answer yes, follow your school protocol to determine how to safeguard the student and report to the appropriate authorities.

Become familiar with services in your school and local area, as well as those that are available nationally. Students can text 'THORN' to 741741 and immediately speak with a Crisis Textline counselor trained to support people in crisis. You can also share Thorn's resources for youth [insert link].
If the student is sextorting someone else.
Changing behavior, even if you recognize it is wrong, is not easy to do - and it is often not something that can be done alone. Become familiar with resources specifically for those who are working to change abusive behaviors. Students can connect with a peer advocate to find services available in their local area through Love is Respect at 1-866-331-9474. Additional resources for stopping abusive behavior are also available on the Love is Respect website.

While you want to be supportive of their efforts to change, be careful not to excuse their behavior. Instead, focus on how their abuse impacted the person they took advantage of, and connect them with resources that can offer support.
4. REPORT
Treat any information provided by the youth with respect and confidentiality. If your student is under 18, sextortion may fall under your state's mandatory reporting laws . It is important that you understand your professional obligation to report, and that you communicate this obligation with your student. Follow your school protocol, and if your school's protocol does not address sextortion, encourage your administration to consider its addition.

While there may be specific information you need to share as a result of mandatory reporting or your school protocol, you should only inform those who are required to know.
If the student is being sextorted.
If the images have been posted online or on a social media platform, you can help students report these images and have them removed. Most tech companies have information on how to make a report under their "safety" section. Images can also be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) . If a student is interested in making a report to law enforcement it is important that they do so before they ask the tech companies to remove their photos so that law enforcement can access all necessary evidence. Do not take screenshots or have the youth take screenshots of the images as that may be considered possession of child pornography.

Understand that reporting sextortion to law enforcement can be complicated. Some victims have reported that law enforcement was supportive and able to resolve the situation, while other victims have experienced negative consequences due to the illegal nature of the images.
If the student is sextorting someone else.
It can be particularly difficult for a student to understand why, after disclosing their behavior and asking for help, they may still experience consequences for their actions. It may help to communicate to them that you have a professional - possibly legal - obligation to report if someone has or is being harmed. Remind them that though there could be consequences, they have taken a positive step to correct the situation and have provided an opportunity for the person they harmed to receive support.

Remember, when navigating these situations, it is important to remember that the safety and wellbeing of the victim is paramount.
This post was co-published with Thorn, an anti-trafficking organization that partners across the tech industry, government and NGOs and leverages technology to combat predatory behavior, accelerate victim identification, and protect vulnerable children.

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Sextortion in Schools: Advice for Educators | Love146

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Students are growing up in a world of social media. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat - these are today's gathering places. The space where youth engage in the normal adolescent behavior of exploring and testing their boundaries.