Digital Citizenship

Tim Berners-Lee, who is largely thought of as the creator of the Internet, thinks the World Wide Web needs a bit of a rethink to cut down on spying, cyberbullying and the general nastiness often associated with life online. "How come nasty, mean ideas, seem to have traveled more prevalently than constructive ideas on Twitter sometimes? Is that the way it has been designed? Could Twitter be tweaked?" he asks. He also questions why even though the web gives school children from India, China and Syria the ability to interact with each other, people are broadly parochial, choosing to communicate only with others like themselves.

Are your children interested in computer coding? Is there talk about adding a programming course to the curriculum at your children’s school? A recent article in The New York Times takes up the topic of “Learning to Think Like a Computer” and reveals some of thinking behind what educators see as the advantages of everyone knowing more about how the digital world works.

According to a study by CBT Nuggets, those who call themselves tech-saavy and who have high levels of education are more likely to be victims of identity theft. "Knowing about cybersecurity, understanding the risks, yet thinking that your tech smarts are enough is a recipe for a security disaster," writes Sue Marquette Poremba in a blog post. It turns out that people, including kids, do not use what they have learned about staying safe online for reasons cited as being too lazy, not wanting to be inconvenienced, or just not caring.

An agreement between Amazon and the Federal Trade Commission has set the stage for $70 million to be refunded to parents and other adults whose minor children made in-app purchases without the knowledge of the parents. These affected Amazon customers will receive the funds back by direct deposit to their debit or credit card, or via paper checks.

Do you have a new neighbor or do you have neighbors that you really don’t know? Whether you are concerned about the safety of your children, or just a little nosy, there are many safe and legal ways to do your own research. Take a look at Kim Komando’s USA Today column entitled 3 ways to check on your neighbors online for a variety of simple methods to find public information, no private eye required. While you are checking, you may be curious to search yourself and see what your neighbors can find out about you!

One of Facebook's new tools, Town Hall, allows you to find out who your local, state, and federal representatives are. You can get to it by visiting facebook.com/townhall, or on a desktop, you will find it under the "Explore" section of your News Feed , and on mobile devices you will find it in the menu of the Facebook app. You will need to submit your address — which Facebook says it will use only for civic engagement tools, not for advertising purposes — to get full information on your representatives. From there, you can contact your elected representatives directly with a single click, by calling the first number listed on the official's Facebook page (if you're on the social network's mobile app), or by sending an email or a Facebook message. The ability to contact to your political representatives will also be integrated into the News Feed, according to Facebook. When you like or comment on a post that has been published by an elected official you follow, you will also be given the option to contact that representative directly.

Ever wonder about the underlying motivation of a site – satire, conspiracy, rumor mill, fake news – but do not know where to check your suspicions? Take a look at this Google Doc entitled False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and Satirical “News” Sources from Melissa Zimdars, an Assistant Professor of Communication & Media at Merrimack College, for a tremendous alphabetical list of suspect sites and the clones of some reputable sites that are trying to disguise themselves as legitimate. It is a good place to start for checking out any gut feelings you have about a site that you or your children have found.

Curious about why everyone around you (perhaps including you) is seemingly addicted to technology? A new book entitled Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked may be able to give you some insights, including how tech companies are devoted to keeping the addiction alive, and how we need to address the issue before it literally consumes us. Many are calling this book a must read for parents in the Digital Age.

Goggle Maps recently included a location sharing feature as an update to the Google Maps app for your phone and personal computer. While this kind of location sharing is already available on other apps, privacy experts are worried about adding this feature to one of the world’s most popular apps when so many are concerned about digital safety and privacy. When location sharing is turned on, your teen can be tracked when out with friends, and if you are not careful to limit access to only friends and family, burglars can even find out when you are out of the house for the day. On a more positive note, the app can be set up to let someone know where you are, or that you’ve arrived to your location safely, but then the tracking will turn off when you arrive. Google will also send you emails to remind you have the feature on if you forget to turn it off. Take a look at this article for help with turning the location sharing on and off and for more information about the feature.

Google is attempting to quell a growing furor by the British government and major brands in both the U.K and the U.S., who are angered by the placement of their online ads alongside offensive or extremist content — such as videos by white supremacists or the Islamic State. Recently Google said they would pull online ads from controversial content, give brands more control over where their ads appear, and deploy more people to enforce its ad policies.

 "Brand safety" has emerged as possibly the biggest issue facing the advertising industry. For large marketers, even one ad placed next to extremist content can cause harm to a brand. As a result, AT&T, Verizon, Johnson & Johnson, Apple and other major U.S. advertisers are pulling hundreds of millions of dollars in business from Google and its video service YouTube until Google can fix the issue.