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Insafe Newsletter
Issue 30: December 2007, social networking |
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Welcome to the Insafe Newsletter!
Social networking is a fairly recent phenomenon which, according to the recent ofcom survey in the United Kingdom, is experiencing an enormous success - 39% of British adults have logged on to sites such as Facebook or MySpace. This aspect of internet use is having a profound effect on who the users are. In the UK and the US where social networking has the most progressed, so is the proportion of women users (50-50 in the UK and 52% in the US).
This month, as we focus on this aspect of online life, we share experiences from different parts of the network of Insafe nodes. We have some sobering thoughts from the Netherlands where most youngsters are happy to tell all about their real selves to the world whilst Malene Charlotte Larsen's study points to the relationship between the real and virtual worlds as seen from Denmark. We also hope that the Safer Internet Day competition will turn up fresh views of online life with its theme: Life online is what YOU make of IT. Outside the social whirlwind, we ask: is the search engine industry getting its act together? We report on the newly released Automated Content Access Protocol and Ask.com's privacy tool.
Read our FAQ on Social Networking
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 Social networking sites in the Netherlands join forces in protecting the privacy of teenagers
Most Dutch teenagers don’t mind that people can see the personal information they put online via social networking sites. To make teenagers more aware of the possible risks and to protect their online privacy more effectively popular social networking sites in the Netherlands will join forces next year to produce guidelines. Read more
It’s all about real life: On youth and online social networking
Why do youth use social networking sites? The answer is simple – because of their friends. A new study shows that young Danish users of social networking sites generally spend a lot of time on their favourite sites. And they do so in order to stay in touch with their IRL friends.
Read more
New Swedish report about adolescents and networking cultures
Adolescents and Networking Cultures (Unga och nätverkskulturer) is a report about adolescents’ lives online that the Swedish government agency National Board for Youth Affairs recently launched. Among many things, the report stated that gamers drink less alcohol and aren’t as stressed as their peers - results that made it to the newspaper headlines in Sweden.
Read more
 PEGI in the Czech Parliament
The Czech Safer Internet Combined Node took its first very serious step at the top political level of the Czech Republic. The 6th of December 2007 became the day when serious discussions concerning the protection of consumers in the field of interactive games started.
Read more
 Automated Content Access Protocol:
keeping your copy right
The first version of ACAP has now become available. This tool, available by subscription from the-acap.org has been designed by publishers to ensure that content made available by search engines and other redistributors complies with copyright laws.
Read more
AskEraser - keeping your investigations private 
Aware the leader in search engine providers Google has been shown to keep search data on its servers, Ask.com has introduced a new feature to its search sites, the AskEraser. Read more
Market Place – an exhibition of nodes’ resources
On the 6th and 7th December 2007, representatives of the Insafe network attended the Insafe plus Annual Stakeholders Meeting that took place in Brussels in the context of the Eminent Conference organised by European Schoolnet. On the second day of the meeting, nodes were invited to exhibit resources developed in their awareness-raising campaigns and present them to fellow colleagues of the Insafe network.
Read more
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Life online is what you make of it
Insafe, the European network of internet safety awareness nodes, invites young people to express their ideas about the facts of online life.
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A competition launched in October 2007 encourages groups of young people between the ages of 5-19 to tell all about their lives online and compete for attractive prizes. Contestants in 3 age groups, 5-10 years, 11-14 years, and 15-19 years will mark Safer Internet Day 2008 with their fresh insider views on Information and Communication technologies. Read more
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Gambling and minors of age: recent developments
Minors of age (and adults) who want to gamble online can choose from a constantly growing offer. The increasing popularity of poker, especially, among young people gives us great cause for concern. The internet hosts more and more (illegal) gambling sites. Gambling via mobile phones is also increasing. This is an international phenomenon. Participation in lotteries via mobile phones is a booming market. Read more 
Gambling and minors of age: advice for educators
Educators must have a general knowledge of the new developments and traps in this field: gambling, the various possibilities to play for money (offline, online, on television, via texting, ...), e-commerce, e-privacy as well (for instance the discussion about the age control), consumer abuse and consumption (the new developments in the field of means of payment among others), addiction to the internet ... and of the possible interface between these different aspects of the internet safety theme. Read more
Flemish Online Safety campaign
Most Flemish educational establishments have finally realised that using high-quality security software is a very risky business. Educational establishments have learned from their own experiences with computer viruses, which can destroy a month's work in a trice. Read more
BENX
The Belgian international award winning movie BenX is promoted by the Ministry of education to raise awareness about cyberbullying.
BenX tells the story of Ben, a 17 year old with autism spectrum disease. Ben is different. His life is a universe to itself, where he plays his favourite online computer game Archlord avidly, trying hard to train himself for the real world he lives in.
Read more
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Insafe is a European network of 25 nodes in 24 countries that are dedicated to raising awareness of internet safety. It is coordinated by the European Schoolnet and supported by the European Commission through the Safer Internet Programme.
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