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Subject: Children Online Newsletter
Quick Links Issue: #31 December 2009
Previous Newsletters
Resources for Parents
31st Edition of the Children Online Newsletter.
Children Online Website
Each year we meet with several
thousand students in grades
Join Our List four through twelve and we
often have the opportunity to
survey them about their
Internet behavior.
Stages of Our surveys and work with students have led us to many
Development and interesting insights about what motivates their online
Media Influences: behavior and why they often fall prey to certain scams and
Understanding kids tricks. This month's newsletter addresses the most common
developmental reasons kids are drawn to the Internet. Next month we will
stages helps us to follow with a newsletter that details why most kids can't avoid
understand what a good scam.
motivates kids
online, for example As always, we invite your comments, as well as ideas for
the need for intense future newsletters. Our telephone number for Children Online
peer socialization of
is 413-214-1225.
14-year-olds. Also,
understanding the
Best wishes,
impact of online
Marje Monroe and Doug Fodeman
media on their lives
helps us to better
evaluate the risks Contact Marje or Doug via email at
and hazards, as well marjem@childrenonline.org or dougf@childrenonline.org for
as decide what is information about our programs or consulting services.
age-appropriate for
our children.
What Drives Kids to the Internet?
1. Stages of
Kids today as young as two or three may know how to use a
Adolescent
keyboard before they can use a pencil. Children see the
Development
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Internet as an integral part of their culture. For kids the
2. The Center on Internet is a toy, a TV, a phone, a connection to others and a
Media and Child portal into a world of socialization and adventure. Adults on
Health at Children's the other hand generally view the Internet as a tool to help
Hospital Boston, them negotiate tasks in their life (although this is beginning
Harvard Medical
to change!).
School, and Harvard
School of Public
Young kids generally begin their life on the Internet through
Health is dedicated
game playing websites. Sites such as PBS, NickJr, Disney and
to understanding
and responding to others offer a world of fun and colorful games. For the most
the effects of media part young children simply use these sites for fun and
on the physical, games. As kids grow older game playing begins to intensify
mental, and social and children turn to Webkinz, Club Penguin, AddictingGames,
health of children Miniclip and Runescape, among others for their fun. These
through research, sites all have exciting, interactive game playing and colorful
production, and graphics geared toward young children. These sites may also
education. Visit their contain viruses, scams, inappropriate advertising and the
page on What You ability to chat with others.
Need to Know About
Media and Kids'
As children enter sixth and seventh grade we begin to see a
Health
significant switch away from game playing to socializing.
These young teens begin using Internet tools such as instant
3. The Importance
of Play in Promoting messaging, chatting or texting to communicate with others.
Healthy Child Many young teens begin using Facebook chat or MySpace
Development and chat for their main source of communication, beating out
Maintaining Strong "voicing' or the traditional use of the phone, and instant
Parent-Child Bonds messaging. While girls generally switch to socializing a bit
from the American earlier than boys, this year we have witnessed significant
Academy of numbers of boys flocking to Facebook and MySpace around
Pediatrics [pdf file] age eleven or twelve. Game playing becomes less important
than connecting with others and forming relationships. This,
4. Media Influences
of course, mirrors what we know about age developmental
on Youth. (Dated but
research on children.
interesting and
relevant.)
As the game playing dwindles and socializing becomes more
5. Stop Scammers important most teens make the jump to social networking
from Targeting Your sites such as Facebook and texting by age thirteen. The age
Teens by Elizabeth of first use of Facebook, however, gets younger and younger
Rogers [March, each year. Social networking sites with the ability to have
2009] "private" chats become the most popular avenue for teens to
reach out to others, play games, form relationships and
create a sense of community.
About
Children Online The one site that seems to move seamlessly through the
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Children Online offers stages of childhood to adolescence is YouTube. According to
innovative and our research, YouTube is the most popular site for children
comprehensive ages ten through eighteen. YouTube with its fun, and often
workshops on
silly, videos and ability to communicate with others offers
Internet safety and
online education to diverse and exciting alternatives for kids. It can also offer
students, parents, quick exposure to pornography, harassing language or
faculty and age-inappropriate material. For children YouTube can be a TV,
administrators. Our a jukebox or a social networking site much as Facebook or My
approach, unique in Space. Many younger kids flock to YouTube to see
the field of Internet themselves in school concerts or to watch episodes of the
safety, combines a
Simpsons, Dora the Explorer or their favorite cartoon. Due to
thorough
the likely exposure to inappropriate content, we recommend
understanding of
Internet technologies, that parents watch YouTube clips with their young children
child development and not allow young children to "wander" around YouTube.
and counseling, to
focus on the impact Scammers, marketers and others who wish to take advantage
of the internet on the of children also have a great understanding about what
social, emotional and motivates kids of different ages to be online. Scams have
language
littered dozens of kids' popular game sites. Malware creators
development of
young people. also create fake sites causing computer infections putting
everyone using the computer at risk. These sites are
Doug Fodeman and designed to turn up in Google searches for things kids
Marje Monroe, commonly search for including "game cheats", Miniclip and
experts in technology, NewGrounds (popular game sites), free music and, lyrics
counseling and sites. Scammers also perpetrate a great many scams in social
education, work
networks including inside popular Facebook games such as
together to provide
invaluable research
Farmville.
and tools for parents
and schools with Virtually, every online venue where kids of all ages
practical real-life congregate it is possible to find those who are trying to
solutions to the manipulate them and take advantage of them. And though
issues faced by children and teens today may know an awful lot about how to
young people online.
use technology, they don't always know how to spot a scam
Since 1997, Marje and
or know when they are being manipulated. They still require
Doug have spoken to
thousands of our oversite, love and guidance as they try to navigate life
students, teachers online, just as they navigate real life.
and parents. They
have several
publications in the
area of Internet safety
and offer a free online INTERNET SAFETY CURRICULUM
newsletter. More
detailed information
Safe Practices for Life Online
can be found at
Children Online has a curriculum on
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ChildrenOnline.org. Internet Safety that includes nearly 100
student exercises and lots of information
on many topics including social networks,
Book for Parents: instant messaging, cyberbullying, online
Racing to Keep Up: marketing, scams directed at kids,
Talking with your kids protecting privacy online, avoiding identity
about technology use theft and impersonation, creating strong
and strategies to passwords and more.
protect the home
computer
There is also a student edition which
includes cartoons and "Did you know"
sections of interesting facts for students.
To learn more or place an order visit our
publications page at ChildrenOnline.org or
go directly to our publisher's pages:
Teacher's Edition at ISTE
Student Edition at Lulu.com
� Children Online 2009
Doug Fodeman & Marje Monroe.
For permission to reprint please contact
DougF@ChildrenOnline.org
Forward email
ChildrenOnline.org | 19 Everett Paine Blvd. | Marblehead | MA | 01945
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