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headspace is supporting this series of national seminars relating to the health and wellbeing of young people.

The next Mental Health and Wellbeing of Young People 2010 Seminar will be held in Sydney on Friday September 10, 2010

WHAT: Topics this year include major and current issues

• Cyber-bullying
• Drugs and Alcohol
• Body Image & Eating Disorders
• Teen Depression
• Resilience
• Sexualisation, Consumerism, the Media and Mental health

Feedback from our previous event:
• ”It was very insightful. I got such a lot out of hearing from the wonderful line up of speakers you organised for us. I congratulate you on putting such a powerful line-up and message together.”
• “Thank you again for organising such a great event- it was a wonderful success and hopefully the start of many more in the future!”
• “Congratulations and thank you on a well informed and planned conference. My colleague and I loved it. I know next year I would like to send my middle years staff.”
• “The day was a very valuable one and I know that there will be more teachers from our school attending the next one.”
• “The conference speakers were engaging and stimulating and to be honest I have thought of little else since…! It was extremely uplifting to listen to people who love what they do, who are passionate about young people, passionate about their area of expertise and who are generous enough to share their knowledge, insights and understanding to improve the lives of others. Congratulations to everyone involved, I for one have been moved into action and inspired to act!”
• “Thanks once again for such a wonderful conference. I got so much out of it. I plan to use much of the info I gained on the day on a whole school basis. It’s great to have practical info that can be adapted to a school setting.”
• “It was a terrific seminar and every speaker was dynamic and to the point, well worth having a second one. I will share the details with colleagues.”
• “It was wonderful to learn in such a funny and stimulating way. The power of humour…! I will tell all colleagues about what a great professional event it was and how they can possibly get to the next one.”
• “Thank you for your vision, passion and dedication for the wellbeing of young people.”
•  “It was a terrific seminar and every speaker was dynamic and to the point, well worth having a second one. I will share the details with colleagues.”
• “Again thank you for a wondrous seminar.”
• “I will promote the next conference for you, as last week was fantastic!”
• “Thanks for putting on a great conference.”
•  “Thank you so much for your part in organising the wonderful event…..It was inspiring to hear such a collection of speakers on the one program, all most informative and entertaining. I …. shall be passing on the information to others.”
•  “The event WAS wonderful and I am happy to see that you are hosting another so soon.”

 
95% of the delegates felt that the seminar was definitely worth attending

Australia’s leading experts in one event:
• Michael Carr-Gregg, Adolescent Psychologist and Beyondblue Ambassador
• Dr Sloane Madden, Expert in Body Image and Eating Disorders, The Children’s Hospital, Westmead
• Paul Dillon, Drug and Alcohol Research and Training
• Susan McLean, Cyber safety Expert
• Lyn Worsely, Psychologist, Developer of The Resilience Doughnut
• Evelyn Field, Psychologist, Author of Bully blocking, National Centre Against Bullying
• Dr Ramesh Manocha, GP, Mental Health Researcher, University of Sydney

For Education, Health and Welfare Professionals:

“The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Young People 2010″.
Date: Friday, September 10, 2010
Venue: Mathews Lecture Theatre, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Sydney
Time: 9am-5pm

To look at the full programme, download the brochure or register go to Generation Next

Or phone 1300 797 794

Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha

We read the story – about an 11 year old girl in the US, Jessi Slaughter, who received a tirade of threats after posting a video of herself on YouTube.

We saw the pictures – the freeze frame of what looked like a traumatised child in her bedroom in floods of tears.
 
On the surface it looked like she was the victim of yet another case of cyber-bullying led by a group of ‘trollers’ – people who use the internet to deliberately provoke reactions by baiting their victims.

“How can we let this happen to an innocent young child?” we all said!

Jessi’s post is at Watch Haters… Piercing… StickyDrama =D here see all 4 minutes and 36 seconds of her rant – but be warned despite the fact Jessi is only 11 years old, the language is extremely graphic.

She has an attitude which is way beyond her years and completely defies logic or a sense of reality. She tells her ‘haters’ to “suck her nonexistent p…s. Suck it and get AIDS and die,” and ends her video post with “it’s a big f*** to all those haters, OK”.

