As "Fortnite" Blows Up, Parents Need to Up Their Game

A new survey confirms what most parents already know: Kids are going crazy for "Fortnite." Here are some practical tips to manage it. By Sierra Filucci 12/5/2018

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/as-fortnite-blows-up-parents-need-to-up-their-game%20

School counselors: Overuse of word 'bullying' problematic

Source: https://www.woodtv.com/news/kent-county/school-counselors-overuse-of-word-bullying-problematic/1569729905

Sexual harassment goes high tech with iPhone's AirDrop

Without the proper settings, iPhone users can receive lewd and threatening messages from strangers, which can be triggering for survivors of sexual assault.

By Avichai Scher

Abigail Mentzer was riding the New York City subway to a doctor’s appointment when she says an AirDrop request popped up on her iPhone. A preview image of the file showed a CD with the handwritten message, “Songs I’ll choke you out to while wrecking your uterus.”

Feeling disgusted and threatened, she looked around the train car, wondering who had sent it. Then, three more messages came through, including images of a woman’s bare behind and more offensive language.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/sexual-health/sexual-harassment-goes-high-tech-iphone-s-airdrop-n932326?cid=eml_nbn_20181125

The Skinny on Screen Time: Common Sense Over Research (at least for now)

There has long been a fervent debate about the potential impacts of screen time on youth. When our son was born in 2010, the American Academy of Pediatricians recommended no screen time for children under the age of two. The guidelines have softened a bit in recent years, but the group still generally promotes less rather than more time in front of screens for toddlers and young children.

Read more: https://cyberbullying.org/the-skinny-on-screen-time

Parents' Ultimate Guide to Fortnite

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-fortnite via @commonsense

Facebook's Parents Portal

Cyberbullying Research Center Newsletter (September 2018)

Cyberbullying Research Center Back to School - September 2018 Welcome to the Cyberbullying Research Center email newsletter! It's that time of the year again: Back to school! We're here to help you make it a great year. Below is an overview of what we've been up to over the last several months. We look forward to working alongside you in the new academic year and don't hesitate to reach out if we can be of assistance.   - Justin Patchin and Sameer Hinduja Where We've Been Recently It's been a busy travel season for us at the Cyberbullying Research Center. We continue to speak all around the world on these issues that we are so passionate about. Here are some examples of recent international trips: •    Amman, Jordan. Justin did a series of presentations for the US State Department and US Embassy in Jordan. •    Bergen, Norway. Sameer presented a keynote address at a conference for youth-serving organizations. •    Bogota, Columbia. Sameer spoke at the "Women Working for the World" Conference. And next month: •    Auckland, New Zealand. Justin will speak at the "Online Safety on the Edge" conference co-sponsored by New Zealand's Netsafe and Australia's Office of the eSafety Commissioner. (more info) In addition to these, we visited dozens of schools in 2017-2018 to talk with tens of thousands of students, educators, and parents about using technology with integrity. To see if we will be speaking near you sometime soon, or to bring us to your community, click here. New and Updated Resources We recently updated many of our popular (and free!) fact sheets and resources. Check them out on our site under "Resources." We also wrote a brand new Top Ten list for teens called "Standing up to Cyberbullying: Top Ten Tips for Teens" with the goal of helping youth become upstanders when confronted with cyberbullying. You can download it here. New Academic Papers We recently published a few academic papers that you may be interested in: Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2018). Connecting Adolescent Suicide to the Severity of Bullying and Cyberbullying. Online First in the Journal of School Violence. (more info)        Patchin, J. W. & Hinduja, S. (2018). Deterring teen bullying: Assessing the impact of perceived punishment from police, schools, and parents. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 16(2), 190-207. (more info)      Patchin, J. W. & Hinduja, S. (2017). Digital self-harm among adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61, 761-766. (more info)      Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2017). Cultivating youth resilience to prevent bullying and cyberbullying victimization. Child Abuse & Neglect, 73, 51-62. (more info) If you have trouble accessing any of these on the journal websites, no problem. Just shoot us an email (research@cyberbullying.org) and we'll send you a copy. Student Experiences with Reporting Cyberbullying Most students who are bullied do not report their experiences to adults. This was true 30 years ago when I endured middle school and our research shows it largely continues to this day. I remember being surprised (though maybe I shouldn’t have been) to learn from our first pilot study undertaken 15 years ago that fewer than 15% of those who had been cyberbullied told an adult about it (10% informed a parent while 5% reported it to the school). This made me realize right away that there was a story that needed to be told. And that we needed to do something to improve reporting. Read more on our blog. Empower and Educate, Don’t Just Create Panic Last weekend a Facebook post by the Polk County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office went viral. As of this writing (less than a week later), the post had been shared more than 58,000 times (including by three of my personal Facebook friends, which is how I came to notice it). This wasn’t a post asking for the public’s help in locating a wanted fugitive or advising residents of the latest online phishing scam. Instead, it was a rant about youth and social media. The message, while well-meaning, was misinformed and misguided. Read more on our blog. Most Teenagers Aren’t Asking for Nude Photos A recent New York Times headline caught my attention: “Teenagers, Stop Asking for Nude Photos.” Sage advice, I must admit, but I wondered where this was coming from. In the article, Psychologist Lisa Damour argues that we have long been warning children about the dangers (reputational and potential legal consequences) of sending sexually explicit images, but have largely failed to impress upon them the inappropriateness of asking for such images. “Most schools and many parents already tell teenagers not to send sexualized selfies,” she writes. “But why don’t we also tell adolescents to stop asking for nude photos from one another?” Read more on our blog. Resource of the Month "Teen Sexting: A Brief Guide for Educators and Parents" Newly updated! This research summary reviews what is currently known about teen sexting. Research from across the United States is discussed, along with practical solutions for parents, educators, and other adults to prevent and respond to teen sexting. Download this free resource here. Findings From our Recent Survey We surveyed 5,700 middle and high school students (12-17 year-olds) across the United States in August-October of 2016. Here are a few new quick facts from this study: •    40% said they had a boyfriend/ girlfriend or romantic partner in the last year •    11% said they had engaged in sexual intercourse •    14% reported that they had been the target of dating violence •    11% reported that they had been the target of online dating violence •    10% admitted to participating in dating violence against their partner •    7% said that it occurred using technology We are currently working on an academic paper that will examine digital teen dating violence in more detail. Follow #CRCdata on Twitter for the latest updates! Check out our books! Bullying Today: Bullet Points and Best Practices (more info) Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying (more info) Words Wound: Delete Cyberbullying and Make Kindness Go Viral (more info) School Climate 2.0: Preventing Cyberbullying and Sexting One Classroom at a Time (more info) Cyberbullying Prevention and Response: Expert Perspectives (more info) Copyright © 2018 Cyberbullying Research Center, All rights reserved.