(2)  In Moreno’s article, she describes a three-pronged approach to keeping youth safe online. This model, which is easy to recall and reinforce for parents of all ages with differing values, is divided in three categories: balance, boundaries, and communication. By balance, Moreno explains the importance of a healthy equilibrium between online and offline worlds, while also making sure adolescents understand how one can impact the other. It is important for adults to remember the warning signs: Internet as the sole source of socialization, withdrawal, or excessive time spent on the Internet.  She also suggests that there is no specific time that is too much, because it depends on the individual. I found this interesting but valid—while some people can easily spend three hours on the Internet without any adverse effects, others simply cannot. I find the IPhone feature which limits social media use and reports your phone usage extremely useful. The second prong to this approach is boundaries. It is important for youth to understand how their online choices can have real impacts, and to avoid peer pressure by establishing “no-cross zones” with parents in regards to what they share online. Finally, she suggests the importance of open communication with a trusted adult about Internet use and interactions online. One way to do this is by ensuring a comfortable environment for communication at home, and beginning this at a young age. I think this is the most important step. Without an adult to openly communicate with, it is proven that children are reluctant to share when they have been exposed to risk online. With these three key steps, adults and youth can work together to ensure they are benefiting from the Internet without suffering from potential risks. 

(3) I definitely agree with Wisniewski’s message about seeing teenagers as partners rather than perpetrators when it comes to Internet use. She is not suggesting that adults turn a blind eye to their children and their online presence. Rather, she suggests open communication, finding a balance between teen autonomy and parental supervision, and parents themselves modeling good behavior to their children. I was not surprised by the statistic that 89% of Android security features on apps were for parental control, such as blocking content and restricting use. It can be difficult to think of other ways to ensure safety online. However, if a 15-year-old girl can come up with a creative app where adolescents are asked to “rethink” before they send a potentially harmful message, we too can come up with more creative ways to ensure safety online without using a top-down approach. Youth often know more about online risks than adults, and their input is extremely beneficial when it comes to assessing and addressing the potential dangers of the Internet. 

Moreno discusses how all three elements, balance, boundaries, and communication, need to be present in order to have a well functioning model for healthy internet usage. Youths cannot spend too much time online because it then starts to dominate other events in their life which deserve adequate attention. Boundaries also need to be discussed and set between parents and youths about what sites should be reached, what to post, what to watch, etc. Boundaries early on develop into healthy online habits. Finally, open channels between parents and children is important because it creates a meaningful space for questions and discussion of troublesome issues. I think communication is the most important aspect because it is one in which the child is able to fully express their opinion to the parent and negotiate what safety means for them.

As for Wisniewski’s statement, I agree that we need to stop treating teens like they are perpetrators and instead treat them as partners. In a lot of instances, the teen knows more about the technology platform/website than the parent does and as a general rule, most teens know what is not safe behavior, especially if parents have meaningful conversations about media early on in their lives. Treating teens as though they are incapable of staying safe without constant supervision does not empower teens in any way. Trust and open dialogue can go a long way in empowering teens to make the right decision online. This would allow the teen to feel comfortable enough to reach out and tell the parent if they encounter something that they don’t know how to handle. 

The three elements to keep youth safe online that were mentioned in the Moreno reading were: boundaries, communication, and balance. Balance refers to the balance of online and offline life, something that is necessary but many people lack. Moreno suggests that kids need to know that online and offline worlds do impact one another. Boundaries are important to have especially when online life affects offline life, so having kids set limits to safeguard against peer pressure is important. The last facet to this three pronged approach is communication. Kids need to be able to feel that they can communicate with a trusted adult about their interactions online and offline without risk aversion, so to ensure this the kid must feel safe and comfortable. Thus, all three prongs are interrelated in order for parents to help keep their children safe, and for children to be responsive to this and understand the provisions made for their safety.

I fully agree with Wisniewski’s statement to treat teens as partners. When adults monitor their children’s devices, acting as an entity to check phones (rather than communicate with the their child as an equal in this process), their child will end up putting their effort into finding ways around the barriers instead. Especially at puberty and “teenage years” where children begin to rebel as a part of this process, it is especially a sensitive and crucial time to communicate openly about online safety and reinforce understanding, instead of building barriers that they will see useless and only strive to bypass. 

(1) In de Haan’s reading Maximizing Opportunities and Minimizing Risks for Children Online, he brought up many unique suggestions for how to combat the risk and making the internet a safer place for children. The two sections I found most interesting were Safety by Design and Education. De Haan talks about how 10 different European countries and their ISPs play a big role in trying to make sure that their teens and children's internet use is safe. They have participated in local projects and have distribute online safety awareness-raising tools for school. Also, in Education de Haan states, “Teachers are key players in supporting the positive online experiences of children by providing access to high quality content and in safeguarding children and young people from negative experiences” which I think is very important when children are using the internet and online tools more and more in their schools. 

(2) In Moreno’s reading, she discusses how balance, boundaries and communication are three essential parts in keeping children safe online and how they can use the internet in a healthy way. With balance, they discuss how to spend your time online wisely but also how that time might affect what you see and feel online might impact what you feel and see offline. With boundaries, it is important to discuss them at an early age, like you would with any other safety issue. Lastly, with communication, it is important to keep the lines of communication open between parents/adults and children. 

(3) In Wisniewski’s statement, I do agree that we need to start treating teens and children like partners instead of treating them like perpetrators. I think with teens and children using the internet more in their everyday lives, and getting more experienced than adults and their parents, the parents need to stop trying to control and monitor their use, but instead teach them about the risks and how to safely use the internet. Not to say that parents should stop monitoring their use, but communication and honest conversations about the internet can make a big impact. 

 

Moreno presents a model for healthy internet use. She suggests that it’s important for parents and professionals to have conversations with youth to establish boundaries, create balance, and maintain good communication with each other regarding the use of the internet. The reading suggests that balance stems from watching the amount of internet time a child is using and how what children feel online could impact what they see offline as well. In terms of boundaries, children of all ages need should develop an understanding of what boundaries should look like for them and how they can maintain their balance of internet usage. 

In the NPR article by Fulton, University of Central Florida researcher Pamela Wisniewski contends that teenagers must learn to make good decisions and regulate their own behavior online. I would agree that we have to stop assuming teens are the perpetrators of misconduct and treat them like they’re our partners instead. Monitoring and restricting their use of certain media types and platforms may result in teens doing it anyways but this time, behind their parents’ backs. According to Wisniewski, the only app that gave teens a bigger role in online risk reduction was designed by a 15-year-old girl. It’s clear that teens know what they want to do online and they’re also worried about their own safety and privacy so teens need to be able to have a say in what types of monitoring tools they require. 

 

In Moreno’s model the importance of boundaries, communication and balance are the main conversations parents need to have with their children about internet usage. From the moment a kid starts using the internet, if they have an open relationship with their parents about what’s they see on the internet and what to be aware of, then they will be off to the right start. If a young person knows the right balance and already has the right idea of what their boundaries are, then this will also help to protect themselves from the risks of the internet. 

 

I completely agree with what Pamela Wisniewski is saying because there are so many times parents just assume that their children are going to take part in the risks on the internet when in fact many aren’t. It’s when parents start putting a ton of restrictions on children that they then become curious and want to see what their parents are trying to hid from them. This can be prevented if parents rather have open and honest conversations with their kids about internet safety and allow them more freedom so that they feel comfortable having these conversations.