Gossip is an important part of adolescent development. Although gossip can be used for negative influence, it can also be used for positive relational purposes such as establishing norms and creating intimacy. Discerning the gossip sharer's motives is important for receivers to determine how to react. However, the lack of visual and tonal cues in…

The author discusses the impact of Black Twitter, a section of Twitter dominated by members of the African diaspora, on marginalized communities when it offers alternatives to the rules and expectations of mainstream social media, especially in relation to such online games as UNO. She touts the value of what she calls the "petty" for…

There are many difficulties facing families in today's world, including economic pressures, fallout from the pandemic, and enforced migration from war-torn countries. Mental health problems are known to have a disproportionately negative impact on the lives of children and young people and their families who are already vulnerable through such…

The need to virtually collaborate across distributed locations has drastically increased. Developments such as the COVID-19 pandemic and new IT platforms like the metaverse have spurred a host of new immersive social applications that are accessed through head-mounted displays. This is expected to stimulate a surge in research on extended…

This post script to an article originally written in 2011 takes account of changes that have occurred since then in the ways that children and young people use the social media. Although the fundamental message of the original article remains the same, the post script discusses key ways in which the article would differ if it were being written…

Researchers and practitioners have much to learn from drag queens, specifically Latinx queens, as they leverage everyday queerness and brownness in ways that contribute to pedagogy locally and globally, individually and collectively. Drawing on previous work examining the digital queer gestures of drag queen educators (Lizárraga & Cortez,…

Most kids are very much aware that the Internet isn't, by and large, a private space. In fact, most teens have been hearing that message since elementary school. But despite being educated about these issues, many teens continue to engage in digital behaviors that imply that they really don't understand how public and permanent the Internet really…

Amid rising concerns about "fake news," efforts have emerged to explain the spread and impact of misinformation on youth civic engagement. These efforts have focused primarily on the role of social media in exposing youth to factually inaccurate civic information and the factors that influence the ability to discern the accuracy of such…

While research typically utilizes Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) to evaluate online education programs (OEP) compared to on-campus programs (OCP), little attention is given to other qualitative elements which enhance student social presence or faculty teaching presence. The authors examine the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework and demonstrate…

This piece offers a reflection on how language learning and multicultural studies during the pandemic have highlighted the potential to help communities draw parallels with, and face wider issues concerning, minorities within a challenged society. Through storytelling, a novel approach to teaching and learning helps students find their voice and…

Menarche is a significant milestone for young women, representing an important juncture between girlhood and maturation. The limited literature that exists suggests that a mother's reaction to her daughter's first periods can shape her experiences and perceptions of menstruation which, in turn, may impact on her self-image and, consequently,…

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other related social communications technologies have changed the way human beings communicate. They have given individuals the capacity to disseminate information much more quickly and much more broadly than ever before. As the author will argue here, the success of these technologies is premised on their ability…

In order to determine how emotions and cognition are experienced during collaborative group work online students' descriptions of their learning experience were interpreted using a qualitative approach. A common feature of these accounts was reference to difficulties and problems. Four main themes were identified from this data set. Two of the…

Cyberbullying may be one of the "diseases" of the 21st Century. Despite efforts to curtail its incidence and prevalence over the past 20 years, its direct and indirect harmful effects have made it a public concern about the wellbeing of children, adolescents, and adults. Empirical studies as well as psychological theories have addressed…

Cyberbullying research is rapidly expanding with many studies being published from around the world in the past five or six years. In this article we review the current international literature published in English, with particular attention to the following themes: The relationship of cyberbullying to the more traditional face-to-face bullying,…