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A new report was released last week that zeroed in on online social interaction among youth between the ages of 8 and 12.  The “Tween Internet Safety Survey” found that at least half lie about their age online (in keeping with our own findings from discussions with kids around the nation).  They also found that approximately half of those 11- and 12-year-olds have their own cell phones.  This number seems a bit high to me, but the research was conducted among children with “online access” – and so that population may have more access to technology (and wealth) than a completely random group of kids.  Finally, there seems to be some sort of a divide between 8-10 and 11-12, in that the latter group participates significantly more online with personal email, instant messaging, texting, and sending multimedia over their cell phones.  Many parents are deciding to allow increased computer- and cell-phone use when their children venture into middle school and the data reflects this.  With more kids embracing technology in elementary school, though, similar findings in the future will trend in that direction.  This has positives and negatives.  Our hope is that parents educate their kids before providing the technology, and that teachers and administrators proactively fill in the gaps.

This is another one of those questions that we get all of the time.  Of course, there is not one easy answer to this question.  Moreover, what causes one adolescent to cyberbully may not influence another to engage in similar behaviors.  So, while we have a number of theories or hypotheses, what do you think?  We are going to leave this discussion up to you all, loyal readers of this blog.  Let us know that you are out there and reading this by posting your answer to the question: Why do youth engage in cyberbullying?  We’ll share our thoughts in a future post.

I was talking to a friend today, who was interested in the two research papers on MySpace we’ve written.  He posed two major questions: “What is the worst piece of information that an adolescent can reveal on their profile page?” and “What is the biggest single suggestion you can give to promote safety among youth who use social networking sites?” I thought they were worthy of discussion here.

Basically, there is no worst piece of information a youth can reveal. However, we highly recommend they do not post information that can be used to contact them directly, such as phone number, email address, and instant message screenname. It is important because it reduces one’s vulnerability to being directly contacted by strangers with perverse or malicious motives. Also, we caution against revealing the name of your school and your city. People who know you will know your school and city, and so there is no need to advertise that information to others. The biggest single suggestion we give is that all youth set their profile page to “private” or otherwise restrict its viewing to only those they have approved as “friends.” Also, we recommend that before you approve someone as a “friend,” you know them in real life (offline). This is easier to do on some sites (e.g., Facebook) than others (e.g., MySpace). Carelessly approving anyone and everyone as a “friend” so that you can run up your “friend” count is just not wise. Research has shown that it is generally much more likely that youth will be abducted, physically or sexually assaulted, or otherwise victimized by a friend or acquaintance than by a stranger.

By the way, one of our articles has been published in Journal of Adolescence, and the other is in peer-review…if you’d like to read either, please drop us a note. In these articles, we’ve shared data-based trends in how youth are using that site and revealing personal information that may render them susceptible to harm.  They also provide useful strategies for prevention and education.

I just got back from the Jostens Renaissance National Conference. WOW. The energy at this conference was electric. Over 1,100 educators and superstar students from around the country met up in Phoenix to discuss various issues relating to teaching, learning, culture, and motivation (just to name a few). I covered a basic overview of cyberbullying and other issues related to adolescent use of technology in a couple of breakout sessions. In addition to the learning that was taking place, there was also a heavy dose of fun. These folks were a riot to hang out with. It is really inspiring to be around people who are passionate about their jobs. Kudos to Jostens for putting on such an amazing event.

There is an interesting article in this week’s Chronicle of Higher Education in which legal expert Robert M. O’Neil discusses many of the legal challenges facing those who wish to “stand up to cyberbullies.” In the article, O’Neil presents just some of the issues confronting the legal community in responding to cyberbullies. The questions are often so contentious that legal experts themselves cannot agree. Courts have been grappling with free speech issues relating to the Internet for over a decade, but it still seems there is very little clarity. No wonder victims of cyberbullying (and the teachers, parents, and others dedicated to helping them) struggle to know what to do.

In our presentations to teachers and parents, we are forced to update the information regarding legal issues almost continuously as new decisions are filed and new conclusions are reached. The most general advice we give is: Cyberbullies must be punished, but it is important to use the least restrictive punishment available to get the message across. Expelling a student for sending an email to another student calling him or her “fat” is excessive. That said, even the most trivial of cyberbullying behaviors CANNOT be ignored. Take informal action (contact parents, convene a meeting with a principal, etc.) and you will be sure to remain on firm legal footing. When in doubt about any of these issues, consult with a lawyer. Until more cyberbullying cases reach the higher courts, we will have to take actions that seem reasonable and hope for the best…