Sonia Livingstone
@Livingstone_S
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LSE prof @MediaLSE | Children's digital experiences and rights | evidence to inform policy | [email protected] | Stay in touch at https://t.co/ACGUuLLk06
London UK
Joined August 2012
✨ Proud to have just launched our new book, The Platformization of the Family - edited by #OlaErstad #JulianSeftonGreen #KateMannell. 📖 Read all about it here:. 📔The book ⌛️The blog
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This sentence has five words. Nice. From the writer's writer.
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Really? The biggest obstacles to kids achieving at school are the drill-and-skill curriculum, overstretched teachers, underresourced schools, an education system obsessed with rankings and targets, parents facing economic insecurity and politicians who prioritise short term gain
The biggest obstacle to kids achieving at school is that smartphone. Like all diseases, it hits the poor first & hardest. I make the case here:
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The Board of Trustees of the Academia Europaea announce the award of an ERASMUS MEDAL to Sonia Livingstone, Professor of Social Psychology at the London School of Economics. The Medal will be presented at the @acad_euro 31st annual meeting in Barcelona, Oct 23-24, 2019
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"Free speech does not mean free reach. There is no right to algorithmic amplification." . "The conversation . [is being] twisted by politicians and pundits howling about censorship and miscasting content moderation as the demise of free speech online".
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My @TEDTalks on #Parenting for a #Digital #Future is published! . @Livingstone_S urges we forget #screentime panics and advocates that the key lies in embracing technology alongside children - and she lays out a practical roadmap for how to get there.
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Parenting for a Digital Future - finally out in the UK!. Read all about it: Register for the launch at LSE on 24th Sept:
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Attending the launch of @5RightsFound Child Online Safety Toolkit #SafeOnline with some very fancy speakers!.
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I love this. Dear parents, please ask these questions about the internet too - who are the people you feel safe with online; is there anything online you want to talk about; when was the last time you were happy online, etc etc.
We asked young people what questions they wish their parents had asked them. This is what they said.
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So sad to hear that Jay Blumler has died. 34 years ago he examined my PhD. 26 years ago he changed my career by encouraging research on children. Then and since he mentored me, sang at my book launches, told me the truth when I needed it, and pushed me to be the best I could be.
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"Critical digital literacy is not only about evaluating online content but also understanding the internet’s production and consumption processes, its democratising potential and its structural constraints." 10 key readings . via @LSEmediapolicy.
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The panic about screen time is distracting people from asking thoughtful questions about what would we like our kids to do online. Let's switch the conversation away from hours of screen time and focus on the kinds of activities and how it makes us feel.
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For information sharing, Twitter is particularly important in the social sciences and humanities. Tweeting academic articles disseminates scholarly information to the public. Twitter has changed the way that scientific knowledge can be read and spread.
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Excited to be launching our #childprivacyonline toolkit for children @MediaLSE @LSEmediapolicy based on our research for @ICOnews @LSEnews . Check it out at
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Children’s rights apply in the digital world! Read on for what this means, and why it's important for #ChildRights #DigitalEnvironment #UNCRC . @5RightsFound @LSEnews @MediaLSE @amandaj3rd @digitalechancen .
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Stop watching the #screentime clock and instead consider how your child is - learning, sleeping, socialising, healthy, or not? Screens are part of family life, bringing both benefits and harms. As we said at
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New book contests digital media myths — 1. children know it all (“digital natives”), 2. parents know nothing (“digital immigrants”), 3. time with media is time wasted, 3. families are destroyed by screen media, 4. risks vastly outweigh opportunities.
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Children want to participate in the digital world without being exploited or manipulated. That means that platforms must explain how their data are treated and, crucially, treat their data fairly, since privacy is a child's right. #TikTok #DigitalFutures.
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“Here, instead, we see that those adolescents who spend the most time on technology creating their own content may instead be enjoying better mental health.”. Before You Blame Screen Time For Teen Mental Health Issues, Read This
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Catch Prince Harry now at the launch of global child online safety toolkit just started! @5RightsFound #SafeOnline.