It seems that her actions invited negative attention and provoked a backlash. Perhaps she was not aware that posting a video, filled with expletives, onto the internet would create such commotion. It reinforces the importance of parental supervision regarding teenage activities on the net, it also highlights the need for education about the harmful effects of new media in school as well.

Leading adolescent psychologist, Generation Next speaker and author of “Real Wired Child” Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, points out that “parents need to understand that there are potential dangers in life not just in the technology but also in young people’s inability to always predict the consequences of their actions.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Public Education and Media Education states that “the American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes that exposure to mass media (i.e., television, movies, video and computer games, the Internet, music lyrics and videos, newspapers, magazines, books, advertising, etc) presents both health risks and benefits for children and adolescents.”

They feel that educating both young people and parents is very important and that “media education has the potential to reduce the harmful effects of media. By understanding and supporting media education, pediatricians can play an important role in reducing the risk of exposure to mass media for children and adolescents.” (American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Public Education. Media Education. Pediatrics. 1999;104:341–3).       

Her behaviour seemed aggressive and quite bizarre; being under the impression that she was some kind of celebrity with fans.

“You hater bitches, you’re just jealous of me because I’m more pretty than you. More people like me, I have more fans, yeh and all that shit” I’m perfect and you’re not. No one can be this pretty with no make-up on… Just stop hating on me. I’m just a normal girl who’s perfect in every way.” 

So where were her parents in all this and why were they not aware of their daughter’s behaviour? Her mother said she doesn’t use the computer and hasn’t seen the clip, while her father added to the furore by posting a rant of his own.

Dr Helen McGrath – a contributor to the Commonwealth Government’s Cyber-safety Joint Committee commented that it was unrealistic to expect parents to keep an eye on their children 24/7 and that the burden lay with schools to give young people the tools to look after themselves.

“It really comes back down to making sure they understand what they’re getting into,” she said.

However Professor Matt Warren, the head of Deakin University’s School of Information Systems said a “child isn’t ethically aware of what they’re doing,” they are too young to understand the implications of what they are “getting into”.

He added “parents will be concerned about their child going out all hours, but they don’t care about them staying on the internet all hours.”

If ever parents needed a reason to censor their children’s internet activities, Jessi Slaughter is it. 

Cyber bullying is a real concern and for more information you can access either:

Cybersmart   or  Cybersafetysolutions

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.
Source: news.com

Both the medical and teaching professions are learning more about the damaging effects of ‘sexting’ and cyber bullying. They are also learning how to deal with the impact that new technologies are having on teenagers. 

Leading experts including Cyber safety expert Susan McLean, adolescent psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg and medical professional Dr Ramesh Manocha have come together for a series of seminars being held all around Australia.

These Seminars, organised by HealthEd, bring teachers and doctors up to speed on the rapidly changing ‘online’ world that teenagers are living in. The seminars highlight the dangers of emerging new technologies and how they are harming our teenagers on a physical mental, emotional and spiritual level. In fact all aspects of young people’s well being are under attack.

Doctors and health professionals are attending The Mental Health & Wellbeing of Young People seminars which focus on the internet’s potential effect on mental health among young people, and the harmful effect cyber bullying is having on teenagers including, depression, addiction and suicide.

Dr Ramesh Manocha said “cyber bullying is emerging as the main issue in schools at the moment, and the evidence clearly indicates that it is not only an unpleasant experience but in fact poses a risk the mental health and wellbeing of the victim”.

“It’s a clear example of how technology in the hands of those without the necessary maturity and understanding can become an unchecked, destructive force. We urgently need to educate our young people about how to use the internet positively while avoiding its many pitfalls” he added.

Dr Manocha said there was an ignorance in medical circles about these new teen troubles “most GPs don’t know enough to even ask the questions of young people, whether they are being exposed to the negative impacts of the internet”.

Increasingly teenagers are seeking the help of GPs and psychologists after becoming victims of cyber bullying. Ms McLean pointed out that doctors needed to understand online issues in order best treat their patients.

“You don’t want doctors to talk about Mybook and FaceSpace (instead of MySpace and Facebook),” she said.

Teachers and social workers are attending Generation Next Public Seminars which offer anyone involved in working with young people the opportunity to hear leading experts discuss the dangers of the internet and its ‘antisocial’ uses by our young people.

Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, an adolescent psychologist and author of Real Wired Child: What parents need to know about kids online said “schools need to help young people develop their moral compass as they stroll through the back alleys of ‘Cyberia’. While most adults can relate to schoolyard bullying, they have no context for understanding how the behaviour manifests itself in the virtual world”.

Former Senior Constable with the Victorian police and Cyber Safety expert Susan McLean said “previously schools did not become involved in things that occurred ‘out of hours.’ It was not their business or concern, however with cyber bullying, harassment and sexting, where the parties involved are often from within the same school or neighbouring schools, the problem is firmly thrust into the hands of the school accompanied by the often unrealistic expectations from parents, that they ‘solve’ the problem”.

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.

Source: HealthEd

7% of children have had pictures or video of themselves posted online without their permission

The growing trend in sexting among young people is reaching new heights with cases in both SA and WA of children as young as 12 years old producing and distributing graphic images of other children. Yet more teenagers have been caught downloading and passing on hardcore child pornography on the internet.

WA Police Minister Rob Johnson said he was concerned that many school students did not understand they faced child pornography charges over sexting.

“Children don’t see it as a crime and fail to grasp the consequences of their actions,” Mr Johnson said.

“They may think they are only sending an image to their boyfriend or girlfriend, but they could be sending that image to the world, which could have devastating long-term psychological effects.”

SA Police said the sexting trend is becoming worse as more children are given access to technology.

Detective Senior Sergeant Barry Blundell, from the commercial and electronic crime branch, said police were working with schools to educate children on the consequences distributing sexually explicit images.

“One of those behaviours we are becoming aware of now is instances of children either photographing themselves in an intimate manner or taking photos of others – and then sending it to other people. The ramifications of that from a legal perspective are that they are producing and disseminating child pornography.”

Cyber safety expert and Generation Next speaker Susan McLean defined sexting as: the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos electronically, primarily between mobile phones, but can include internet applications such as MSN, email, or social networking sites.

Once photos are sent, there is no way to get them back, and once in cyberspace, they become a permanent part of a person’s digital footprint. This means that they can forever be linked to that person and without doubt will resurface when least expected such as a job interview.

Ms McLean advised that “parents must learn about the internet with their child” and that schools need to “teach children that information on the web is not always reliable.”

Many teenagers are still under the misconception that if they send an intimate picture of themselves to their partner then it is ‘private’ however once these images hit cyber-space, they are out therefore ever and can be accessed in many ways by many people.

Ms McLean continued “with the explosion of cyber technology, the issues of cyber bullying and ‘sexting’ are emerging as the number one issue confronting the safety and wellbeing of young people and the wider community”.

“Together with associated technology including 3G mobile telephones, Instant Messaging(MSN), online games and the popularity of social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook & now Twitter, today’s youth have access to and are accessible by many millions of people worldwide,” she concluded.

For other teenagers sexting is taking on a more sinister form with cases in both WA and SA of young people actively and deliberately producing and distributing explicit images via mobile phones and the internet. They are fully aware of the images they are producing but not of the fact that this is a criminal offence and that someone else’s privacy has been breached.

It is unclear what sort of consent of participation the people who posed for the pictures played in all this. Are they aware of how the images will be used or the vulnerable position they are placing themselves in?

The most disturbing aspect of all this is how some young people have become desensitised to the whole topic, for them it is OK to take graphic intimate and ultimately pornographic images of both themselves and others and circulate those images freely via the ether.

Why is it that teenagers are not aware that this kind of behaviour is not acceptable within our society and that in doing so they are breaking the laws of this country, not to mention the unwritten laws of decency and self worth?

The survey by home computer support service Gizmo questioned 1,025 parents and children around Australia and found that 7% of children had had someone post online a picture or video of them without their permission.

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.

Source: Perth Now. Susan McLean

We are currently in the process of planning the 2010 Generation Next series. Thanks to your feedback we have learned a lot of lessons about how best to run the events and use the limited financial and other resources available to us.

Importantly, in 2010 we would like to explore the possibility of running the events at a school hall rather than in a commercial venue. This will allow us to use our limited funds for more important things such as advertising and supporting the stakeholder groups that work with us.

