iRespectOnline

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Mobile Apps and your child

There are literally hundreds of thousands of apps available for us to download to our smartphones and tablets.  The choice is incredible with apps for all kinds of things, from keeping us organised with shopping lists, travel lists, find a quote, manage our business, play a game, apps to find a date (or meet a stranger) ,  to apps that tell you when its a good time to go to the bathroom during a movie (yes the pee app exists).

The amount of time we are spending on apps is increasing with many spending over 30 hours a  month using apps (nielson 2014) so it seems we are becoming increasingly reliant on using apps to manage our lives.

The question I would like to put to you is whether you supervise (or ever check) the applications that your children/teens are using?

Perhaps you do try and keep on eye on what they are doing, but find it hard to work out which apps are safe and which are not?   You are definitely not alone on that front!   How are we supposed to keep up to date with so many new apps appearing?

In this post we give you some tips to consider so that you can begin to understand what your child is doing with their mobile device, and then we list the apps we are most concerned about when it comes to children, tweens and teens.

9 tips to consider

  1. Talk to your child – they will tell you what the latest, greatest and most popular app is
  2. Use the conversation as a lead into having a look on your child’s device together to see what they have loaded.
  3. Ask questions about what an app is for (chat, game, dating)
  4. Ask your child if they understand the privacy or safety aspects
  5. Check the age ratings of the apps they are using the most?  Are they suitable?
  6. Given the purpose of a particular app, it is suitable for your child (for example a 10 year old with a dating app)
  7. Keeping your child involved in the discussion, remove apps which may be putting them at risk.
  8. Apps which require only user names don’t really protect your child, they can act as a shield for less savoury persons and make it harder to determine who is behind the name.   Whilst some people feel having a user name protects identity, this doesn’t always work in real life.  Anonymity allows bullies and trolls to hide behind a user name.
  9. Don’t allow FOMO (fear of missing out) to cloud your judgement when helping educate your children on app safety.  Just because they say a lot of their friends use it, that doesn’t make it safe (and often you might find they actually are not using it at all).

 

Apps which can put your child/teen at risk

KIK:  A free instant messenging app which requires the use of a user name.  It is rated for users 17+ years of age, yet I am aware of children aged 8-12 using Kik. 

KIK has been noted by the Australian Police force as one of the apps used by sexual predators for “grooming” young people.   It is not just a messenger app due to the fact that is has integrated a browser into the message capabilities to enable easier sharing.  This of course immediately opens up the risk of inappropriate material being shared.  (Previously Kik used “cards” to bring in content).   With over 100 million users we should be concerned just what the app is being used for and the risks to our children.    Users can pose as teens, men as girls or women as boys in order to make connections with young people.  Sexualised content is frequently found on KIK.

It is very difficult to monitor what is being said and shared on KIK as there are no records to review and threads can be quickly deleted.

Many complementary apps allow access to data.  Kikfriends lets you find user names, therefore exposing our young people further to risk, as does integrating the app with Instagram.  Sharing KIK names is popular, you may see posts which say “kik me @” or what’s your kik name?    This is a dangerous practice as it allows strangers to connect more easily.

You can read some parents experiences on Commonsense media here.

Tinder – ages 13+ 

Tinder is a “hook up” app.  It is primarily an adult site using location technology to allow users to find people close by.  They can then choose if they like the look of the person.  If the other person also likes the look of them, then they are able to chat, and of course meet up. It must be a two way connection.   It has been described as  the  “site to find sex”.    There is a huge risk to young people by sexual predators given the app narrows location down to around one km.   Provided your child hasn’t lied about their age, those under 17 cannot engage with adults, but of course this cannot be monitored where someone has entered an incorrect birth date.   Tinder is the only app of this kind open to under 18s.     Other similar apps (rated 18+) are OK cupid, Grindr and Blendr.

Snapchat

Snapchat has been around for while and sexting is the biggest issue we see facing teens with this app.   The app operates in a way that images are supposed to only display for a “snap” , but because of this the temptation to take nude pictures is pretty high.     Recently over 90,000 images were copied from snapchat via a hack into a third party app.  Called the snappening, the hacker released images including user ids.  Many of these pictures were of naked or semi naked teens.   Third party apps can be downloaded which can grab the images before they disappear.   We wrote about snapchat in 2012  if you would like to learn more.    We do recommend that if your teen is using snapchat and you cant get them off it, perhaps start using it yourself and make sure you are connected to them.  This seems to work with many teens to help them think about what they are posting and why.  (While we are at it, ask them just that.. what are they posting and why?).