🔔Happening today! Join launch of global child online safety toolkit with Prince Harry, @JuttaUrpilainen @HEDrAbouZeid, Mikiko Otani, @EndViolenceLead. Sign up: @5RightsFound @GPtoEndViolence #SafeOnline @UN @_AfricanUnion @EU_Commission @EU_Partnerships.
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Do smartphones really cause mental illness among adolescents? . Ten problems with Jonathan Haidt’s book. #DigitalParenting #ScreenTime #MentalHealth #Adolescence #evidence . Source: Parenting for a Digital Future
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Digital Media Use in Early Childhood: Birth to Six. How nice to return from holiday and find a copy of our new book!. Read all about it Please order for your library #EarlyYears #ChildRights #DigitalFutures4Children #ScreenTime
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". with a view to banning children from opening social media accounts". Banning children? . This policy is missing the point. We don't ban children from buying alcohol, we ban businesses from selling it to them. #ChildRights #BusinessResponsibilities.
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I so disagree with this headline, which blames users for their loss of privacy in a digital ecology where they are given no choice and no alternative. #RegulatoryFailure #GDPR #UserRights. Everyone Wants Data Privacy, but No One Reads Privacy Agreements
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“In short, the machines failed to save labor. The care robots themselves required care.”. Inside Japan’s long experiment in automating eldercare | MIT Technology Review
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New! UN Committee on the Rights of the Child will draft a General Comment on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment. All interested parties are invited to contribute.#consultation #evidencebased #childrights #humanrights #uncrc @ohchr.
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Phones can now tell who is carrying them from their users’ gaits . Online identification is getting more and more intrusive - Behavioural biometrics
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"You cannot ask a billion children to adapt to the system, you have to adapt the system to serve their best interests" . #childrights #bestinterests #BeebanKidron @5RightsF #IGF2019 #CRC30 #GlobalCompact #RightsByDesign.
There are nearly one billion children online, using an internet designed for adults. The #igf2019 must take action, says Baroness Beeban Kidron. #childrights #internetgovernance #now
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Thrilled to be interviewed by @henrymance @FT on #Children #MentalHealth #ScreenTime #DigitalParenting #OSA #DigitalFutures4Children @LSEnews @MediaLSE @5RightsFound #MobileBan #ChildRights. Is there a middle way on children and smartphones? Here's how.
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News from my publisher @OxUniPress - Parenting for a Digital Future will be published on 1st July in US and 7 August in UK. The promotional flyer linked here includes a 30% discount code.
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“As Sonia Livingstone, co-author of Parenting for a Digital Future, points out, issues ranging from economic inequality to climate change may also contribute to young people’s anxiety and stress—yet the film suggests technology alone is the problem.”
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I'm pleased to say that my new article on #privacy #platforms #socialmedia #GDPR #internetregulation #children #childrights is just published open-access here . @privacyint @PrivacyMatters @eu_schoolnet @ICOnews @LSEnews @LSELaw @oiioxford @icacamdivision
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Now that the experts' views on #screentime are changing, as a matter of urgency, it’s time to improve messaging to #parents, who are very confused because we experts have confused them!.
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Our big new report just released #evidence. Children’s personal privacy online – it’s neither personal nor private. @Livingstone_S @Mariya_Stoilova & @rishie_ via @LSEmediapolicy #privacy #children #DataProtectionDay #DataPrivacyDay #parenting #children
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What #parents need is not generic or simplistic rules but constructive guidance to realise the advantages of the digital age and avoid its harms. So, no longer policing #screentime but weighing screen use in terms of content, context and connections.
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“the main risk of social media data, not the data itself, not the fact that the parent chooses to share images of the child, but the fact that as a society we started to believe that we can draw conclusions about people on the basis of social media data.”
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On my mind. Is internet safety the only area of child safety left to self-regulation? We don't leave food safety, traffic safety, school safety or safety of medicines to self-regulation. The internet is 20 years old. What's the issue?.
