AT&T Joins With iKeepSafe to Promote Mobile Safety Resources & Campaign, Urging Youth to Learn Smart

Feb. 29, 2012 - PRLog -- Today, iKeepSafe and AT&T*are proud to announce in the launch of Mobile Safe – a program that offers resources for parents and educational games for students, with the goal of teaching kids smart and safe mobile habits. The program launched at an event at the Museum of Play in Rochester, NY.

The Mobile Safe resources are available today at www.cellphonesmart.org. The program focuses on six principles of cell phone use:

1. Identity/Reputation Presentation and Monitoring: Use cell phones to portray yourself in safe, healthy, and fun ways while protecting both identity and reputation;
2. Relationship Management—Online and Offline: Maintain relationships using communication that best balances clarity and convenience for a healthy interaction in a given situation;
3. Multitasking: Focus on one activity at a time, as appropriate, so you can actually do more, have more fun, and stay safer;
4. Domains of Use: Learn strategies for non-disruptive phone use that also keeps you connected and entertained;
5. Responsibilities to Self, Family, and the Law: Learn how to use cell phones in ways that do not put yourself or your families at risk; and
6. Maximize the positives: Learn the positive entertainment, social and safety opportunities that come with a cell phone.

"We're deeply committed to equipping parents and children with the tools they need to stay informed, and are pleased to be working with iKeepSafe on proactively addressing this important issue of mobile safety," said Marissa Shorenstein, president of AT&T New York. "As more and more kids use mobile devices – and at younger ages – it's critical that they understand how to use this devices safely and responsibly. Mobile Safe will help achieve just that."

The Mobile Safe curriculum was developed through a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), INOBTR (“I Know Better”), a non-profit organization focused on educating kids through public awareness to keep them safe; and the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeepSafe), a non-profit international alliance focused on teaching youth about using new media devices and platforms in safe and healthy. iKeepSafe partnered with the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT); the Center for Media and Child Health at Children’s Hospital (CMCH) at Boston and Woogi World, a virtual school for K-6 students to develop the resources.

A leader in consumer education and safety initiatives, AT&T supported an evaluation of these new resources in conjunction with CMCH. The robust analysis examined data collected during a six-month long pilot, and assessed the curriculum’s effectiveness. Researchers compared the educational games to each other as well as considered their individual strengths and weaknesses. Based on the findings, Woogi World game developers improved the games for future use nationally.

“It’s important to arm this new generation of cell phone users with information to be responsible, ethical and resilient when using technology,” iKeepSafe CEO and President, Marsali Hancock said. “We are proud to have the support of a mobile leader like AT&T to empower educators and parents to teach these important lessons to youth to promote cell phone safety.”

In addition to the Mobile Safe curriculum, a new public awareness campaign launched today in Rochester aiming to teach area youth about safe and smart cell phone use. The “Cell Phone Smart” campaign supports the Mobile Safe curriculum and is comprised of educational public service ads that will appear at area movie theaters, as well as radio PSAs that will air on local stations. In addition, grassroots materials such as posters, brochures and fact sheets will be distributed and made available for community leaders to use as awareness tools. Additional cell phone safety resources can be found online at the campaign’s website, www.cellphonesmart.org. All campaign materials are available for download at www.projectyouthsafety.org.

The campaign kicked off officially with an event gathering educators, education administrators and local officials invested in protecting Rochester’s youth through this public awareness initiative.

More information on AT&T’s safety initiatives can be found at: http://www.att.net/smartcontrols.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.