Protecting Our Kids in a World of Social Media

A Security Mom Podcast

The present Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced on Sunday that what we need to fear are the strangers from abroad who infiltrate through the Internet, radicalize our citizens, and set them on a course of destruction. It is a scary thought, though it shouldn't be that surprising, given that terrorists have always adapted to new means of communication. They just discovered Twitter, that's all.

What we're facing now is the blurring of what's "out there" and what's here inside. It's scary, a little hard to conceive of for people who remember a time before this utter, unbridled connectedness. You can lock your doors and set your smoke alarms, but as long as you're logged on — and we're always "logged on" — there are going to be forces in your home that you can't control. 

Like traditional facets of homeland security, this cyber universe can and must be managed with a few core principles that we should all make a part of our home life. And what I have always believed, what I have always known, is that the basic attributes that keep us safe at home can also keep the homeland safe.

This week on Security Mom, Juliette Kayyem checks in with her friend, fellow mom, and New York Times writer Emily Bazelon. Bazelon is also the author of Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy, and she looks at the way bullying is changing in a hyperconnected world.