Children's performer Raffi says keep kids off the darkweb

You can either listen to Jian's conversation with Raffi by clicking on the listen button, or watch it in the window below. 

Raffi Cavoukian (better known simply as Raffi) has created the soundtrack for many a childhood -- but as kids go from Bananaphones to smartphones, the children's entertainer wants to make sure they stay safe.

The Canadian singer/songwriter joins Jian to discuss how social media is changing childhood, why he argues younger kids should focus on the real world and why he sees the internet as highway with no speed limits. 

"It was called the information superhighway," Raffi recalls of the internet's early days, "remember that phrase? Well, usually if you're on a highway you know how to drive; you're usually in a vehicle that has some safety gear, including seat belts and speed limits."

Cavoukian has chronicled his concerns in a new book, Lightweb Darkweb: Three Reasons to Reform Social Media Be4 It Re-Forms Us. 

Steer clear of the darkweb

Raffi stressed that his advice is for teens and preteens, explaining that he thinks younger kids should be focused on exploring the real world, not the virtual one. 

"Decades of child development knowledge tells us what the early years are about, which is active play in the real world with real people, and the theatre of imagination -- that great way of trying on the world for size that children are experts at doing," says Raffi. 

"They don't need a facsimile representation of the world; in fact, that interrupts their ability to do so."