 

Omegle  is all about connecting with and talking to strangers.   It is also rated 17+ (in Australia) and has strong adult sexualised content.  Check ratings for other countries but their website says not to be used by under 13s and that under 18 need parental permission.  

This app concerns me the most as it is all about connecting with randomised strangers both via chat and video.   It’s one to one interaction and its anonymous (until you tell it otherwise).   There is strong adult themes and language and cyber sex is rampant on this platform.  It is possible to connect a facebook account which immediately removes another layer of safety.   Omegle does have “no perverts” statement, but with a site and app such as this the risks are extremly high for young people to be exposed to inappropriate contact and content.

I would consider blocking this site for under 16’s at a minimum.

 

Meow Chat- rated 12+ for mild sexual content/nudity/profanity

This is a combination of a chat app and a meet up app.   It uses location based technology to tell you who is nearby and offers for you to select (a bit like the hot or not Tinder selection) to potentially chat with and meet up with.  You can also go for a global search and chat with people anywhere in the world.    On one had I’d like to say it’s the modern communication version of a penfriend – meeting and connecting with people from all over the world can be a wonderful experience.  This problem is again with the tendency towards sexualised content and the dating aspect.   Having a 12 year old or younger meet up/hook up with a stranger is not something I feel comfortable with.    I am concerned at it’s low rating as apparently sexual content and nudity seem to be now considered fine for our young people.   I would like them to have a chance to develop their cerebal cortex just a little more before throwing them into the online dating/chat/meetup world personally.

 

A previous post about meow chat may be read here.

 

Apps you thought were safe

Instagram 

Seems like a harmless photo sharing app, but of course as with all tools for some it can be manipulated.    Instagram is for ages 13+ .   There is a lot of peer pressure to have tweens and younger on instagram (often driven by parents who create sites for their own toddlers etc), but as with all apps, we need to look at the maturity level of the individual child, their resilience and as parents, try to preserve their innocence as childhood is a fleeting moment in life.   For the most part Instagram can be a very creative space and for those of use who are visual it’s a wonderful platform.   However there can be a dark side.  Instagram can be used to connect to other apps and by doing so, reveal the person behind a user name.    We all want to keep our youth safe and away from predators, so again, it’s about having conversations and making sure that we know who we are connecting to online.

Another risk is the obsession with selfies.   For some teens they can become quite psychologically affected by comments (ok lack of comments) on photographs they post of themselves.   Self esteem can take a bashing which is sad because this is superficial.  It is normal for teens to seek validation, but when it is totally based on looks, and not personality and the whole package then this is when we start to see some damage.    Bullying and trolling can come into play here.  Talk to your teen about how they feel when using apps such as Instagram.  If it’s fun and they enjoy it that’s great, but if they are finding themselves being affected by the comments, then it’s a great time to open up the conversation, and if necessary seek professional advice and help to try and minimise damage to self confidence and self esteem.

Yik yak

Many parents I speak with see Yik Yak as a fun posting app, but in actual fact it is fast becoming the most rampant site for bullying, pranking and cruelty.  It has a voting/points system for “awesome yaks” which of course can act as an incentive to try and get the most controversial post.    It allows you to post and search for apps within a particular radius of your location.   This makes it extremely attractive to teens in High School and College.  Again it’s anonymous user ID’s seem to promote the idea that behind a “mask” one can be forget respect for others totally.   Reports of threats of violence, bombings, and sharing of sexual content and “paybacks” are being reported.   Parents this app is also rated 17+.     Principals and teachers are reporting a rise in cyberbullying with this app.

 

Various Gaming Apps:

There are literally hundreds of thousands of apps which involve play, and for the most part you might feel they are simply fun and/or educational.    What we ask parents to consider is purchasing paid versions to eliminate advertising (rather than using free versions which may take players off game to inapprioprate sites, or have inappropriate banner ads) and also to consider apps which are constantly enticing players to upgrade or purchase new features.  For some of our youth this is in fact grooming a new generation of  gamblers.   If your child is highly competitive or has an addictive personality in particular, please have conversations with them about how they are  playing and try and keep it fun.

