Lost Skills of Old-Time Communication
The other day, a friend of my 11-year-old daughter called the house to make arrangements to get together for a group project.
An Incident at School
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.”
Drawing the Privacy Line
I read an interesting Facebook post the other day, written by a teenaged girl. She said quite firmly that it was important for parents to not have their children’s passwords, for their phone or social media accounts. She talked about building trust and how insisting on knowing your kids’ passwords is the first step to them sneaking around online and getting involved in things you wish they wouldn’t.
A Day in the Life of the Jos
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.
A Day in the Life of the Jos
In the educational game 'A Day in the Life of the Jos', students in grades six to eight help the brother and sister team Jo and Josie with situations they encounter online as they go about a typical day in their lives.
CIRA partners with MediaSmarts on new research into the digital lives of Canadian youth
OTTAWA, April 10, 2019 – The partnership supports pioneering research into the digital lives of Canadian families
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is pledging its support for the next phase of a unique, multi-year research project that investigates the online behaviours of Canadian youth. This platinum sponsorship of $82,600 is CIRA’s latest in support of national not-for-profit organization MediaSmarts, Canada’s centre for digital and media literacy.
Wattpad
We were delighted to welcome Wattpad as a Silver Sponsor of our organization in September 2018.
In 2019, Wattpad partnered with MediaSmarts to develop their new Wattpad Safety Portal, giving their users (or any parent or guardian) safety tips and information to help everyone have the best possible experience on their platform.
How we can empower youth to push back against hate online
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.
Young Canadians Pushing Back Against Hate Online
MediaSmarts conducted a survey of 1,000 youth ages 12 to 16 years old to better understand their attitudes and experiences with casual prejudice online; specifically, the motivations and external factors that influence their decisions whether or not to intervene. Study results uncover that youth experiences with online casual prejudice are common yet many youth do not respond because they don’t know what to do to make a difference. This research is a call for more effective interventions that will prepare, engage, and empower youth to push back against hate online.