Parenting Kids in the Digital World

Information for ParentsCWA Middle SchoolJanuary 20, 2010

Welcome• What would you like to discuss

today?

Agenda

• What kids are doing in the digital world

• Parenting and privacy

• Hot Topics

• Cyberbullying

• Sexting

• Myths and Facts about online solicitation

Understanding what new media and technology kids are using and creating 74%

Balancing my child's privacy with my desire to oversee what they do with media and technology 56%

Knowing what other parents do when it comes to media and their families, and how to talk to my child about other families' rules

44%

Understanding how media use and creation impacts kids' development 42%

Navigating media rules and expectations when it comes to play dates at other kids' houses

40%

Setting rules and expectations for my family's media use 34%

Research around kids' digital lives 30%Finding age-appropriate media for my family 22%Creating media as a family 20%Talking with my family about online behavior 16%

Our CWA

Survey

• We asked our MS students

If you use the Internet, which of these things do you do online at least once a week?

What are kids doing in the digital world?

At least once a weekPlay online games

Visit social network site

Explore virtual worlds

Post videos, pictures or messages

Send IM

Video chat

Check/write email

Watch, listen to, or download videos and music

Search for info about personal interests

Seek info or do research for homework

Other

0 37.5 75.0 112.5 150.0

17

132

73

150

137

38

70

36

17

96

95Our

CWA Survey

174 MS Students Surveyed

Have you done any of these things when using the Internet or your cell phone?

• 62% Bought music or ringtones from a site like iTunes

• 40% Made a new friend

• 38% Posted pictures or videos of myself/others

• Concerns

• 26% Chatted, IM’ed, emailed, or communicated with people I don’t know

• 13% Looked at stuff my parents wouldn’t want me to

• 12% Made fun of, harassed, or messed with someone

• 7% Shared or gave away my passwords

Our CWA

Survey

What are kids doing in the digital world?

• Interests and trends vary and change frequently

• Everything (and we mean everything) asks you to set up a profile, account or “my” area.

• Texting issues

Hours spent with media• “The average young American now

spends practically every waking minute — except for the time in school — using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device, according to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation.” (ages 8-18)

• our stats

On a typical SCHOOL DAY (Monday-Friday)

0

1

2

3

4+

0 20 40 60 80

7

12

26

75

53

Hours watching TV, movies, DVDs

0

1

2

3

4+

0 20 40 60 80

25

11

28

71

37

Hours listening to music on a mobile device

174 MS Students Surveyed

On a typical SCHOOL DAY (Monday-Friday)

0

1

2

3

4+

0 22.5 45.0 67.5 90.0

6

10

19

48

88

Hours playing video games

0

1

2

3

4+

0 15 30 45 60

23

17

26

50

57

Hours using a cell phone for talking or texting

174 MS Students Surveyed

On a typical SCHOOL DAY (Monday-Friday)

0

1

2

3

4+

0 17.5 35.0 52.5 70.0

19

15

38

67

34

Hours using the Internet for entertainment

0

1

2

3

4+

0 22.5 45.0 67.5 90.0

14

16

39

87

13

Hours using the Internet for homework/school

174 MS Students Surveyed

On a typical SCHOOL DAY (Monday-Friday)

0

1

2

3

4+

0 17.5 35.0 52.5 70.0

9

17

27

68

50

Hours reading magazines or books for entertainment (not for schoolwork)

174 MS Students Surveyed

What do we do?• Strategies:

• Keep communication lines open

• Have conversations about choices and consequences

• Take a “Tech Break”

• Studies show, children of parents who set guidelines and limits use media less frequently

What do we do?• Suggestions:

• setting specific times for use of media (cell phones, Internet access)

• Internet access only in shared family spaces

• Cell phones charged in central space at night

• Have conversations about texting “manners”

Privacy and Parenting

• Where do you draw the line?

• Kids and long-term consequences... their brains just don’t get it.

Social Networking

• Privacy settings in the media

• How do the Facebook changes affect you and/or your kids?

Do you (does your child) use privacy settings on your social networking account(s)?

21%

7%

72%Yes

No

I Don’t Know

31%

4% 65%YesNo

I Don’t Know

Student Response Parent Response

38%

3%31%

28%

Very frequentlyOnly occasionallyJust once when he or she first set it upNever

How often do you look at your child’s social networking profile page(s)?

If your parents looked at your social networking profile(s) right now, what do you think they’d think of the stuff you’ve posted?

1%8%

20%

72%

Totally okMostly okSome ok, some notMostly not ok

How do you and your parents talk about media?

I’m older

They trust me

They have taught me how to use media in a responsible way

They were tired of arguing with me about media

They can’t always keep track of what I’m doing

They don’t know how to use the technology

0 37.5 75.0 112.5 150.0

13

9

2

68

115

28

We asked the kids a series of, “Have your parents talked with you about...?” questions. If they answered 3 or more questions, “No - we haven’t talked about that” here’s why...

Privacy and Parenting• Strategies:

• Keep communication lines open

• Educate on the reality of privacy and the internet (hint: it’s not private!)

• Join in the fun

• Ask to see what they’re doing

• Have conversations about choices and consequences

Privacy and Parenting• Strategies:

• Use the news, analyze ads, review web content, find teachable moments

• Technological solutions (filters, etc.)

• Consider how you approach issues that are non-technical (friendships, activities)

Hot Topics

Cyberbullying

• How do we define it?

• Our MS students were asked

Have you made fun of, harassed, or messed with someone using the Internet or your cell phone?

• 12% said “Yes”

Cyberbullying

• In our parent survey...

• 60% of parents were “concerned or somewhat concerned” about their children being the VICTIM of a cyberbully

• 81% of parents were “somewhat unconcerned or not at all concerned” about their children being the PERPETRATOR of cyberbullying

Strategies

• Talk about it from both perspectives (victim and perpetrator)

• Encourage kids to talk to you or another adult if they feel there is a problem

Sexting

• Pew Research Center Study:

• 4% of cell-owning teens 12 - 17 have sent sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude photos via texting

• 15% of cell-owning teens 12 - 17 say they have received these types of messages

14-24 year olds

12-17 year olds

Myths and Facts about Online Solicitation

• 50,000 online predators...a bogus “Goldilocks number,” made up by Chris Hansen on Dateline’s “To Catch a Predator.”

• sexual assaults on teens fell dramatically—by 52 percent—between 1993 and 2005, according to the Justice Department’s National Crime Victimization Survey

Mark Bowden, Vanity Fair, Dec 2009

Resources

• Links to articles cited and statistics referenced are available through the MS Enrolled Families portion of the CWA website.

Thank you for coming!