 

Age ratings:

Just a quick word about age ratings.  These are of course given as  a guideline in regards to use of apps.  It is important that parents consider the individual maturity of their tween/teen when considering whether an app is appropriate and whether perhaps it should be removed.    The issue with age ratings is that there really is nothing to stop anyone uploading an app and just saying “yes I’m old enough”.      We highly recommend adjusting phone settings so that apps of inappropriate rating cannot be downloaded without access to a password (and that the parent should control that password initially until they feel their child has obtained maturity and/or age to hand over their independence).

 

app awareness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information you may like to read our guest post at Happy Parenting on Mobile Apps and the Traps.

 

 

 

 

Please be aware that the information is made available for educational purposes only, and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. You must exercise your own due diligence before implementing any recommendation and/or purchasing any product. Fiona Lucas, Socially Skilled and  iRespectOnline are exempt of any and all responsibility associated with misuse or your own interpretation. Do not delay seeking medical or professional advice. You acknowledge and agree that the above warnings and disclaimers shall apply to all content and that you take responsibility for your own health and wellbeing and that of your children.

*In the interests of transparency we advise that we do receive affiliate commissions from some products.   In regards to the Happy Parenting Conference, a commission is paid for VIP signups as compensation for time invested in participating, promoting and donating items.

see also disclaimers. https://www.irespectonline.com/?p=826

 

 

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Has Meow Chat crept in through your cat flap?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you been indundated with requests to connect on Meow Chat?    Yet another instant messaging service, this one offered through Facebook, on itunes and google play also allows contacts with randoms, so it’s kind of bringing in some of the dating/hook up/meet up aspects of Tinder along with aspects of WhatsApp.   MeowChat claims to already have over 1,000,000 users!

What is disappointing to me is that yet another app is launched onto the market without much need seen for explaining how it works, who its suited for and how to stay safe with it.   The very first thing that has happened for many is that upon downloading the app, people accept the “want to send a request to all your facebook friends” question to “build their network” and instantly they have given the app access to all their friends and the spam begins!

 

 

 

 

 

There are even anti meow chat twitters starting up due to the inundation of people allowing all their contacts to be sent a request!  Perhaps this kind of release just might do more damage than good to the apps reputation(see slightly sanitised version of a twitter search illustrated!).

As with any App its important to look at what the app does, who might be getting access to your information, whose information you are also giving away and any risks to the more vulnerable in our community, particularly our children.

This app in particular has a very cute little kitty cat – so it’s going to have broad appeal especially to the younger children, the very ones we really don’t need on an app that allows random chat.

Here are a few points I would encourage you to consider before downloading.

  1. The App is free – so expect advertising, be wary of  third party links
  2. It has built in location features to allow you to connect with “new people nearby” which is always a risk for younger children although it states it only locates a person within the nearest city of
    100,000 people .
  3. It encourages random one on one chats
  4. The app seeks to find “similar” people to connect you with, based on your likes – this is very risky where children are concerned particularly
  5. It’s rating is 12+  and includes mild/infrequent mild sexual content and nudity  (definition of “mild” will depend on the individual)
  6. It is possible to share pictures, voice messages and video
  7. It does have an extensive privacy policy which should be read which does say that adult content may not be uploaded along with gore or shock images
  8. I could not find a statement relating to what they do with data apart from a rather generic reference to not releasing personal data.
  9. Be aware that when you allow an app to access your friends lists, you are really spamming them with an invite they may not wish to have. Avoid clicking on automatic invites to friends.

I would highly recommend that parents in particular have conversations with their children about the use of such an app and the risk that might arise from “random” meet ups.   Ensuring they do not give away their personal details, full name and location is really important for their safety.   That 13 year old your 12 year old thinks they are talking too might well be an adult lurking.    Other areas to consider relate to linking to other social sites, such as Tumblr.   Tumblr has a lot of content that is not suitable for younger children so it is important to make sure you know which sites your child is linking up to and just what they might be exposed to.  Tweaking your child’s phone settings and turning off location/gps for the app is recommended.

A few sites I found discussing the app said there was already a lot of harrassment towards girls and sexual behaviour associated with the app.

If you don’t want to receive invitations, head over to your facebook page, click on the GAMES tab (under Apps on left hand side), find a meow chat request and click on the X.  You should then see an option to block further requests.  You can do this for any other app you are being sent requests for also.

Have  you already been invited?  Do you think you will use this app?

