Stephen CarrickDavies

1
CONFERENCE
Social Networking Implications for Child Online
Safety
Stephen Carrick-Davies Childnet International
2
Content
1) Understanding the new environment

• Web vs2 and the appeal for children and YP
• The big picture Positive Opportunities.

2) Understanding the safety issues

• Personal content public risk ?
• Dangers - Outside in or Inside in ?

3) Understanding the responses

• Shared responsibility for child protection.
• Education, education, education but how ?

3
But first an introduction..
Helping to make the Internet a great and safe
place for children
4
PART 1) UNDERSTANDING THE ENVIRONMENT
5
1) Understanding the environment CONVERGENCE
6
1) Understanding the environment - CHANGE
WEB v 1
WEB v 2
Downloading
Uploading
Consuming
Creating
Personal
Corporate
Converged media
Separate media
Truly interactive
Static
7
1) Understanding the environment DEFINITION

• Social network sites such as MySpace and
  Bebo are websites where individuals can create
  profiles and link to others (friends) within
  the system.
• A user creates a profile which serves as an
  individuals digital representation of their
  tastes, fashion, and identity using photos,
  video, favourite music etc to describe themselves
  
• The linking to other sites of like friends is
  what makes the powerful social network of self
  expression.

BUT changing all the time.
8
1) Understanding the environment AN EXAMPLE
9
1) Understanding the environment THE BIG PICTURE
SOME FACTS FEATURES ABOUT SN

• Growth 130m profiles on MY SPACE alone (320,000
  new profiles a day)

• Global Glocal Global expansion but yp love
  the local community aspect

• Usage Varied eg 18,000 civic groups 93,000
  religious groups on MSpace.

• Linking The power is in the linking and
  communicating RSS feeds Links

• Power Consumer power eg swarming around
  complaint blogs eg Ipod

• Mobile Cyworld in Korea (90 of teens) huge
  commercial power

• Workplace Corporates are building SN into the
  workplace (education ?)

SOURCE San Fransico Chronicle
10
1) Understanding the environment POSITIVES
Whats positive for young people ?

• HANGING OUT Young people need a space to
  hang out and express themselves and gather
  in adult free space in much the same way YP used
  to at the youth club or shopping centre (before
  they were asked to move on!)

• EXPRESSION AND CREATIVITY For young people
  this space allows them the opportunity to be
  creative, and express themselves with original
  content. They can customise their pages and
  engage in collective self expression and
  collaboration all of which is really important
  part of growing up and learning.

• RISK ASSESSMENT Young People need a space to
  manage risks for identity exploration and
  testing boundaries. In many ways this new space
  allows them to do this in a virtual environment.

• IDENTITY - The third space where rank and
  status doesnt matter. However is there a
  tendency of Not knowing what we think until we
  know what everyone else thinks? Sherry
  Turkle MIT

11
PART 2 - UNDERSTANDING THE SAFETY ISSUES

• CONTENT
• Personal information becomes very public
• Postings (blogsdiaries)
• Photos
• Profiles

!
CONTACT Either from
1) Adult with sexual motivation
2) Peers who harass /cyberbully
12
2) UNDERSTANDING THE SAFETY ISSUES
1) Adult with sexual motivation

• Grooming or fishing in a barrel ?
• Difficulties in tracking cases because it is so
  new.
• Under-reporting from yp for fear of confiscation
  or its their fault
• New Industry so reporting buttons and
  moderation is only just starting
• Long term nature of the impact - every photo
  has a forward button
• No central control - users space, what are the
  standards ?
• Challenge of preserving data (so much !)
• International challenges

13
2) UNDERSTANDING THE SAFETY ISSUES
2) Peers who harass /cyberbully

• FLAMING Insults get angrier and more vulgar
• HARRASSMENT Anonymous taunts, insults, threats
  
• DENIGRATION False profile set up with cruel,
  false content and posts
• IMPERSONATION Stealing of passwords to send
  threatening messages
• OUTING Sending intimate personal information to
  others (covert photos)
• EXCLUSION Ex-communication from buddy lists
  leads to real cruelty
• CYBERSTALKING Blackmail (from photos) and
  harmful messages
• CYBERTHREATES Direct or actual threats to hurt
  or commit suicide

SOURCE Nancy E Willard Centre for Safe and
Responsible Internet Use 2006
14
Part 3 - UNDERSTANDING THE RESPONSES
Users
Parents Teachers
Govt. Legal/police
Industry
15
3) Understanding the responses

• YOUNG PEOPLE
• Instilling responsible use and care for peers
• Positive use and inspiring creativity and social
  benefit

• SCHOOLS
• Fundamental to teaching about behaviour,
  citizenship safety
• Opportunity to validate collaboration and
  informal learning

• PARENTS/CARERS
• Their role in responsibility for their children
  wherever they are
• Hands on experience and parents supporting each
  other

• INDUSTRY
• Their responsibility for proactive advice and
  reporting
• Working with the police and supporting VGT

16
3) Understanding the responses EDUCATION
There are three ways to get something done do
it yourself, hire someone or forbid your kids to
do it Mona Crane
17
3) UNDERSTANDING THE RESPONSES EDUCATION
The challenge for schools
Our schools so far do a rather poor job of
helping teens acquire the skills they need in
order to participate within that information
society. For starters, most adult jobs today
involve a high degree of collaboration, yet we
still focus our schools on training autonomous
learners. Rather than shutting kids off from
social network tools, we should be teaching them
how to exploit their potentials and mitigate
their risks Henry Jenkins, co-director of the
Comparative Media Studies Program at MIT,
Do we control it or manage it ?
Do we tackle the issues and educate or block ?
Is this a technology issue or a life issue ?
Positive opportunities for education ?
18
3) UNDERSTANDING THE RESPONSES - PARENTS
The challenge for Parents
I have a look if they call me over, but I dont
really know what Im looking at! Childnet
Parent Focus Group

The importance of parents/carers role
Understanding the technology and the issues
Making this relevant
19
3) UNDERSTANDING THE RESPONSES - PARENTS
What parents asked
Will it be easy to follow?
What if I am new to computers?
Will it show ME the benefits ?
Will it be practical and really help?
20
Example from
21
Further resources and contact info
www.childnet-int.org/blogsafety
www.childnet-int.org
www.chatdanger.com
stephen_at_childnet-int.org