Entries Tagged 'mobiles' ↓

Cyber Safety expert Susan McLean describes cyber-bulllying in the following terms:

“cyber-bullying can be described as any harassment, insults and humiliation that occurs through the electronic mediums such as email, mobile phones, social networking sites, instant messaging programs, chat rooms, web sites and through the playing of online games.”

What you can do to help a child who is being cyber bullied.

• Do not get angry with your child – remember they are the victim and it is someone else doing the wrong thing.
• Praise them for coming to you – this is a big step as most children are frightened to tell a parent about cyber-bullying.
• Save and store the emails, chat logs or SMS’s in case of police investigation.
• Help your child to block and delete the bully from all contact lists.
• Do not respond to nasty emails, chats, SMS’s or comments – this is what the bully wants so ignore them. (They will need your help to do this)
• Use the ‘report abuse’ button which all websites/applications have. Tell them the problems you are having and they are obligated to investigate.
• Have some ‘down time’ without computer or mobile (do not do this as punishment, rather as some peaceful time where they are not being bothered)
• If unwanted contact continues, consider deleting emails, msn, hotmail etc and start a new account. Only give your details to a small list of trusted friends.
• Get a new phone number if being harassed on your phone. Report the problem to your phone company and insist on a new number for free.
• Inform your child’s school. It is important that they know what is going on so that they can monitor any issues at school, and
• If ongoing report to the police. Each state has laws that prohibit online bullying and stalking. You don’t have to put up with it.

For more information go to Cybersafetysolutions.

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.
Source: Susan McLean – Cybersafetysolutions

ThinkUKnow

ThinkUKnow is a website dedicated to protecting kids online. It shows you how to help kids stay safe and in control when using various forms of new media.

It gives teachers, parents and carers the tools they need to keep children safe while still letting them enjoy using emerging technologies. The site has free tools and resources including fact sheets and videos to download.

ThinkUKnow is an Internet safety program delivering interactive training through primary and secondary schools across Australia using a network of accredited trainers.

Created by the UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, ThinkUKnow Australia has been developed by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Microsoft Australia.

School Presentations – Presentations are also available and they will come to your school and talk to parents, teachers and carers.
Fax expressions of interest to: (02) 6132 6063

Useful sections on the website include:

How Do Kids Have Fun? – explores how young people communicate with friends and family all over the world, access information for school work and develop their creativity. It looks at:
Instant Messaging
Gaming
Chat
Peer-to-Peer
Social Networking
Mobile phones
Blogs

How to Stay in Control – This section outlines some of the risks associated with the activities of young people online.
The site encourages adolescents to have fun online and with mobile technologies, but to always stay in control.

Just as you try to protect your child in the real world, you would also like to keep them safe in the online world. Helping to equip young people with online safety skills will help them to get the most out of the Internet and to stay in control whilst doing so.

Protect Your Computer – This section highlights some practical steps which you can take to protect you and your family online.

It is important that you safeguard your computer, devices and home networks. It is also important to practice safe online behaviour to minimise your exposure to online risks.
The website looks at:
Email safety
Firewall
Malware Protection
Updating computer operating systems
Shopping online
Protecting wireless networks

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.
Source: ThinkUKnow

Go into any young person’s bedroom now-a-days and you will find an assortment of electronic media scattered around the room. Many of these devises will be in operation simultaneously; the computer is on, the internet is connected, the iPod is playing, messages are being sent and received via the mobile phone and the TV is quietly playing away, just in case anyone glances over at it.

From their rooms teenagers are connected not only to friends but also to global networks through internet access, from the central hub of their bedrooms they conduct their social life, often well into the night.

A recent study “Electronic Media use and sleep in school-aged children and adolescents: a review” published in the journal Sleep Medicine by sleep medicine researchers at Flinders University in Adelaide has concluded that young people who have access to electronic media such as televisions, computers, internet, games and mobile phones in their bedrooms are putting their behavioral development at risk.

The research showed that the main reason for this seems to be because of the lack of sleep they get due to the fact that they continue to use these devises even after ‘lights out’. For some children this can delay sleep time by several hours, usually without their parent’s knowledge. Much of the action begins after 9pm and this means a shorter total sleep time. New media has now been linked to reduced time in bed and to sleep disturbances.

Dr Michael Gradisar, of Flinders University, noted that recent comparable studies in the US found that adolescents frequently used mass communication late into the night. 55% of US adolescents access the internet and 24% play computer games after 9 pm, while 30% of adolescents reported text messaging.

The American Academy of Paediatrics has suggested that children’s bedrooms ought to be “electronic media-free” rooms.

“Health and wellbeing of young Australians” published in March 2010 by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare estimated that adolescents need about 9 hours sleep each night. The report went on to say that “Sleep disorders and sleep deprivation have an impact on the health and wellbeing outcomes of young people by reducing their capacity to undertake normal everyday activities.” Thinking, emotional balance and behaviour are all affected by chronic sleep deprivation (Carpenter 2001) with the result being poor school grades and impaired social skills.