 

 

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Online superheroes Simple but positive action -: Smile online

As passionate as I am about raising awareness for change in the way we engage online, I had an interesting “comment debate”* on someone’s wall about taking action in the area of online safety and cyberbullying.   As someone who is proactive about change and commited to bringing respect, ethics and higher values into the online environment, I was quite interested in their view that my business, my blogs, workshops and my book did not constitute action in this person’s eyes.    They spoke about joining organisations to volunteer time on help lines etc as being action.

11_Kids_sharing_WEB_2It is so vital that we do man help lines in order to address the suffering of others, and I certainly hope that the information I share and the openness of my blog and facebook pages offers value for those seeking help, along with the events and organisations that I volunteer time to.  In my opinion, my positive action looks beyond helping only those who are already suffering, to include preventing it from happening to others.   Therefore I truly feel that educating others, and changing mindsets is very much an action.   Would you agree?

The debate however had me thinking about ways of trying to bring positivity into the space.  I really hate having to have negative conversations where it feels very ‘doom and gloom’ due to the important issues of safety, because I also feel the online environment can have such a positive effect and be used in ways which are beneficial to others.   Some of these benefits include the availability of information, creation of supportive community, help and support during disasters, bringing together those with shared interests, bringing education within the reach of everyone, helping isolated communities to feel more connected, assisting those with disabilities who might otherwise not engage,  encouraging us to share our hopes, dream and achievements with others as a way of inspiring those around us – the list goes on.     We just don’t highlight the wins enough, but we sure amplify the darker side when it happens.

Some people say to me “I don’t want to share what I had for lunch, or know what you did”, “I dont need people to know where I’ve been or what I did”.. and sure maybe you don’t, but if we go back in time, when communication wasn’t so broad, everyone in the village knew what you had for lunch, what you did, where you had been…. so to me, we have just tried to bring some of the village back, because we have all been wandering around our big lonely cities for quite some time.    Just as some wanted to escape the village back in the day, we have those who want to escape back to a time when each of us had more interest in the other, because there simply was a lot less to occupy our minds.    With so much now filling our heads, a bit of harmless, no-brainer, “I don’t have to analyse this” posting is quite welcome in my world!   Ok some things should stay private – I don’t need to know when you shower or go to the loo  (or what you look like in either of those situations) – but if you really want to share that, I would probably ask you why, but then limit the feed.  After all it’s your wall, not mine and you can share what you like as long as you take responsibility for it.    If you eat out somewhere nice, I am interested – I love eating out and I don’t mind the pics of your food.   If you post graphic images of particular causes, that is up to you, but be sensitive to the ages of those you transact online with.  Respect our youth’s right to grow up without fear in their faces every minute.  Just own what  you post.    Seriously if you don’t like it, don’t judge it, just adjust your settings if it really bugs you.  If its illegal or inappropriate, report the page or post – that’s what I do.

What about though, rather than getting up in arms about people posting pics of the cat, or their outfit, that we choose to view our online experiences with the glass half full?    Embrace the simple joy and pleasure that someone is getting from sharing their new hairdo, the new garden spade or their boutique beer.   Rather than be annoyed, breathe in the simplicity of their joy and happiness.  You don’t have to rush out and get a spade, but hey, if you ever need one you now know which friend can help you!

Naturally there are certain pictures which shouldnt be shared – the ones your grandma would blush at – keep them private. However if you do post about your more intimate thoughts or the melt down you had – recognise that you are reaching out to your community, but also recognise that you must take responsibility for that post – and if you don’t get the response you wanted, either take it down, or learn from it.  If its too personal, don’t post it – try picking up the phone and talking things over  with a close friend.  In the end it is your wall.   Try and be understanding, don’t knock the guy who posts pictures of his new mag wheels when you have just finished posting 300 pictures of baby eating yoghurt – one is his baby the other is yours!

If you only use your social media for business, then stop and realise that platforms like facebook and blogging itself  have grown as social networks and blogging is about sharing opinion, thoughts and events of the day – hundreds and thousands of global diaries being updated every minute.  Logically not all content will resonnate with our own values and opinions, but if you let it wash over you, you might just find that you are learning new things.   We need to keep the social in social media or we go back to square one, and I think many in the world are over the bombardment of advertising everywhere they go.

This post was inspired because I was seeking interaction on how to bring positives, love and fun into the space, to counteract some of the negativity.  I was shocked to find that some people, particularly young people, just don’t know how to give a compliment or praise someone.   It’s not, to coin a phrase “wanky” to tell others positive things – it’s just simply nice!

