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Issue: #65

October 2012

65th Edition of the Children Online Newsletter. Last month we introduced our newsletter on Instagram by saying "there never seems to be a moment to catch your breath when it comes to telecommunications technologies and the Internet. Every month new technologies are developed, new software released or children and teens find new uses for them." This continues to be the case as several parents have recently contacted us about issues associated with the explosive interest in playing Minecraft and some of the problems that have followed. As always we welcome your comments and suggestions. Best wishes, Marje Monroe and Doug Fodeman If you are interested in having us conduct student, parent or faculty workshops, please contact us via email or phone (413-214-1225).

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Related Resources:
1. What parents are saying in the online blog at Mothering.com 2. What parents are saying in the online blog at FocusOnlineCommunities.com 3. What is Minecraft? (According to the Wikipedia Community) 4. What does CommonSenseMedia.org have to say about Minecraft? 5. What does the Internet Safety Project have to say about Minecraft?

Is Minecraft the Next Parental Concern?


Have you heard about Minecraft? It is very likely that your children have even though the full PC version of the game only came out in late 2011 and the Xbox version came out this past May. The game has skyrocketed in popularity with children from ages seven to young teens. Minecraft is a creative video game in which participants build things out of textured cubes in a 3D-like world. There are several versions and types of game play and to quote Wikipedia, the primary goal of play in survival mode is "to build a shelter to survive attacks by hostile mobs (such as zombies, skeletons and creepers, which are prominent in the game due to their behavior of creeping onto a player before exploding). The core gameplay revolves around building and

Un-related Resources:
These recently discovered resources are too good not to pass on to our readers... Do you have a younger child

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using an iPad or apps on your iPhone? Learn how to turn on "Guided Access" from the folks at SmallDogElectronics to prevent them from roaming around the i-device and opening other apps that you may not want them to explore. More and more research is becoming available that supports many of the concerns we have been speaking to for nearly 17 years in our work regarding children and the Internet. Here are some interesting article that address some of these points: a) Why We Are So Rude Online [Oct. 1, 2012; Wall Street Journal] b) Is Screen Time Ruining Our Face Time? [Jan. 18, 2012; Psychology in the News] c) Antisocial Networking? [April 30, 2010; New York Times]

breaking blocks" to help players survive. Minecraft does not contain the kind of violence as seen in Call of Duty Black Ops, Halo 3 or even Batman Arkham City Lockdown. These other games were rated by CommonSenseMedia.org as not suitable for kids under 15. Minecraft, by contrast, is a breath of fresh air amongst the graphically violent video game genre. There are still concerns about the game, however. The concerns we have heard about from parents and in online blogs can be summed up as follows: 1. There is an addictive nature to the game and parents are concerned that their children are spending hours and hours playing it. The time spent playing Minecraft is sometimes at the expense of time spent face-to-face with friends, bike-riding, playing outside games, doing homework, etc. 2. There are concerns about the amount of time children are spending in front of screens each day. Playing Minecraft adds to this concern. 3. The game is typically played via Minecraft servers, many of which are set up privately and connected to the Internet. Thus playing Minecraft offers an opportunity for children to interact with strangers, some of whom may be older teenagers. 4. The multi-player game version offers chat ability with other players and parents have voiced concerns about profanity-laced conversations. 5. Like most online interactive communities without parental supervision, cyberbullying has been reported. A more common type of cyberbullying that has been reported is "griefing." For a full explanation of griefing, visit the Wikipedia article. This is a common pronouncement, for example from "JourneyMom" on the blog at Mothering.com "I agree, it's a pretty clever game, and I don't have any problems with the content or concept. I just don't like how much time [my son] spends with it." CommonSenseMedia.org says "Parents should note that this game has a thriving online community hosted by private, non-moderated servers. This means players could encounter

SECOND EDITION: INTERNET SAFETY CURRICULUM

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offensive content in the form of profane text messages and suggestively shaped player-created structures." No better article that speaks to the tension parents feel about the merits of this game than Lisa Geurnsey's article that appeared in Slate Magazine on Aug 6th. The growing tension parents feel around this creative, fun video game speaks volumes to the point that no one is looking out for the best interests of our children online and that parents need to set limits and boundaries for their children's use of the Internet. Limits can be associated with time spent online, who their children play Minecraft with, game play allowed only after adequate time is given to homework and chores, play-time contains a healthy mix of time spent outside, with friends in "real life", on a bike, involved with sports, etc. However, we would also add that children as young as 7 to 9 years old should avoid playing multi-player video games. We do not recommend "chatting" or socializing online before age 12. One idea could be to allow Minecraft for children under age 12 with limited chat and limited screen time.

The second edition of "Safe Practices for Life Online" was released in June, 2012. About 50% of our 2nd edition contains completely new material, including more than 100 student exercises and newly updated information on important topics including social networks, scams, social engineering, cyberbullying, online marketing, protecting privacy and creating strong passwords. To learn more or order a copy visit our publications page at ChildrenOnline.org or go directly to our publisher, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). ISTE reported that the first edition was their best seller for more than a year! See what's new in the second edition!

About Children Online


Children Online offers innovative and comprehensive workshops on Internet safety and online education to students, parents, faculty and administrators. Our approach, unique in the field of Internet safety, combines a thorough understanding of Internet technologies, child development and counseling, to focus on the impact of the internet on the social, emotional and language development of young people. Doug Fodeman and Marje Monroe, experts in technology, counseling and education, work together to provide invaluable research and tools for parents and schools with practical real-life solutions to the issues faced by young people online. Since 1997, Marje and Doug have spoken to thousands of students, teachers and parents. They have several publications in the area of Internet safety and offer a free online newsletter. More detailed information can be found at ChildrenOnline.org.

Children Online 2012


Doug Fodeman & Marje Monroe. For permission to reprint please contact DougF@ChildrenOnline.org

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