The publication went onto say that “communication technology, including TV, internet, newspaper and other media have shown to have an impact on young people and how they review themselves and their community and to inform their views on global issues. Young users are increasingly turning to the internet as a source of information, communication, socialising and entertainment (Gigli 2004).”

Another study conducted in Belgium by J. Van den Bulck (SLEEP 2007;30(9):1220-1223.)* looked at 1,656 children with an average of 13.7 years and found that “Mobile phone use after lights out is very prevalent among adolescents. Its use is related to increased levels of tiredness. There is no safe dose and no safe time for using the mobile phone for text messaging or for calling after lights out.”

The use of mobile phones, after parents have ensured that all other electronic media has been switched off, seems to be common place. The sending and receiving of SMS’s and practices such as “ringing” (interrupting the call before it is answered – which is a way of telling that person “I was thinking of you), “bombing” ( the number of times the phone rings signals what the caller is trying to convey) and sending “chain messages” to a number of friends, are nightly occurrences.

Many adolescents would have their parents believe that they need an array of electronic media as “sleep aids” and that these gadgets and applications help them to unwind and relax in preparation for sleep. However, research shoes that even as they sleep the interaction between media and sleep does not stop. Playing computer games has been shown to shorten REM sleep in adults and many adolescents report dreaming about what they saw on TV or in a computer game.

The Flinders University research team wants their findings to be used in developing guidelines on electronic media use by children, given that sleep is important for learning and memory, as well as having implications for emotional regulation and behaviour.

The researchers go onto say that lack of sleep and poor sleep quality have also been linked to lapses in memory, concentration, and poor academic performance.

“Considering the evidence to date … parents should be informed that simply having electronic media devices in the bedroom can negatively affect their children’s sleep,” they conclude.

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.

Source: SLEEP 2007;30(9):1220-1223.

*The data used in this analysis were gathered by the Leuven School for Mass Communication Research with support from the Fund for Scientific Research (Flanders) and the Ministry of Welfare of the Flemish Government of Belgium.

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

An American study of sexting, the practice for teens to send nude or near-nude images of themselves via mobile phones, in 12-17 year olds found that the practice is not as common as widely believed. While the study found that 15% of teens with their own mobile phones have received sexts, only 4% had reported sending the images themselves.

The results of the study of 800 students are lower then past studies, however past studies did not differentiate between mobile messages and sext-style emails. The study additionally found that older teens are more likely to send sexts, as were teens who paid for all costs associated with their phones.

More information on sexting can be found in this post by Susan McLean.

The full report by Pew Research can be found here.

Writer Tristan Boyd, Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.

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.

Earlier this week a new cyberbullying educational campaign titled Cyber Bullying Affects Real Lives was launched. The  interactive multimedia campaign aims to raise awareness of cyberbullying and the impact it can have. Featuring a two-minute YouTube video and an interactive online game called Web Warriors, the campaign hopes to engage with and educate children on a medium they are familiar with. Students, teachers and parents are urged to watch and share the video and check out the site.

The campaign is part of the anti-cyberbullying initiative Smart Online, Safe Offline (SOSO) run by a number of organisations including the National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN).

Maree Faulkner, CEO of NAPCAN, emphasised that the difference between the SOSO campaign and previous campaigns is the direct communication with the children on a interactive medium. “The success of the first SOSO campaign, which focused on online predatory behaviour, showed that online interactive games are a really effective way of engaging with young people in this age group. We believe that the SOSO cyber bullying campaign will be successful in helping change online cyber bullying behaviour,” she said. “The aim of SOSO is to get young people to think twice before hitting ‘send’ and forwarding degrading content to share a laugh with friends at the expense of others,” Ms Faulkner said.”

Dr Toni Noble, senior lecturer in Education and Psychology at the Australian Catholic University, said that the SOSO campaign will help to reduce cyberbullying. “The SOSO campaign puts the tools in young people’s hands, helping them relate to the harm associated with cyber bullying,” she said.

Watch the YouTube video here. The Smart Online, Safe Offline site can be found here.

Writer Tristan Boyd, Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.

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.

An Australian study has found children who frequently use mobile phones to send text messages are being taught to act impulsively and make mistakes as a result. The study of 317 Melbourne students aged between 11 and 14 found those who regularly send text messages were faster to respond to IQ style questions but were also more likely to make mistakes. Children who used predictive text were found to be the most likely to act quickly.

The researchers concluded that radiation from mobile phones did not cause the change, instead it was thought that the use of phones changed the behaviour of the children. Another possibility suggested was that children who were more impulsive were more likely to regularly use mobile phones because they suit their personality.

The researches stated that the study should not alarm parents.

Writer Tristan Boyd, 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.