Research for Shelly: Youth Online

I find Shelly's research about youth online (such as she discussed in her recent post) interesting because even people who know little about digital culture are discussing the implications of allowing children to interact with this new digital world. I decided to do a little research for myself (and for her).

Scholarship

This article is one of the older of the bunch (2008) but is interesting because it talks about people's fears that MySpace would spread personal information about teens that would lead to sexual assaults.

This 2011 study examines how youth use new media in safe and unsafe ways with regards to their sexuality. It includes detailed stories--a good source.

This 2013 article in a journal about crimes against children says "In spite of continuing anxiety about the impact of the Internet on the safety of youth, encouraging trends suggest experiences, behavior and education are moving in the direction of greater online safety and improved experiences for youth."

This 2007 article says "talking with people known only online (“strangers”) under some conditions is related to online interpersonal victimization, but sharing personal information is not. Engaging in a pattern of different kinds of online risky behaviors is more influential in explaining victimization than many specific behaviors alone. Pediatricians should help parents assess their child's online behaviors globally in addition to focusing on specific types of behaviors."

Blogs

This blogger on Gizmodo talks about his decision to remove pictures of his children from the Internet. He quotes several other influential blog posts where people have discussed the topic of having an Internet presence for their children before they are old enough to decide what they want to have posted.

What about Internet filters, I wonder? This router allows parents to very strictly control and view what their children do online. Is it best to filter and constrict or teach best practices to your children?

I could go on for a long time with these resources--there is clearly a lot out there. Hope this helps you, Shelly!