DigitalShepherds

This is a new thing we’re going to be doing around here from time to time. We’re going to pool all of the most interesting tech literacy and media lit information which comes to us through our various social media outlets and post it right here. Think of this as your feed, at-a-glance, of some of the most important information effecting you and your family on and offline.

Teen Launches Anti-Bullying Program via CBS Local (Click the links for the full stories)

WANTAGE, N.J. (AP) – Ashley Craig recalls a turning point in her life. As an eighth-grade student at Sussex Middle School, a classmate and close companion sat her down at a desk.
He said, “I’m going to end it.”
She laughed it off at first, unaware of what he meant.
So he clarified, “I don’t have any friends. People make fun of me. I’m going to end my life.” The gravity of his words pushed Craig back into her seat. Although she was sworn to secrecy, she immediately told a guidance counselor of the boy’s declaration.
The boy refused to talk to Craig for the first few days, but after he received therapy, he approached her once more. He said, “You saved my life.”
A victim of relentless taunting and cruelty herself, Craig, now 14, of Wantage, has taken a stand against bullying.
“If I had the capability to save one life, I have the capability of saving many,” Craig said. After dedicating eight months to research, and preparation, Craig recently presented a moving anti-bullying campaign to the High Point Board of Education.
“It hit me hard because I would never want to see anyone go through that because I know what it feels like to be bullied,” Craig said.
“It was my bullying experience, my friends and overall, just seeing the enormity of the issue (that motivated me),” she said. “It’s (bullying) being called an epidemic now.” After hearing Craig’s poignant speech and detailed proposal to reduce bullying activity, the school board unanimously approved her initiative, “Students Against Being Bullied” as a student group.
Craig, with appreciated assistance of Vice Principal Jon Tallamay, freshman guidance counselor Lisa Frisbie and Principal Gregory Youngman, will now work toward implementing her three-tiered plan.
Students Against Being Bullied will incorporate two designated texting systems: The first will be a report line, where administrative heads will be alerted of inappropriate behavior by victims or bystanders. The students’ names will remain confidential unless the situation is life-threatening.

Parenting Alert: Dangerous Websites for Teen Girls via Michele Borba | This post contains content I’ve written about here at Digital Shepherds on more than one occasion, the sexualizing of our daughters and their self-image.

Parenting alert: Websites tailored to young girls that encourage negative self-image, eating disorders and cold-blooded cruelty
Research is showing a clear and troubling trend in the mental health of our daughters. Eating disorders, stress, depression, smoking, binge drinking, a peer creulty are steadily rising. Though the internet is certainly not the prime cause, it can contribute to the formation of our children’s attitudes and behaviors. It’s why every parent must stay educated and monitor their children’s online presence. Here is my pick of three troubling websites that have absolutely no redeeming value to children’s well-being and character and may contribute to those troubling trends. They’re my nominees for the “Internet Hall of Shame.”

The Problem With Sexting Legislation via Anne Collier

The good news about proposed legislation in New Jersey is that “teens caught texting or posting sexually explicit photos online could avoid prosecution under a measure that would give first-time offenders the chance to complete a diversionary program,” as reported in the Washington Post. The bad news is that the law is focused on the person doing the sending – and that lawmakers don’t seem to understand the fluidity and diversity of motives behind sexting. Sometimes it’s a consensual, though unthinking, situation that can go very wrong. But too often teens who send sext messages are persuaded by someone else to send photos of themselves. And in some of those cases, those labeled “sextortion,” there’s criminal intent. “With ’sextortion’ you have a conscious effort by someone to purposely try to intimidate someone for personal gain,” Det. Frank Dannahey in Connecticut told me in an email, in which case the receiver of the photos is threatening to distribute them if the sender doesn’t do what he or she says.

“A 14-year-old girl in Iowa convinced an 18-year-old boy to send her an image of his private part. He did. Her mother found it. He is now a registered sex offender – a life absolutely destroyed…

This is definitely recommended reading! Great information from some of the best resources on the web.