He Was Suicidal and Needed Help. Online Predators Pushed Him to Take His Life on Camera. The Washington Post, December 10, 2024 The death of a Minnesota man offers a case study into how a sadistic online group has used the messaging app Discord to find and torment vulnerable people. Samuel Hervey, a 25-year-old in […]
A 14-Year-Old Boy Took His Own Life to Get Closer to a Chatbot. He Thought They Were in Love. The Wall Street Journal, November 8, 2024 Sewell Setzer III, a 14-year-old boy in Orlando, Fla., was smitten with a fantasy woman. The object of his attachment was Daenerys Targaryen, a chatbot seducer named for a […]
TikTok Sued By 13 States And DC, Accused of Harming Younger Users Reuters, October 8, 2024 TikTok faces new lawsuits filed by 13 U.S. states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday, accusing the popular social media platform of harming and failing to protect young people. The lawsuits filed separately in New York, California, the […]
Smartphones In Schools New York Times, September 6, 2024 Teachers are supposed to educate children, many of whom have still not caught up from Covid learning loss, while in a battle for attention with fantastically entertaining computers. A growing body of academic research suggests it isn’t going well. But school officials and policymakers have begun […]
Catholic Schools Ahead of the Curve When It Comes to Curbing Cellphones Matthew McDonald Always connected? The latest technology? Easy access to the web? Cellphones everywhere? St. Alphonsus Parish School in Seattle has none of that. And it doesn’t want it. “When I tell prospective parents we’re tech-minimal, people light up about that,” said Nick Padrnos, […]
5 Charged with Laundering Money for Sextortion Scheme That Led to Michigan Teen’s Suicide Channel 4 News, August 2, 2024 17-year-old Jordan DeMay died from suicide after being blackmailed online. DeMay, 17, was a student at Marquette High School when Nigerian men contacted him on Instagram, pretending to be a girl. They convinced DeMay to […]
Students Target Teachers in Group TikTok Attack, Shaking Their School The New York Times, July 6, 2024 Seventh and eighth graders in Malvern, Pa., impersonating their teachers posted disparaging, lewd, racist, and homophobic videos in the first known mass attack of its kind in the U.S. A spokesperson for the Great Valley School District confirmed […]
The Washington Times – Tuesday, July 16, 2024, by Sean Salai Worried parents have been keen to send their children to school with cellphones ever since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and mass shootings ushered in the new millennium. Now, public officials complain that students are using smartphones more for cyberbullying, video games and pornography […]
Liz was recently featured on the Safety Is Sexy podcast discussing how to help young people get safe and savvy online. “Thanks for the opportunity to express our thoughts on ‘Sexy Online Safety” 😊 (Don’t worry – the podcast is rated G!)”, says Liz. Listen and learn all about a myriad of topics from what […]
Worried About Your Tween’s Screen Time? Check Your Own, New Study Says. The Washington Post, June 17, 2024 For families who want to keep their tween children from spending too much time in front of screens, a new study offers illuminating advice: Parents, you’ll need to put your phones down first. The study, published this […]