Pause, Reflect, and Redirect: An Approach to Empowering Youth to Be Safer Online by Helping Them Make Better Decisions

Elizabeth A. Sweigart (), Aahil Valliani and Pamela J. Wisniewski
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Elizabeth A. Sweigart: Department of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
Aahil Valliani: Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, VA 22312, USA
Pamela J. Wisniewski: Socio-Technical Interaction Research Laboraotry, Orlando, FL 32828, USA

Social Sciences, 2025, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: Stakeholders from parents to policy-makers are concerned about youth online safety. Present solutions are frequently punitive and often lack opportunities for youth to make mistakes and try again in a safe environment. This paper proposes a new framework, based on trauma-informed child psychology models and research by computer scientists and human-centered design scholars, entitled Pause, Reflect, and Redirect (PRR). The PRR framework offers three levels of intervention ranging from casual engagement to coached engagement with crisis response. To further develop and validate PRR as a framework, PRR was implemented within a web-filtering software that was installed in a public middle school comprising grades 6 to 8 (i.e., ages 11–14) in an urban charter district. Preliminary results from the deployment of the software suggest that it may help youth make better choices with respect to their online behaviors.

Keywords: adolescent online safety; parental control; decision making; education technology; artificial intelligence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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