DIY Digital Safety

How to help youth manage online harms | MediaSmarts Talks with Dr. Kaitlynn Mendes YouTube video by MediaSmarts | HabiloMédias

Why don't teens report digital harms to adults? 😐

🎥 Don't miss this talk, where our @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social and Tricia Grant, from @mediasmarts.bsky.social, dive into the many questions they hear from parents about how to keep their children safe online.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYcd...

Together Against Violence 2026 Transforming Responses to Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV)

Dr. Alexa Dodge, part of the DIY team, will speak at the virtual Together Against Violence Symposium 2026.

Participants will gain practical tools and strategies to improve support and foster safer online and workplace spaces.

🗓️ Feb 25–26 | 🕐 2–6 PM AST
🔗 Register here: ow.ly/KjLm50Y1iJV

Dangers numériques: Discussion sur la violence fondée sur le genre facilitée par la technologie. Sur Zoom, le 26 février 2026 de 19h à 20h. Joignez-vous à nous pour un webinaire au cours duquel nous examinerons le problème croissant des deepfakes, leur impact au sein des communautés scolaires et des ressources prêtes à l’emploi en classe pour soutenir les efforts d’enseignement et de prévention. Lien: bit.ly/WebinaireDangersNumeriques. Invités: Nathalie Bendavid (elle/la), Enseignante au secondaire, York Region District School Board et Dr. Christopher Dietzel (il/lui) Professeur associé en communications, Université Concordia.

Améliorez votre compréhension de la violence fondée sur le genre facilité par la technologie ! Joignez-nous pour un webinaire GRATUIT où nous explorerons le monde des deepfakes & partagerons des stratégies concrètes pour y répondre : bit.ly/WebinaireDan...

📱 The latest research article from Dr. @xadodge.bsky.social and @diydigsafety.bsky.social. It explores why young people may avoid talking to adults in the aftermath of digital harms. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... @journals.sagepub.com #Tech #digitalcriminology #potatosafety #artswithimpact

An event poster with a photo of Dr. Alexa Dodge and an illustration of people's profiles in many colours and sizes. Text: Skills for Change: Building Welcoming and Equitable Communities Funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Together Against Violence 2026 Annual Symposium February 25-26 2:00-6:00 AST / 1:00-5:00 EST Virtual Dr. Alexa Dodge Associate Professor in Criminology Saint Mary's University

Dr. Alexa Dodge of #SMUCriminology and @diydigsafety.bsky.social is a speaker at the virtual Together Against Violence Symposium 2026. Her work tackles crime, violence and justice in our digital society.
🗓️ Feb 25–26, 2026 | 🕐 2–6 PM AST
🔗 Learn more and register: ow.ly/KjLm50Y1iJV #TAV2026

📣 We are excited to share our latest peer-reviewed article published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

📌 These findings underscore the need for adult interventions in young people’s lives to shift from fear-driven approaches toward balanced, non-judgmental, and youth-centred responses.

📣 Don't miss this free opportunity to learn more about tech-facilitated violence.

Our @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social will be part of this expert panel next Tuesday.

📍 Virtual (Zoom)

New guide for adults, informed by teens! 📝

If you are a parent, teacher, or trusted adult looking to build an open and trustworthy relationship with your teens so they feel safe seeking support about tech-facilitated harm, this resource is for you! 🫂

Available for free lnkd.in/e-eH3HGY

Why Canada should avoid Australia’s teen social media ban: A call for better solutions The right and brave move then is actually to regulate social media companies and force them to adopt a “safety by design” approach.

Why Canada should avoid Australia’s teen social media ban: A call for better solutions 📲 😐 🚫

📰 Our @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social and @cdietzel.bsky.social co-authored an op-ed in @thestar.com on key strategies to keep children and young people safe online.

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

We often hear the importance of care in research with young people, but what does this look like in practice? 🤔

📣 We're excited to share our latest academic article with concrete strategies that scholars across disciplines can use.

journals-sagepub-com.proxy1.lib.uwo.ca/doi/10.1177/...

Gender-based violence also happens in digital spaces and has real-life consequences for women and girls. 💔

Today, it is important to remember that to end tech-facilitated violence, we also need a cultural shift to stop misogyny and sexism. ✊

To increase educators’ awareness & understanding of key topics including gender-based violence, harassment, consent, healthy relationships & systems of power that enable violence & discrimination we will be hosting an IG Live 🗓️Wed Nov 26 @ 7pm ET💻Tech-Facilitated GBV @diydigsafety.bsky.social

📣 Free online session to learn more about how to keep youth safe in today’s digital world. 💡

The City of Burnaby invited @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social to share tools for parents and caregivers to support youth in digital safety.

🔗 Register here: lnkd.in/ergcrhSZ

www.burnaby.ca/recreation-a...

How to help kids navigate social media safely | The Impact Project Join us as we uncover what it takes to make positive change in our world – featuring Kaitlynn Mendes, Principle Investigator, DIY: Digital Safety, Professor, Sociology, Western University.

Our @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social shared fascinating facts about our research project on digital safety through The Impact Project by Western University. 💜 Check it out! www.theimpactproject.ca/stories/kait...

New Report Shows Risk of Harmful Misogynistic Content Targeting Boys - On The Record The report from Canadian non-profit White Ribbon says educators are deeply worried about the trend

Our @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social discusses a new report showing the risk of harmful misogynistic content targeting boys. Check it out!

ontherecordnews.ca/new-report-s...

