Wednesday, September 2, 2009

LMK in Latina Style

A recent article in Latina Style quotes a survey conducted by Omnibuzz, illustrating that tween and teen girls engage in and are exposed to riskier situations online than their male peers. The article states that:


"More than half of online teens (56%) said they’ve been asked personal questions (such as their age, sex, or location) online. Significantly more tweens (82%) than teens (58%) report having discussed internet safety with their parents. Correspondingly higher levels of tweens (59%) than teens (40%) report being concerned about being approached by adult strangers online. Disturbing to note is that 11 percent of teens reported being solicited online by adults and keeping the incident from their parents."


In the article, Gladys Padro-Soler, director of Membership Strategies and a key member of the Hispanic Initiative at the Girl Scouts of the USA states that:

“At the beginning of the technology revolution, we saw the division between
Latinos and other populations that had access to technology. I never encountered
a parent that did not want their daughter to thrive in her education and career
aspirations with the help of the technology that is around her,” she says. “I
met parents that were only afraid of what dangers lurked for their daughters
from the many tragedies they heard about in the news; others were very sad that
they did not have the means to provide a computer for their kids at home.”



The article points out multiple programs in place to combat the generational divide on the internet, highlighting LMK. LMK, as many readers know, seeks to bridge the digital divide between parents and teens by giving teens a platform to educate parents on the web issues most important to them. In regards to parents, LMK also offers a parent site. Let Me Know, the parent site, aims to provide parents with tips, tools and resources to help keep their families safer online. With insight from teen girls, parents learn about current issues that face teens online and how to utilize technology in a safe way. Read the entire Latina Style article here, and let us know what you think of Let Me Know, the parent site!
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