A group of approximately 20 schools in Canberra, for example, have teamed up to offer both a school hall and help with ticket sales to each of their school communities. We think this is a way for Generation Next’s important information to get to more people in a way that is not only financially viable but also allows local communities to develop a sense of ownership with regard to these important issues.

It will also allow us more versatility in terms of timing and location.

Our calculations show that we need to sell about 800-1000 tickets to make each Generation Next event viable. Therefore we need to find a school hall (or halls) in each city that can accommodate an audience of that size or more in relative comfort.

If you think that your school’s hall may be suitable to a Generation Next event and that your school may be interested in working with us then please do get in touch with us by  emailing me at r.manocha@healthed.com.au or at info@gennextseminars.com.

Your help with this matter is deeply appreciated.

Sincerely,

Dr Ramesh Manocha, MBBS, BSc (Med), PhD,

Founder, Generation Next.

‘Sexting’, the sending and receiving of sexually explicit images via mobile phones or other applications such as instant messaging, email or through social networking sites has, until recently, gone largely unreported. What is concerning about the activity is its rapidly increasing popularity. It was often an extension of ‘I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.’ Explicit images are also often taken when the victim was not in a position to make a good decision, such as at a party where large amounts of alcohol have been consumed.

Females, from as young as thirteen, are willingly filming themselves or readily agreeing to be filmed by their friends and then allowing the images to be sent to other people or posted into cyberspace. Adolescents cannot comprehend, nor are they aware of, the actual consequences of their actions. Once in cyberspace these images can never be erased and can be transmitted around the world in a very short space of time. The reality is that these images could very well find their way onto the computers of those with a predilection to engage in sexual acts with children.

Cyberspace is not age appropriate and emergent behaviours are not developmentally aligned. Parents too must be prepared to discuss this issue with their children, prior to secondary school as these behaviours are regularly seen at Year 7 level. They must also provide adequate guidance as often young people are handed the technology with little or no instruction from a suitable adult. It is imperative that adults embrace technology for the valuable tool that it is and engage with children in cyberspace as well as in the real world. Teachers and other professionals must be educated so that they are able to guide and assist the children in their care. Most importantly, young people must be given the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills to safely navigate cyberspace, to identify risks and take appropriate steps to keep themselves safe. Cyberspace is permanent. Once images have been posted, they are there forever and no one can get them back. ‘Sexting is like a new puppy… it’s not just for Christmas, it’s for life!

Writer Susan McLean, Cyber Safety Expert, Generation Next speaker and director of Cybersafety Solutions. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.

Generation Next is coming to Perth! Featuring speakers such as Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, Julie Gale, Paul Dillon and Susan McLean, the seminar will provide solutions to the challenges facing generations Y and Z. The seminar will cover a range of topics including cybersafety (including cyberbullying and sexting), the sexualisation of our children in the media, mental health and depression, and drugs and alcohol.

For more information check out our homepage, and you can buy tickets for $45 at Tickatek.

Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos electronically, primarily between mobile phones, but can also via internet applications such as MSN, email or social networking sites.

In Australia, if the images are of a young person under the age of 18 years, the person taking the pictures, sending them, or possessing them can be charged with child pornography offences.

In one survey, 69% of teens reported sexting a girlfriend or boyfriend.

SOURCE: Susan McLean (www.cybersafetysolutions.com.au), Healthed Adelaide Women’s & Children’s Health Update & Education Day 2009. Editor Ramesh Manocha.

• DO NOT disclose personal or identifying information or photos!

• Make sure that you shoulder surf!

• Know where your child is in Cyberspace…. Just as you would in the real world!

• You are the parent and you should be in charge.

Visit my website for more cyber safety tips!

Written by Susan McLean, Editor Ramesh Manocha.

• NEVER allow a computer in the BEDROOM!

• Have a Family Online Contract! Set rules and consequences for breaches.

• Filtering software is important but the most effective filter is Parental Supervision!

• Social Networking Sites such as Facebook and Myspace MUST be set to PRIVATE!

The top internet safety tips part 2 will be published tomorrow.
Written by Susan McLean, Editor Ramesh Manocha.