What is Chatroulette, and why should you care?

A new website called 'Chatroulette' is fast becoming popular amongst teenagers and young adults.

The site is based on a simple concept, and the name is a big clue.

It works literally like roulette.  The user connects their webcam, logs on, starts a "game" and is instantly connected to another person.  The site displays the image from their webcam, the image from your own webcam, and a "chat" room on the right-hand side.  The person you are connected to could be anybody, of any age or any sex, from anywhere in the world.  

US Study: Young people want increased privacy

A US study by researchers at UC Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania suggests that, contrary to popular opinion, young adults are concerned about online privacy and have similar views about social networking to those of their elders.

Man jailed for grooming girl, 12, online

A 37-year-old man has been jailed for two years for grooming a 12-year-old girl online.

Timothy Fullard used the alias 'Dom' to contact the girl at her home using an (unnamed) internet messaging system, and later by text message.  Prosecutors described the conversation between the girl and Fullard as 'particularly intimate'.

Facebook branded 'arrogant' and 'complacent' towards paedophile threat

A child-protection expert has branded Facebook 'arrogant' and 'complacent' despite an in increase in reports of paedophile activity on the site.  

12 Year Old Spends £900 on 'FarmVille' Facebook Game

A 12-year-old boy has spend £625 on his mother's credit card and £288 of his own savings on virtual property in the popular Facebook game FarmVille.

FarmVille is one of the most popular games on Facebook and revolves around managing a virtual farm by cultivating virtual crops, trees and livestock.

Safety Tips for Google Buzz

Google's fledgling Social Networking effort, Google Buzz, launched in February 2010 and immediately caused a storm of controversy over its privacy and safety implications.  

Bloggers and tech writers worried about the 'opt-out' nature of the service (which meant that all Google Mail users were instantly members, whether they liked it or not), the lack of control over personal information such as photographs and friend lists, and the geolocation features (which made it possible to disclose your exact location from your mobile phone).  

Poll: Who should be responsible for your child's online safety?

Today we're looking for your opinions on the following issue...

With Government increasingly looking to use legislation to control the threat to our children, schools gearing up to teach online safety, Internet Service Providers coming under increasing pressure to take action, and Social Networking sites in the spotlight, we're asking...

Who should be responsible for your child's online safety?

Bebo, MySpace or Facebook used by a quarter of UK 8-12 year olds

According to a recent survey by UK regulator OFCOM, a quarter (25%) of UK internet users aged between eight and twelve years old have profiles on social networking sites Bebo, Facebook or MySpace. 

This is despite the fact that the lowest minimum age requirement on any of the sites is 13.

A Mother Warns: "Be aware of the online dangers that children face."

The mother of a young girl abused by a teacher over MSN Messenger warned parents:

"Be aware of the online dangers that children face." 

The stark warning came as Ian Goy, of Thornton Clevelys, Lancashire, was jailed for 26 weeks for 'inciting an under-age girl to engage in sexual activitity, whilst in a position of trust'.  Goy had denied the charge but was found guilty by a jury in less than 3 hours.

Are Your Children Hacking... Your Email Account?

 

In a survey of 1000 children, released by Cumbria Constabulary and reported by CNN, more than a quarter (26%) said that they had tried ‘hacking’ (breaking into another person’s account on a computer) at some point.

Predators on Facebook: Should you be worried?

 

In the wake of the shocking rape and murder of teenager Ashleigh Hall, who was ‘groomed’ by predatory paedophile Peter Chapman on Facebook, the British press have been quick to point the finger of blame at Facebook.

In an unbelievably sensationalist article on the Daily Mail website, Mark Williams-Thomas, a ‘vastly experienced’ consultant in child protection and a former police detective, paints a terrifying picture of hundreds of men waiting to groom and abuse young women online.  Mr Williams-Thomas set up a profile purporting to be a 14-year old girl and, apparently, simply waited for the indecent proposals to flood in.

Facebook Campaigns Place Children ‘At Risk’

An outbreak of Facebook Campaigns created to ‘out’ promiscuous women on Facebook are putting children at risk, according to a report in today’s Metro newspaper.

Today is Safer Internet Day - Think B4 U Post!

Today, 9th February 2009, is Safer Internet Day 2010.  The worldwide initiative is organised each year to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology, particularly amongst children throughout the world. 

The message which Safer Internet Day is promoting this year is Think B4 U Post!

Click Read More for more information, and to view a video about this year’s Safer Internet Day message.

‘1 in 4’ Children sent Pornography by E-Mail

According to research carried out by telephone provider TalkTalk and reported in the Telegraph today, one in four children have been sent inappropriate material, including pornography, by email.

Boys that watch porn online ‘more likely to harass girls’

According to a study by Australian researchers, boys who are exposed to pornography at a young age are more inclined to believe there is nothing wrong with harassing a girl for sex.

The study by the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (which collected data from 8 countries) also suggests that boys exposed to porn are more likely to indulge in casual sex – and less likely to form successful relationships as adults.

 

US Children Spend “11 Hours a Day” on Entertainment Media

According to a new study from US organisation The Kaiser Family Foundation, reported on cnet, there has been a ‘dramatic’ rise in the amount of time 8-18 year olds spend using ‘entertainment media’ each day. 

Six-year-olds Illegally Download US TV Shows

According to a survey commissioned by New Media Age Magazine, children as young as six are using the internet to illegally download or stream US TV shows before they are aired in the UK.

Popular US TV shows such as Glee, Heroes, Lost, House and The Simpsons can easily be downloaded shortly after they air in the US.  It is often several weeks before the same episodes air on UK TV channels.

Parents - Is Your Child a “Space Monkey” ?

Sky News reports today on a frightening new trend amongst children and young people in the UK. 
The craze, nicknamed ‘Space Monkey’ and originating in the US and France, involves young people strangling themselves (or their friends) in order to achieve a ‘high’ when the stranglehold is released. 

Social networking ‘campaigns’ – a force for good or evil?

The Lighter Side

Most UK readers will be aware of the runaway success of a Facebook campaign to deprive Joe McElderry, this year’s winner of TV talent contest The X Factor, of their seemingly-compulsory Christmas Number 1.  For the last five years the winner of the X Factor has been guaranteed the top position in the chart at Christmastime. 

The Facebook campaign encourages people to buy the 1992 protest song ‘Killing In The Name’ by Rage Against The Machine instead of Joe’s single as a form of protest against the glossy, slick talent show and it’s musical output.  Donations, and profits from the sale of Rage Against The Machine’s single, are being donated to charities.

As of the Midweek chart, Rage Against The Machine are leading McElderry by several hundred thousand sales, and the campaign seems to be a runaway success.

This is just one example of the ‘people power’ of social networking sites, where a spontaneous movement can turn into an organised campaign in hours, and give a voice to thousands of people.

The ‘Rage Against The Machine’ Facebook campaign is clearly relatively light-hearted, but ‘people power’ on social network sites can have a much darker side…

Social Networking sites to launch "Panic Button"

A report in today's Telegraph suggests that an end is nigh to the ongoing disagreement between Internet Safety organisations and Social Networking sites on the use of so-called "Panic Buttons". 

Earlier this month, the social networking site Bebo agreed to place a "Panic Button" on it's website.  The button, created in association with the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), allows children to quickly and easily report offensive, obscene and other inappropriate material.  At the time, other (larger) social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace refused to adopt the scheme, claiming that they had sufficient mechanisms in place to protect their young users in the first instance.