Common Sense Media

It was an inspiring evening in New York at the annual Common Sense Media Awards, our celebration of the very best of media and technology, and the leaders working to improve the world for kids everywhere. New York City was a fitting location for the awards, as we honored the tremendous state leadership who recently passed the first legislation in the country to hold tech companies accountable for the harms they have caused young people. Governor Kathy Hochul opened the evening with stories of her conversations with young people about social media. "These kids do not want to be held captive … they want to be liberated." Joining Governor Hochul was Attorney General Letitia James, who presented an award to Senator Andrew S. Gounardes and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, and reinforced that this fight continues to protect kids at the federal level. The honorees thanked Common Sense's work – our staff, our volunteers, and our community of parents and teachers – for helping make this real change possible. Additional awards honorees included: Pixar Animation Studios' Inside Out 2 for its portrayal of the serious emotions of growing up, and helping young people learn it's always ok to ask for help; Craig Newmark, whose Craig Newmark Philanthropies is safeguarding America's privacy and democracy by supporting work that strengthens cybersecurity and empowers young people to protect their digital privacy; and four New York City educators/Common Sense Ambassadors who are helping students become the kind of informed, engaged, and empowered digital citizens who will be the leaders of tomorrow. Finally, we were thrilled to welcome back Common Sense friend, acclaimed singer/songwriter Calum Scott, who shared his talents and deeply personal songwriting, along with the Special Music School choir of New York. Thank you to all our honorees, our guests, our New York Council members, and everyone who makes our work possible.

As cyber attacks increasingly target schools, hospitals, and libraries, a highly-skilled cybersecurity workforce is more vital than ever. Unfortunately, as Michael points out in this report, the U.S. would need to train 40% of new workers in cybersecurity over the next 7 years to meet the growing cyber workforce gap! Cybersecurity requires action from everyone. And by working together and integrating privacy best practices as part of our online habits, we can make life harder for hackers and safer for ourselves and our communities. The cybersecurity lessons in Common Sense’s digital citizenship curriculum can help everyone — but especially kids — learn how to stay safe online. Explore our lessons, plus helpful resources from our #CyberCivilDefense partners here: https://lnkd.in/eSmynYeF

Digital Citizenship Week is coming! From October 14-18, we'll be celebrating positive, healthy tech and media use among young people. We have put together a terrific collection of activities, lessons and more for educators to use in the classroom to get their students involved. Please help us spread the word and share these resources with the educators in your networks so they can ready for the big week. (And if you are an educator yourself, check them out today!) https://lnkd.in/dsm_X8q

We believe that reading "banned" books encourages families to celebrate literature and promotes open access to ideas, fostering curiosity and empathy. Libraries and classrooms should be spaces for healthy discussions about important issues, and books are essential for sparking these conversations. 📚 Hear from Mandie Caroll, our Books Editor, about why Common Sense is committed to empowering kids in their reading choices: https://lnkd.in/eUDzjTDa #BannedBooksWeek

Common Sense has been lucky to work with Craig Newmark and Craig Newmark Philanthropies over the last year. His support has allowed us to make huge strides in our work to create the first-ever AI ratings and reviews system, develop cybersecurity resources for teachers, and continue our leading advocacy efforts in data privacy and tech accountability. Today we're thrilled to announce the continuation of our partnership, and grateful for Craig's commitment to ensuring new technologies are developed with safeguards for kids in mind. More details below: https://lnkd.in/ecCsdmYg

Today, our Chief Advocacy Officer Daniel (Danny) Weiss joined Consumer Reports Advocacy, Girls Who Code & Wondros at the #AspenCyber Summit to discuss how inspiring and equipping a culture of cyber defenders with information and skills can strengthen us all from imminent cyber threats. Much gratitude to Craig Newmark Philanthropies for presenting the session, and Aspen Digital for putting on the Summit.

Our CEO, Jim Steyer, spoke with the Today Show this morning about our new report "The Dawn of the AI Era: Teens, Parents, and the Adoption of Generative AI at Home and School," which launched today. We surveyed over 1,000 teens and found that many are using AI as a common tool in their lives. However, it's clear that parents often lack information, and educators may not always communicate the guidelines around AI use effectively. NBC’s Kate Snow reports on this important topic: https://lnkd.in/gj3npPU2 #GenAI #Education #Research #AI #YouthInsights NBCUniversal #Parenting

Our new report, "The Dawn of the AI Era: Teens, Parents, and the Adoption of Generative AI at Home and School" -- out today -- shows that teens are quickly adopting generative AI, similar to how they embraced social media. But many parents are behind on how often their kids are using this tech, and schools are still struggling to keep up. Key Findings: - 70% of teens use generative AI tools like chatbots and image generators. - 53% use AI for homework help. - 41% use AI tools with their teacher's permission; 46% use them without. - Only 37% of parents know their teen uses AI, and about half aren't talking about it. - 40% of teens say their schools have no AI rules or guidance; 83% of parents say schools haven't communicated about AI. - 87% of teens who discussed AI in class are more aware of its potential for misuse. - 49% of teens verify AI information with other sources. - Black students are over twice as likely as White or Latino students to have their work wrongly flagged for AI use. Let's encourage open dialogue among schools, teachers, parents, and young people, and help schools create clear policies for responsible AI use. Get the full report, a comprehensive guide to generative AI for parents, and resources for educators below: https://lnkd.in/eqFaWGxG #GenerativeAI #Education #CommonSenseMedia #TechInEducation

Special treat in the office today: Pancake Day! 🥞 Big thanks to Jordan Lee Willox for serving up the flapjacks.

Thank you again NBC News for the opportunity to share important conversations for parents to be thoughtful of what and how we share images of our children, friends, and families with social media this back to school season. Extremely blessed to reconnect with fellow University of San Francisco Don, Vicky Nguyen as well. What a moment.