So how can we take simple postive action?   Well how about joining up with our new global event?   Until the end of June we challenge you to join us and to post a positive comment on someones wall, then share the comment (without the persons name) so that others can see the types of things that people appreciate in others.  #LET’SSMILEONLINE is a really simple way to spread a little love.  I think our kids would be more resilient and able to cope with the odd nasty comment from a bully when (1) they can recognise that the issue is with the person posting, not them (2) they see positives to counteract the negatives.    It’s not rocket science, it’s not even science, it’s just something I would love your support in trying.   Let’s all be online superheroes.  If you see something negative, just remove it, or let us know if it’s on our event and we will remove it.   No need to engage because who wants to waste energy on negativity anyway?

 

fiona lucas

 

*comment debate:  my term for a lengthy thread on facebook

*illustrations from Futureproof your Kids

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So No to Bullying and YES to Reverse Bullying

There have been some lovely stories in the news of late, of students who have set out to make the lives of children who are bullied or just lack confidence so much better.   They are using twitter to help build on their strengths.  High school captain Kevin Curwick anonymously “tweeted” kindness to students who were being bullied, and then came the story of Jerimiah Antony from Iowa who created a “compliment campaign”.   So far they have sent out more than 3,000 compliments to students of West High, Iowa.

Feedback from students at West High is heartwarming and delightful.   They speak of the benefits such as a great sense of community and a real positive vibe at the school.

Jerimiah doesn’t just send out tweets to those who are vulnerable.  According to an article by Nadine Kalinauskas, Jerimiah stated  “We just send compliments to people who we think are feeling bad a certain day or who have done something really good, like winning a state title.  I believe that showing the goodness in people is very integral to our account, because so many people on Twitter and Facebook get cyberbullied because they’re less than perfect.”  (you can read the original article here)

What a lovely gesture!

I was surprised to find that even with such a feel good story, there were some negative comments.  One stated that they were still “hiding behind a screen” – however given that the students know where the compliments are coming from personally I don’t think that holds true.   Another alluded to students being “sissies” ?  Really?  Here you have young students prepared to stand up against bullies and exercise positive action and somehow they are sissies?

Well I think it is wonderful and it inspired me to want to share the love.   So i say YES TO REVERSE BULLYING!  Give someone a compliment and watch them smile.   Make it from the heart, but  something simple.  Perhaps it is something you are thinking, but would normally not say out aloud.   For example a beautifully dressed woman walked past me the other day, a total stranger and she was wearing really stunning shoes.  So I told her how lovely she looked and how beautiful the shoes were.   She looked surprised, but delighted and we both walked off with a smile on our face.    In this day and age we so often here someone say something negative out loud, such as “don’t push in” or  a nasty comment about poor fashion sense, but rarely do we hear someone say the good things out loud.   Don’t just do it in the street, do it on the net!   We can share a positive personal message so easily.

I vote we try spreading some love, so I attach my  “with love” image and hope that you might just share it, and when you do – share a compliment to the person’s whose page you share it on.   Don’t spam people with it please, be genuine, and be respectful.  Make it something your granny would be proud of hearing you say!

Happy reverese bullying!

 

Fiona Lucas

spread some love
share with a compliment – like if you love it!

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Do you know what your teens are going through?

Following a recent discussion with my daughter who is a teacher, I was shocked to find out just how much self harming and talk of suicide is really going in our own backyards. It seems to becoming a daily occurance .   Even in affluent areas where the children don’t want for much, it is obvious they are still wanting for something.    She finds it absolutely heartbreaking – and we are talking about children who are very young, pre teen and early teens.

As parents we try so hard to do the right thing, and in the modern world we,  I feel, tend to sit back and give our children space to try and let them “evolve” without too much interference, but this approach doesn’t seem to be working.   We allow our children access to tools of  information and learning but often give them no guidance.  Neither does an attitude of banning everything such as facebook, mobile phones etc , that just isolates our children and tends to make them more inclined to go further underground and withdrawn.  It is harder still for children who may be from disadvantaged backgrounds and feel keenly the effects of not having what many others have.     So what are we as parents to do?

The continual issues of bullying, both in the school yard and cyberbullying just don’t want to go away.   Our only hope is to keep the conversation going and encourage our children to not be afraid to speak out.   Children need to feel empowered in order to be able to self manage.

