MediaSmarts Blog

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How we can empower youth to push back against hate online

Submitted by MediaSmarts on 29 May 2019.

In its early days, the internet was often spoken of as a free marketplace of ideas, where everyone’s views and thoughts could be shared and compete on an equal footing. Today it’s an essential tool for accessing information and services, but its value as a vehicle of civic engagement and debate has in many ways declined.

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Cyberbullying, Digital Citizenship, Internet & Mobile, Online Ethics, Online Hate

An Incident at School

Submitted by Lynn Jatania on 24 May 2019.

I admit I was hoping to never get an email like this from the school:

“Some students in your child’s class have been involved in inappropriate online behaviour. Our Student Resource Officer will be doing a presentation on cyberbullying and leading a discussion about responsible actions on the internet. Please speak to your child about his/her activity online.”

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Cell Phones and Texting, Parents, Privacy

A Day in the Life of the Jos

Submitted by MediaSmarts on 15 Apr 2019.

A Day in the Life of the Jos is a comprehensive digital citizenship tutorial that prepares students in grades six to eight to deal with all of the issues they face when using digital technology – from online privacy, to cyberbullying, to recognizing what’s real and what’s fake online.

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Authenticating Information, Cell Phones and Texting, Cyberbullying, Digital Citizenship, Digital Health, Intellectual Property, Internet & Mobile, Online Ethics, Online Marketing, Resources, Social Networking, Video Games

Lost Skills of Old-Time Communication

Submitted by Lynn Jatania on 04 Apr 2019.

The other day, a friend of my 11-year-old daughter called the house to make arrangements to get together for a group project.

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Cell Phones and Texting, Parents

Keeping It Private Online

Submitted by Lynn Jatania on 11 Feb 2019.

Recently, my nephew, age 12, received a letter in the mail. It was addressed to him personally, by name. Inside was a photocopied article about the powers of a new virility medicine, complete with the usual graphic promises for pleasuring the ladies. The article mentioned a specific “doctor” by name, but other than that, there was no contact information or order form or any other action request. It appeared to just be spam but in paper form.

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Cell Phones and Texting, Cyber Security, Internet & Mobile, Parents, Privacy

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