DON'T PRESS SEND is Released

Don't Press Send: A Mindful Approach to Social Media, An Education in Cyber Civics is a clear and kind approach to aid in preventing the misuse of social media. From the onset, children today grew and evolved with increasingly sophisticated smartphone technology and social media. Author Katie Duffy Schumacher advocates that although adults may feel that they will never be as tech-savvy as the younger generation, they should not shy from their responsibility in the proper protocol and encourage and enforce respectful and safe use of cyber technology.

Don't Press Send features helpful strategies for parents and educators when it comes to navigating unfamiliar online territory: teaching their children to be respectful of their peers and understanding the power of the written word, developing mindful healthy habits to support electronic engagement, and more. The book serves as a guide for parents to help their children think mindfully about their choices, both on social media and offline. Key things such as, what parents should be communicating when handing their child a cell phone for the first time.

Author Katie Duffy Schumacher comments on the importance of an education in cyber civics, "we have to help our children push past the emotional barrier that the screen creates and internalize that on the other side of it is another living, breathing, feeling human being; a person who must be treated with kindness. Online or off, the rules should be the same. If you aren't comfortable saying something face to face, then you should not be posting that online or texting it to them."

The book, Don't Press Send, removes the guesswork when it comes to communicating electronically and offers guidelines for adults to broach with minors. It gives parents and educators a way to manage their children and student's activities and behavior in the cyber world. It enforces the concept of leading by example, encouraging children to think mindfully about their choices on and offline, and provides them with the strategies to foster kind and healthy interactions online. The author recommends having this conversation both at home and in schools, to reinforce the ramifications of privacy breaches, cyberbullying, and cyber mistakes that could damage reputations and have serious offline consequences.

Children feel safe, secure, and less anxious when they know what the rules are, irrevocably. This is the objective of Don't Press Send, to educate and empower children to use technology responsibly and with good intent.

Important topics that are discussed in Don't Press Send: A Mindful Approach to Social Media, An Education in Cyber Civics include:

• Cell phone directives for parents beyond the rules "don't break it" or "don't lose it"
• Strategies that will help to create a kind cyber community by strengthening children's empathetic skills
• Reinforcing the emotional skills, discipline, and mindfulness that will result in kind and careful online communication to foster a more thoughtful and safer cyber community for all
• How to embrace a healthy balance with technology by teaching kids to being mindful before they press send on a post

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katie Duffy Schumacher has used her years as a teacher, her mindfulness training, and her on the job experience as the mother of three teens to develop the Don't Press Send Campaign, and the popular app by the same name. As a frequent lecturer, she has been able to spread the message of kind and careful communication to thousands of students, parents, and educators, inspiring them to incorporate a mindful approach to social media. In July 2016, Ms. Schumacher penned her first book, Don't Press Send: A Mindful Approach to Social Media, An Education in Cyber Civics, to give parents the tools and strategies they need to arm their children to create a better cyber community.

For more information about the Don't Press Send book and initiative, please visit http://www.DontPressSend.org

Don't Press Send: A Mindful Education to Social Media; An Education in Cyber Civics is now available in paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon.

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