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Ooh I'm excited to receive actual copies of our new #DigitalFutures report #PlayfulByDesign . Read all about our vision of #FreePlay in a #DigitalWorld @5RightsFound @MediaLSE . Download Order your own copy
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We're sad but proud that #DigitalFutures has posted its final results!. Playful by Design. Blueprint for Education Data Child Rights by Design. Final Report @
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Digital skills / literacy / citizenship / media & information literacy? Join us to debate key concepts and agendas at @SandraCortesi @GrizzleAlton @EllenHel #TessaJolls @Livingstone_S @willem_joris @CORE_H2020 @MediaLSE @ySKILLS_eu @MILCLICKS @BKCHarvard
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Delighted to be part of @Ofcom’s new #MakingSenseOfMedia Advisory Panel. Announced today. Lots to be done in advancing #medialiteracy @MediaLSE
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"Within 24 hours of children opening an account on TikTok and Facebook, users can be targeted with a stream of unsolicited content including eating disorders, suicide, sexualised imagery & distorted body images." @Educ_Technology @5RightsFound @RR_research
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Right!. #Screentime was “a misplaced anxiety” says @STurkle: “Now, forced to be alone but wanting to be together, so many are discovering what screen time should be. It should be about learning and connecting. It should be humanizing.". #Coronavirus.
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#Children and young people's #rights in the #digital age. My special issue of New Media & Society w @amandaj3rd at
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📢Just Published.Thread on our newly published article in New Media & Society focusing on #DigitalPlay on Children’s Terms 💻.#DigitalFutures #ChildRights #PlayfulByDesign #Evidence
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🧵 What factors support young people’s #digitalwellbeing?. Our review paper in @EurPsychol_jour synthesises research about #onlinerisk, #harms, #resilience & #digitalliteracy to discuss key facilitators. @ySKILLS_eu @MediaLSE @CORE_H2020
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Where does my data go?. To explain to children, parents/carers and educators about their privacy and data online, we produced a toolkit of fun info, quizzes and videos - all curated by young people #dataprotectionday @ICOnews @MediaLSE @Mariya_Stoilova .
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“there’s a difference between holding tech giants accountable for avoidable harms and leaping to the simplistic conclusion that social media alone explains children’s unhappiness” @gabyhinsliff #ScreenTime #EvidenceBased #MobileBan #P4DF
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Maybe my #Parenting #DigitalAge #TEDtalk is helpful for parents facing continued #lockdown. I propose replacing #screentime worries with a positive approach to #digitalmedia, highlighting parenting #values and democratic family discussion with #children.
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Studies suggest no causal link between young children's screen time and later symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity
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Cause. Correlation. Don't get them confused.
Smartphones and tablets are ‘causing mental health problems in two-year-olds’
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“Princeton University asked hundreds of researchers to predict six life outcomes for children, parents, and households using nearly 13,000 data points on over 4,000 families. None of the researchers got even close to a reasonable level of accuracy. ”
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33% 11-17-year olds set up "secret social media accounts to thwart their parents’ spying, with 1 in 5 communicating secretly with friends online their parents didn’t know about.". If you don't trust your kids, they won't trust you. Best to build trust!.
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For researchers watching the #screentime debate, here's where @aliciablumross and I put our arguments for focusing on the content, context and child instead. #parents #parenting . Our chapter on "The Trouble with 'Screen Time' Rules" is #openaccess.
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My article on "The rise and fall of screen time" is now available open access at Published in Strasburger, V. (Ed.), Masters of Media: Controversies and Solutions. Rowman and Littlefield Education. #ScreenTime #MediaViolence #MoralPanic #DigitalParenting
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Understanding children's well-being in a digital world: Webinar this Friday 29 May 3pm BST. Hosted by @CORE_H2020 @MediaLSE @enurturenetwork . with @rgraham120 #LauraLundy #DavidSmahel @kittyjstewart @Livingstone_S @Mariya_Stoilova #COREH2020. Register 👇.
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"A study of nearly 2000 children found that those who reported playing video games for 3 hours per day or more performed better on cognitive skills tests involving impulse control and working memory compared to children who had never played video games"
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“We tend to see parents around the world worrying about the length of time children are spending online, rather than asking the more pertinent question of whether the content that children are consuming is actually supporting their growth”.