Join us on Wednesday, October 22nd, as the AVA Webinar Series presents Technology Facilitated Sexual Violence: What You Need to Know, featuring Kaitlynn Mendes from @diydigsafety.bsky.social.

⏰ 12 – 1:30pm MST

avatraining.ca/webinars/

More than a quarter of Canadian teens have experienced sexual violence online A new survey reveals that almost a third of youth have been exposed to technology-facilitated sexual violence. Better protective and educational measures are needed.

We are pleased to share our latest article on @theconversation.com, where we discuss the findings of our recently conducted survey with more than 1,000 teens aged 13 to 18 across Canada 🇨🇦 about tech-facilitated sexual violence.

Instagram using AI to detect Canadian teens signed up for adult accounts Instagram is testing artificial intelligence in Canada that will identify accounts it suspects belong to teens, even if they list an adult birthday.

Can Instagram's new AI tool to detect underage users be really effective?? 🤔

Dr. @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social weighed in for The Canadian Press about the use of AI to detect underage users, as Instagram tests the tool in Canada.

📰 Check it out here: www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/business/ins...

📌 Free Webinar Alert! 👩‍💻

Our @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social will lead a free webinar hosted by AVA Training about technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) and how to talk and support youth.

🗓️ October 22
🕐 12:00 - 1:30 PM MST

Register here: ucalgary.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Jobs — Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy

📌 Open call!

The Centre for Media, Technology, and Democracy at @mcgill.ca is accepting applications for Youth Fellows to join their 2025-2026 Youth Fellows Program on Online Safety.

👉 More info www.mediatechdemocracy.com/jobs

We've published our annual report, detailing our progress from May 2024 to April 2025. 📊

See our impact, key accomplishments, knowledge mobilization, research efforts, publications, and more!

Explore what we’ve been up to ⬇️🔗
694cb6a9-ba35-4397-994d-7418024a481c.usrfiles.com/ugd/7d39c0_9...

📌 Our Nikita Kalwani, @cdietzel.bsky.social and @suziedunn.bsky.social discovered that TFSV, gender-based harms, sexuality-based harms, power imbalances, and intersectionality are not discussed comprehensively or consistently in educational curricula, policies, or legislation.

Systems-Level Problems Require Systems-Level Responses: An Intersectional Analysis of Canadian Secondary Schools’ Responses to Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence | Canadian Journal of Communicatio... Background: Technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) is a significant problem for young people and is on the rise in Canada. Young people from marginalized groups are at greater risk of TFSV vict...

✨ Publication alert ✨

We are excited to share our most recent publication in the Canadian Journal of Communication, which examines how Canadian secondary schools address TFSV within their educational curricula, policies, and legislation.

Check it out! 👇 cjc.utppublishing.com/doi/10.3138/...

A teen died after being blackmailed with A.I.-generated nudes. His family is fighting for change Elijah Heacock's parents had never heard of sextortion before their son died by suicide. Now, they're fighting to protect other families.

A US teen died after being blackmailed with AI-generated nudes. His family is fighting for change via @cbsnews.com
www.cbsnews.com/news/sextort...

RECAP | NHL player testifies about group chat learning of investigation into world junior teammates | CBC

📺 Dr. @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social was interviewed by the CBC regarding the sexual assault trial of five former world junior hockey players. She provides her insights on consent and technology-facilitated sexual violence.

Check it out!

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

ETOP Council attendees learned about tech-facilitated sexual violence — deepfake nudes, sextortion, and digital harassment— and the legal rights of victims.
Moving away from ‘cyberbullying’ language allows for people to seek the right help, said @WesternU sociology prof. Kaitlyn Mendes.

From trauma to anxiety and depression, how online sexual harassment can seriously harm victims’ mental health Women who experience online sexual harassment report significantly poorer mental health, including anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.

On the news 📰 | From trauma to anxiety and depression, how online sexual harassment can seriously harm victims’ mental health via @theconversation.com theconversation.com/from-trauma-...

Webinar on “Understanding Tech-Facilitated Gender Based Violence” The Women’s Department is pleased to host a Webinar on “Understanding Tech-Facilitated Gender Based Violence”, presented by Dr. Kaitlynn Mendes, Associate Professor in Sociology at Western University.

🗣️ Free Webinar on “Understanding Tech-Facilitated Sexual Violence.

Dr. Kaitlynn Mendes will discuss its rise and ways in which we can effectively identify and tackle this violence in our workplaces.

Date: April 1, at 7:00 pm EST.
Register here: bit.ly/42jNJfd

www.unifor.org/news/events/...

18-year-old says she was secretly filmed in Ontario mall for viral TikTok video deemed as anti-woman | CBC News An 18-year-old woman is speaking out after she says she was secretly filmed in a London, Ont., shopping mall. The exchange was posted to the social media feeds of a man whose viral videos seemingly ce...

📰 Our @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social was quoted in a recent CBC article about a new anti-women trend on TikTok.

Give it a look! www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

TikTok investigated by UK watchdog over use of children's data It will look into how the social media platform uses the data of 13 to 17-year-olds to recommend content.

🤳TikTok investigated over use of children's data: The UK will inspect how the social media platform uses the data of 13 —to 17-year-olds to recommend further content to them.
www.bbc.com/news/article...