Parent Tips
April 9th, 2019
And that’s not a good thing.
If your children own or are allowed to use a smartphone, chances are good that they have installed the Snapchat app to communicate with their friends. Indeed, Snapchat is among the top five social media apps used by children, according to a report from ABC. Often, it’s merely a fun diversion. But sometimes, there are risks.
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March 18th, 2019
Lexie Kite, PhD, explains in detail the pitfalls of letting girls on Instagram. While this article on BeautyRedefined.org focuses on middle school and high school aged girls, it also demonstrates how it can be bad for boys as well. The inherent message in Instagram is that your value resides in your appearance. For developing brains who are creating their identities, this…... Continue reading >
March 26th, 2019
Bullying is no longer a face-to-face occurrence. In 2017, more than 14.9 percent of high school students experienced some form of cyberbullying. And that number will only increase.
With smartphones and computers accessible at all times, it’s easy for children to fall victim to bullying both at school and at home.
And what’s worse is parents and teachers often don’t know it’s happening. Protecting your children is always a top…... Continue reading >
March 25th, 2019
More than 60% of people are susceptible to believing fake research or news that’s based on opinions and fabrication. The internet is full of that kind of “information.” We all need to be careful.
If your kids are doing research online, they’ve got at their fingertips a powerful tool that gives them access to valuable information and resources that were once hard to find or out of reach entirely. But with the good…... Continue reading >
March 22nd, 2019
The Internet is a miraculous. Without it, the world would be exceedingly bleak.
But as with any tool, it can be abused by those looking to harm others. This is particularly important when considering children who have access to the Internet.
Online predators are a very real danger in 2019, and you need to know how to protect your kids from them. Following are steps you can take to do…... Continue reading >
January 22nd, 2019
Fortnite is barely a year old, but it’s already an institution among gamers. In fact, people who don’t even play the game still find themselves doing Fortnite dances with their friends or watching YouTube videos of people playing Fortnite. But there’s more to Fortnite than meets the eye, and it’s something parents need to be concerned about.
Fortnite is free to download. It is wildly popular game and it has a huge presence on…... Continue reading >
January 5th, 2019
Picture this: your darling child is spending hours staring at their phone day after day, snapping pictures with their tongue out, or their friends. Sure, this is fascinating videography, but why on earth are your children spending their allotted screen time in this crazy way? If you ask them, you may receive a quickly growled “I’m keeping up my Snapchat streaks, geesh” — usually accompanied by an eye roll. What is this social media phenomenon that’s…... Continue reading >
September 6th, 2018
When you go online through your home computer or mobile device, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) creates a 10-digit unique “name” for your computer. This “name” is based on info like what country you’re in, whether your ISP is private or belongs to a government organization, your type of network and other technical details.
If you use a different computer or device at work, or utilize…... Continue reading >
September 6th, 2018
We tell our kids to look both ways before crossing the street and to never take candy from strangers, but then we put a device in their hand and allow them to roam virtually unfettered all over the internet — for hours on end. For exhausted, stressed out parents digital devices can be an effective way to distract children, giving mom and dad a much-needed break. But how healthy is this?
Recent studies emerging from…
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September 6th, 2018
Professor Zeynep Tufekci has been talking to the tech world about the dangers of data collection since 2012. Six years later, everybody else is finally starting to listen. She has received a lot more attention since the news broke about Facebook and Google’s data collection in Spring of 2018. The Chronicle of Higher Education has an interview with her (behind a paywall). And on Vox, she recommends three books on how…
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