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Here's our concept map for researching children and their digital engagement. We're building a theory toolkit to develop the map. Please contribute to our consultation so we know what to put in the toolkit @CORE_H2020 @MediaLSE @ECREACYM @Mariya_Stoilova
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My analysis of why the official #screentime advice for #parents and #children is finally changing. Now what parents need is not simplistic rules but constructive guidance that helps them realise the advantages of the digital age as well as avoid its harms.
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What's the right age to get a smartphone? . I am asked this question so often! Here's my answer, in good company with @OrbenAmy @candice_odgers and others. @MediaLSE.
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“Algorithmic systems function as “black boxes”: people might not even know that a machine has made a decision about them. Even if they did know, they (as well as data scientists) have limited abilities to understand the logic of how the decision was made.”
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Very few universities reward their academics for writing in the media or sharing their findings with the public.
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📄Online risks to children - a new evidence review for @NSPCC by #JoBryce @Livingstone_S @JuliaDavidson13 @BLpsychresearch @JodieSmith__ @MediaLSE @UCLanPsychology @CATS_Middlesex . ⬇️At #OnlineSafetyAct @Ofcom #EvidenceBased #4CsOnlineRisk #ChildRights
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"We are keen to blame anything from smartphones to social media to video games for the problems that our kids are experiencing – anything, that is, except ourselves.".
Brilliant piece by @kezamacdonald explaining why young people are 'addicted' to video games.
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“A new study has concluded young people today rate similarly on interpersonal skills compared to those who grew up in the 1990s.”. Concerns over kids' #screentime a modern-day “moral panic”, says study
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Social Media Has Not Destroyed a Generation - Scientific American
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“Video chats mean we need to work harder to process non-verbal cues like facial expressions, the tone and pitch of the voice, and body language; paying more attention to these consumes a lot of energy.”. #zoom #covid19 #wellbeing
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🎙️Today I want to share the reflections close to my heart that @Ofcom ’s Winter Conference helped me articulate by inviting me as keynote speaker. Here’s a thread of key takeaways:.#OfcomConference #MediaLiteracy #DigitalFutures @MediaLSE
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1/7: 🚨#Published: My introduction to a special issue of Journal of Adolescence advocates clarity & specificity about "the digital” when researching #adolescence #mentalhealth. 📚o/a paper at: #DigitalFutures4Children @ySKILLS #teens #safety @MediaLSE
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“The more often children use the Internet, the more digital skills and literacies they generally gain, the more online opportunities they enjoy and—the tricky part for policymakers—the more risks they encounter” says Sonia Livingstone from @EUKIDSONLINE.
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Why video games aren’t causing America’s gun problem, in one chart - Vox
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Children are being #datafied from birth - new report from the @ChildrensComm calls on internet giants and toy manufacturers to be transparent about collection of children’s data It draws on our research on #childprivacy online
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It's always weird to watch myself on TV but still, here I am saying of #screentime, it's not the length of time but the quality of experience that matters. What's needed is a public discussion about how kids could beneficially spend the #summerholidays and the resources available.
WATCH: (from 8m45s) | #LSE's Professor Sonia Livingstone (@Livingstone_S) talks to @ITVWales about #children, #summerholidays and #screentime | #P4DF #parenting
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"Research shows that young children can benefit from early access to technology if carefully managed – and that means by the companies as much if not more than by parents." @Livingstone_S @katypotts . #OSB #DigitalParenting #Preschoolers @digitalchildau
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Children’s understanding of personal data and privacy online – a systematic evidence mapping. New article by @Livingstone_S @Mariya_Stoilova @rishie_ distinguishes interpersonal from institutional/commercial #privacy & examines age differences. 50 copies:
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"Digital experiences and their impact on the lives of adolescents with pre-existing anxiety, depression, eating and nonsuicidal self-injury conditions – a systematic review" - do read our new o/a review of research on #adolescents #digital #MentalHealth.
