By Laura Sydell, NPR
The social media site Ask.fm has made headlines in connection with the suicide of a 12-year-old Florida girl who was the target of intense bullying on the site. Some law enforcement officials are warning parents about Ask.fm. But for parents, keeping track of the latest social network can be a game of Whac-a-Mole.
On Sept. 9, Rebecca Sedwick climbed a tower at an abandoned concrete plant near her Central Florida home and jumped. Shortly after her death, Sedwick’s mother, Patricia Norman, told the local Fox news affiliate her daughter had been bullied on social media.
“People were sending her messages telling her that she should just go kill herself and everybody hated her and nobody liked her,” Norman said.
Norman told the station that she moved her daughter to a new school and thought she’d gotten her off social media sites. But, without Norman’s knowledge, her daughter found new sites — among them Ask.fm
The European-based company lets teens post questions and answers anonymously. Mike Harris, who talks to kids in schools as part of his work with the district attorney’s office in Jefferson County, Colo., says he’s hearing complaints about Ask.fm, and not just from parents.
continue reading at: Empowering Kids Online: An Important Strategy to Keep Them Safe | MindShift.