Being Popular Doesn’t Protect Teens From Bullying

New research from The University of California, Davis and Pennsylvania State University indicates that becoming more popular can actually increase a teen's risk of getting bullied rather than making them immune to attack. Researchers found, using 4200 high school students in North Carolina as subjects, that as kids climb the social rungs, they are more likely to bully and be bullied – or at least until they reach the top. The top 4 percent of the social elite were above the fray, the study found. These students weren't likely to be bullied, nor were they likely to bully others. "They have less incentive to be aggressive because they have nowhere else to climb," Professor Bob Faris wrote. "They have the luxury of being nice to everyone."

Faris also indicated that the important takeaway for parents is that they can’t assume that teenagers who seem relatively well adjusted and have a lot of friends are in the clear.This study is a reminder that it's worth checking in on them even though everything appears to be going along just fine.  Another insight is that the best way to combat bullying, may be to teach kids that social rank doesn't matter, and fighting your way to the top while putting down others isn't worth it, Faris says.

Yik Yak App Digitally Excluded From Schools

When we last covered the Yik Yak social app in this blog , it was creating havoc on high school campuses as an anonymous weapon of chaos and bullying. The app, which uses GPS location data to bring comments to a user's feed from other users nearby, was envisioned as a "virtual bulletin board," or a messaging system that would serve as a blank slate for random thoughts or postings. Unfortunately though, high schoolers did not seem to be able to handle that kind of anonymous power so the creators took some bold steps to intervene.

First, they got an expedited review on the Apple site that allowed them to quickly change the app's age rating to 17+ (parents take note: you can place restrictions on under-17-year-old children's phones that block them from downloading apps based on this rating). Second, they found a company that helped them apply "geo-fences" -- or virtual geographic perimeters – that allowed them to block students from being able to use the app when on or near a school. As of now, 85% of the high schools in the US have been blocked. (If your school hasn’t, you can contact Yik Yak directly and one of its owners will manually input the school's location.) It is an interesting fix – and it will be fascinating to see what it does to Yik Yak, it’s popularity, and what requests schools may make to have other apps similarly disrupted.

Teachers and The Battle Over Social Media

Parents, students, and teachers seem to be in a constant battle about what to do about social media these days. Jim Dillion, Director the Center for Leadership and Bullying Preventation, though, offers an alternative view to consider for those who see the rise of social media as a negative force that replaces human-to-human connection with a virtual one.Instead of viewing social media and technology as a problem that needs fixing in order to re-establish the status quo, he proposes that teachers embrace it as a way to learn something about students, their needs, and how they might be better educated. Parents may also find they have a different view of social media and kids after reading the reflection points he includes in the article. It’s well worth the time.

Is Social Media the Death Knell for High School Dances?

In an opinion piece on the Business Insider site, Caroline Moss outlines how school dances may be the latest victim of social media. Citing high schools in Westchester as an example, she cites dwindling attendance at and outright cancellations of school dances at many suburban schools. So, where are the kids and what are they doing on a Saturday night?  Everyone seems to want to stay home with his or her phone texting, Facebook messaging, or Snapchatting each other, several students interviewed by Moss claim. Her premise for predicting the demise of school dances?  Technology has allowed teenagers to be more independent, with greater access to one another — unsupervised by adults — than the students of decades past ever had – with no more need for the kind of connections made in the school gym. Is that true where you are?

With a Judge Or Without a Judge – So Goes Online Privacy

There is a movement in Congress – both houses – to try to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, passed in 1986, which is the most significant law protecting our digital communications. Of course, a lot has changed since 1986, but it is still the law that controls how the government can get hold of your private communications that are stored in “the cloud” — emails, drafts of documents, calendars, medical records, financial records. Right now, the government says it can obtain this stored information, just because it is stored with a third party, without a warrant, instead of just with a subpoena from a prosecutor alone, without a judge.