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“A survey of 4,000 parents and guardians in the UK in 2019 found that 40% of them used real-time GPS location tracking on a daily basis for their children.”. Read on for my thoughts…. Honey, let’s track the kids: the rise of parental surveillance
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🤔Where can you find good evidence about children and young people's digital lives and rights?. 💡#DigitalFutures4Children is delighted to launch its o/a research database. 🔗 @MediaLSE @5RightsFound #Evidencebased #GeneralComment25 #ChildRights #AOIR2024
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1/ 🚨 Thread: As devices become integral to children's lives, parental control tools have surged, fuelled by media fearmongering and unregulated tech growth. Our research review sifted through 1656 studies globally. #ParentalControls #ParentalMediation #Evidence #ChildRights
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“We have an illusion it seems that young people are born with a mobile phone in hands these days and that they automatically possess all skills needed to handle it, but it is like you are giving a Ferrari to a 5 year old and saying: 'Go ahead and drive'.”
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Parenting for a Digital Future: How Hopes and Fears about Technology Shape Children's Lives by @Livingstone_S @aliciablumross @OUPAcademic . Our book is available for pre-order! . US: UK: See contents at
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"79% of online teenagers aged 13-17 now use generative AI tools – which includes chatbots such as ChatGPT, with 40% of those aged 7-12 also using the technology" says @Ofcom .
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And so it begins. Woman's insurance canceled over Facebook pictures |
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“The real problem is that social media companies not only control researchers’ access to data, but can also manipulate their systems in a way that affects the findings of the studies they fund.”
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I’ll be talking about #children and #smartphones on @BBCPanorama tomorrow - BBC1 Monday at 8pm, for UK audiences #DigitalFutures4Children @MediaLSE @LSEnews @5RightsFound
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Call it what you will – media literacy, digital literacy, critical literacy, news literacy – educational alternatives to regulating the digital environment are often suggested. Yet where are the concrete policies to increase the public's media literacy? .
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“Findings suggest that children are not mere passive consumers of digital games but are agentic meaning-makers who are capable of critically evaluating digital games when a safe and supportive space and the appropriate medium are provided.”
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Creating a new master’s programme in #media and #communications at LSE in the early 1990s was a case of making ‘stone soup’ since no resources were allocated…. Why it took a decade to establish LSE's Department of Media and Communications #LSEMediaFutures
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Thanks so much @socialpsychUK I'm thrilled!.
We are also delighted to announce that our award for Distinguished Contributions to Social Psychology goes to @Livingstone_S in recognition of her impactful research on child rights and safety in the digital world. Congratulations!.
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Audiences in an Age of Datafication: Critical Questions for Media Research. Now my article is published, email me s.livingstone@lse.ac.uk if you can't access the pdf. #audiences #datafication #mediatization #meaning #agency #regulation #users #digital.
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Let me help with this headline. How about:. "Scots kids who are most unhappy spend the most time online". (I find this more helpful in figuring out what to do - focus on why they are unhappy, perhaps?).
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Child Rights by Design: New Guidance for Innovators of Digital Products That May Impact Children. #DigitalFutures blog by @Livingstone_S @Kruakae_Noony for @CooneyCenter summarises our #UNCRC #digital work on #ChildRightsByDesign . @5RightsFound @MediaLSE
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The internet is global. So research must be global too. Read the latest #GlobalKidsOnline findings for #SID2020 #SaferInternetDay . Access is rising, risks are rising, but skills and opportunities - not enough. @MediaLSE @UNICEFInnocenti #EUKIDSONLINE.
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#DigitalParenting. 1. Encourage/guide your child to find fun, imaginative, constructive activities online. It's their space too!. 2. Talk to your child and share some online activities so that they trust you if anything goes wrong. 3. Don't fall for the panics and be confident!.
The last question is 'What are the three tips that you would like to give to all parents on Digital Safety?' @Livingstone_S #DigitalParenting
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said Prof. Livingstone, “I do think there is a desire (for children to socialise online) but I don’t think Instagram is the company to do it.”
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