Online Bullying

  1. PocketGuardian: New App to Help Parents Detect Sexting and Cyberbullying

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    As a clinician who is very interested in prevention, I always have my eye out for new strategies or ways to help parents be aware of what their children are doing online and on their smartphones. We all see enough news stories to know that, though not all children are sexting, a large enough number of kids are sexting, bullying and being bullied that we all need to be aware. This morning I heard about a new app developed by two dads from Maryland who both happen to be software developers. According to an interview on CBS DC, the dad's were inspired to create this app after hearing about and di…Read More

  2. UPDATE: After School App

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      According to the Techcrunch blog (http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/11/after-school-app-again-pulled-by-apple-after-more-school-shooting-threats/) the controversial app, After School was taken off of the app store sometime yesterday. It is unknown at this time if the app will return to the marketplace. This second removal comes after yet another round of issues including several youth using the app to make anonymous threats of violence and shooting. Earlier this week it was reported that a student was arrested in Detroit based on threats. What is becoming more clear is that teens (as well a…Read More

  3. New Anonymous App: After School Cyberbullying Concern

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      I have not written about new apps for teens lately, as there have not been any new apps that have come to my attention that warrant too much concern. Today, via the blog techcrunch.com, I learned about the new anonymous social networking app targeted at teens called After School. Unlike its predecessor, Yik Yak, whose target audience was college students, the target audience for the After School app is teens. Therefore, it does not carry a rating of 17+. This makes it accessible to any school age adolescent, be it high school, middle school or grade school. Since the launch of the app i…Read More

  4. Yik Yak: Anonymous Gossip or Cyberbullying Haven?

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    This spring, the app, Yik Yak began to receive a large amount of attention in the news, none of it positive.  School officials from Chicago to Georgia have worked to try to ban the app due to its use as a means to cyberbully students.  So what is Yik Yak?  It is a social media app that allows a user to post anonymous messages online. It is an app that utilizes geolocation as users can see comments by those within a five mile radius of them.   It was initially designed for use by college students to spread the word about what was happening on college campuses.  Technically, no one under t…Read More