Back in 1986, Congress had not anticipated the whole storage element concept. In fact, in 1986, email service providers would delete any email that was more than 30 or 60 days old. Congress saw any email stored for more than 180 days as abandoned. They assumed if the email was really important, you’d print it out and put it in your files. Of course, now each of us has years and years of emails stored online.

So now, the privacy movement is seeking a very simple standard, grounded in the U.S. Constitution. Basically it is: If you want my stuff, get a warrant. This movement definitely bears watching, but bottom line: the truth is that everything you (and your kids) do can be tracked.

The Marauder’s Map Comes to Real Life

So far, social media has been all about connecting with people. But, how about an app that can help you avoid those you don’t want to see or communicate with – much like the Marauder’s Map of Harry Potter fame? Meet Cloak, an app that provides an "antisocial" network that harnesses social data from Instagram, Foursquare, and other networks to help you prevent or eliminate chance encounters with individuals – exes, people from gym class, etc. – you or your kids would rather avoid. Is this the wave of the future?

Yik Yak App Creates Issues on Campuses

Yik Yak, a new smart phone app that allows people to connect through anonymous, location-based posts, is creating havoc on campuses across the country. Aimed at college students, but filtering down to high schools, the app charges users $.99, to share with 1,000 people, 2,500 for $1.99, and 10,000 for $5. But, the cost seems no bar to the anonymous cyberbullying and false accusations flying around on the app. Recently, the spreading of false rumors about possible shooting on campuses in Mobile, AL broadcast on Yik Yak, for example, have led to student arrests.

So far, the company has responded with apologies and two ways to report inappropriate content. One way is to have two people select the comment and click the “report inappropriate” button. The second way is to take a screen shot of the comment and email it to [email protected] for immediate removal. They also claim that they are working on technical solutions to prevent app abuse by high schoolers, but parents need to understand NOW what the app is, what it does, and the kind of damage its anonymous nature breeds, and discuss the consequences of using these kinds of apps with their children. The same goes for Whisper and Secret – two other apps with text comments that self-destruct after they are read – all are great weapons for cyberbullies who love their anonymity. Take a look at this guide to what you need to know about Yik Yak. Remind kids to think before they dis or vent on any app – even when it is supposed to be anonymous – and never rely on any app to keep their secrets forever.

Schools in New Jersey Take Social Media On

Schools in New Jersey are preparing to teach middle school courses on social media -- focusing on making the most of the technology and also on responsible use.  "Kids should never be held back later in life because of their social media use today. It is our job to prepare students for the professional world, one that increasingly takes place online," said Angel Fuentes, the New Jersey assemblyman who sponsored a bill that passed last month, making New Jersey the first state to require the courses. "Strategic social media use can build bridges just as easily as inappropriate social media use can build walls.

Facebook is Challenged Again on Using Teens Pics in Ads

Facebook's use of users' information, especially underage users, in ads is facing a fresh legal challenge from Public Citizen, a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. Public Citizen is contending that a previous privacy settlement didn't go far enough to protect the rights of teenage users. "The default should be that a minor's image should not be used for advertising unless the parent opts in. Putting the burden on the parent to opt the child out gets it exactly backward," Public Citizen lawyer Scott Michelman says. Do you know what your child’s privacy settings are set to?

Whisper and Secret Apps Offer “Confidential” Places to Dish Freely

Whisper and Secret are new social media apps that let users share “anonymously," with text comments self-destructing after they are read. Of course, as so many people have found out the hard way, perhaps we all need to be very careful before we trust any of these apps completely. Snapchat, where users can send pictures which are purported to self destruct 30 seconds after being opened, has been hit with a series of stories questioning its security and privacy, from forensics companies recovering supposedly “deleted” snaps and apps designed to circumvent its protection, to Tumblr blogs of topless Snapchat users and reports of a loophole enabling hackers to access users’ phone numbers. While Whisper and Secret seem to be the “apps du jour,” you need to remind your kids that the very nature of these apps makes them likely to be full of nasty commentary and bullying. The lack of accountability also makes such forums vulnerable to lies.

Bottom line: Remind kids to think before they vent and never rely on any app to keep their secrets forever.