Safer Internet Day stands up against bullies
Safer Internet Day 2014 is Tuesday, Feb. 11. School districts, technology companies, teen anti-bullying activists, and cyber-bullying researchers will make sure families understand one important point 鈥� online safety and wellbeing takes all of us.
In this file photo, Patrons use computers in the Teen'Scape area at the Los Angeles Public Library in Los Angeles, where people go to the library to read, rent movies, play computer games, and surf the Internet.
Damian Dovarganes/AP/FILE
What do a high school student who鈥檚 a bullying prevention activist, two criminology professors, and Safer Internet Day have in common? They鈥檙e all sending the same message that safety and wellbeing online takes all of us.
The high school student
Aidan McDaniel, the student activist, says school safety happens from the ground up, starting with students. Social cruelty both online and offline isn鈥檛 a student problem that administrators and teachers can fix from the top down, he told听.听It鈥檚 鈥渆verybody鈥檚 problem鈥� and the solution doesn鈥檛 happen 鈥渨ithout working with each other.鈥� In a presentation he gave last November at the听, Aidan spoke inspiringly about how he and other students train peers to mentor younger students in bullying prevention.
His father, a social worker for the Morgan County School District, told PNS that it鈥檚 鈥渢he attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of our students more than anything [that] create the climate and culture of any school.鈥� [See also this four-year-old article in Slate: "."]
The professors
Professors Sameer Hinduja and Justin Patchin, who run the听, say that 鈥渆veryone is looking for an answer to the bullying and cyberbullying problem. We know where it can be found: in teens themselves. We鈥檝e met so many who are coming up with creative ideas, and running with them. They are spearheading movements and making a real, measurable difference.鈥� Mr. Patchin and Mr. Hinduja鈥檚 latest book,听,听has dozens of stories of students like Aidan who have worked in their schools to stop online and offline social cruelty in meaningful ways.
The day
Where does Safer Internet Day come in? Because it鈥檚 now celebrated in more than 100 countries and with its theme for this year (鈥淟et鈥檚 create a safer Internet together鈥�) SID is modeling what both activists and researchers have long been saying: that safety and wellbeing on this planet鈥檚 increasingly social, user-driven Internet require 鈥� by definition 鈥� a social, collaborative solution.
This year, the US is more in sync with the global celebration than ever, with two recent developments: a听听signed by former US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes to help make the Internet better for youth, and the appointment by the EC-funded听听of US nonprofit organization ConnectSafely.org to spearhead the US portion of activities.
As ConnectSafely鈥檚 co-director, I can tell you from my own experience how powerful collaboration is. Our first task in joining the global network of听听was to reach out to a broad spectrum of peers in the Internet safety space, youth-serving organizations, and Internet and technology companies to help.
We are particularly grateful to our friends and partners at听听in Chicago,听听in Detroit,听听补苍诲听听in Washington,听,听and听听for their support in bringing nearly two dozen student leaders to our half-day听听on Tuesday.
Teens鈥� perspectives on and practices in and with social media are the focus of our highly interactive event, which will include remarks from featured speaker Sen. Charles Schumer and EC Vice-President Neelie Kroes (via pre-recorded video). There will be two panel discussions, one with a student panel moderated by听听and the other a panel of executives representing some of teens鈥� favorite social media services: Facebook鈥檚 Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, Microsoft鈥檚 Xbox Live, and Google鈥檚 YouTube. The industry panel will be moderated by Aidan McDaniel.
Watch Safer Internet Day panel discussions live on 听辞谤听, starting at 9 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
海角大神 has assembled a diverse group of the best family and parenting bloggers out there. Our contributing and guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor, and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. Anne Collier blogs at听