Following the tragic suicide of Tyler Clementi on September 22 (link to prior post), there has been an increased push to get schools to teach kids to be better citizens on the web – or “netizens” as it were.  As noted in yesterday’s NPR article, researchers believe that schools have found themselves on the other side of the digital divide when it comes to teaching kids how to act on the Internet.

We at SocialShield welcome any increased effort by schools to teach their kids how to treat each other with respect and civility on an increasingly social Internet.  After all, we teach civics for “the real world” – so why not for the Internet where we spend so much of our time.  OnGuardOnline is an excellent example of government agencies and the tech sector coming together and launching a joint initiative to promote safer and more respectful behavior among children and adults online.

That being said, kids will always be kids, so we continue to work hard to develop technology that injects meaningful parental control of your kids’ social networking behavior.  For example, our Alerts Engine™ will warn parents when anybody on your children’s networks is acting inappropriately.  We keep an eye on your kid’s Facebook activities and sound the alarm if something goes wrong.  It’s not about being Big Brother – but being Good Mother and Good Father!

What do you think needs to happen in schools to get the message across to kids that it’s no okay to hide behind a keyboard?