Why do some children bully?  Usually it is because of their own issues of either low confidence or self esteem, or even petty jealousies which they are not yet emotionally mature enough to recognise.  There is still a perception among many (and this means adults too) that being tough is somehow cool.  We are all for free speech and saying what we feel, but we must take responsibility for the effects our words have on others.  Other children bully because they themselves are suffering in some way, either from other children or perhaps at home.   Why are some children more susceptible to bullying?  For the same reasons!  Also because  perhaps they are sensitive individuals or because they feel isolated or different.    There are many reasons but we have to try and be more aware of exactly what they are going through and what kinds of information they are looking up to try and help themselves, which may be creating a bigger issue.    We also need to consider that our children are more sexually aware than ever before and many are experimenting sexually at younger and younger ages, and this can have a huge effect on self esteem.  A young girl being bombarded with sexual texts may not be able to understand and become confused.  She may feel flattered and end up participating in something which later turns out to not be a fun experience at all.

As much as I love the ability for us to be able to have the world at our finger tips, unfortunately the darker side of life is also more accessible.   With a few clicks of a mouse or taps on a screen our children can find out all about suicide or look up articles which may not be based on truth or fact about issues they are facing.   Games and movies are increasingly more violent and realistic so that it becomes harder for young minds to determine where fact and fantasy separate, the edges are so blurred.  Our children are already so busy and indundated with information – we need to be their filters to offer them some protection whilst they develop the skills they need.

One of the ways which we can encourage more open discussions is to encourage our schools to hold discussion groups and circles where children can talk with their peers and teachers about current issues and how to deal with them.   As parents we can talk about what we worry about and why we make certain decisions, and have our children actually participate in that decision making.    Starting to be honest about just how horrific suicide is, I think is becoming more important.  It is not an easy alternative, but it is a final one.   We need to give children alternatives for when they feel the need to cause harm to themselves.  Running, punching bags, karate, writing a private (offline) diary can be very therapeutic.   Writing down our deep and darkest thoughts is actually a healthy way of healing.  I do feel that unfortunately the use of video diaries has often perhaps added fuel to the fire, because children may say they feel a certain way and then actually be pressured to act on what should never have been taken literally.  Self harm can be a way of calling for help,” look at me, I’m bleeding”, but they mean inside as well.  They might be feeling confused or stressed.  It may also be a way of punishing themselves for something they have done, or participated in, or had done to them which they feel bad or guilty about.   What we must do is allow them to find the words to express what it is they feel, without filling in the gaps for them, or feeding the words to them.    I also feel we need to address the issue and not just medicate children for depression etc.   We must treat the cause, not just the symptoms.

As parents we have to  be honest – how much pressure do we place on our children to “be the best”, “be winners”, “be a leader” , “get the highest marks” – why?    What we should be trying to produce are well balanced young people who understand the amazing opportunities available to them and embrace life.   If they fail at something, it’s not the end of the world, because they are still on a path to finding just what it is that will set off their own “lightbulb” moments.   We have to try very hard to take our own ego out of the picture, and that is not an easy thing to do.

Social media networks are often blamed for bullying however in my opinion it is NOT the cause of bullying, it becomes a TOOL which may be used to bully – we need to look deeper.  Think of the Wizard of Oz  – behind the screen it was a whole different story.  On the subject of social media networking , this comes back to the misuse of tools which are not being respected.   Time and time again I say to my readers and parents that mobile phones, computers and ipads are TOOLS NOT TOYS and we need to understand how to use them properly.

I am not a psychologist or an expert, these words are purely my own opinion, but I put them out there to encourage further debate.

I was motivated to add to the debate after this conversation and also from reading a recent blog from my dear colleage Mel over at Social Ediquette.  She and I share the same passion to change the online environment to one where respect and tolerance prevail.

You can read Mel’s blog here.

Don’t forget to take the Be Bold, Stop Bullying pledge against bullying – you will find the link on the right of this blog and throughout our website.

For more assistance check out the Australian Government “Keep it Tame” program – a wonderful initiative to bring respect back into the online space.  Find out all about it here.

Fiona Lucas.

iRespectOnline is an Australian Government National Cyber Safety Awareness Partner.  For more information please visit here.

Fiona is available to speak to parent groups, schools and other interested bodies and holds workshops to educate parents in social media use and safety.   She is also available as a keynote speaker.  Just drop us a line either via facebook or our website.  Fiona services the Eastern States but has aligned with Mel at Social Ediquette in Perth to provide even more coverage.    Both Mel and Fiona are passionate about making the online world a safer and happier place.  

http://fionalucas.com.au

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