It's hard to know exactly how many kids and teens have mobile phones right now, but we do know that over a year ago more than a third (37%) of US 12-to-17-year-olds had smartphones, up from 23% in 2011, and a whopping 78% had some kind of mobile phone. That's from the Pew Internet Project, one of the best US sources on youth and tech. We also know that mobile phones are how young people access … [Read more...] about New from ConnectSafely: ‘A Parents’ Guide to Mobile Phones’
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Hmm. Secret to open anonymous ‘Secret Dens’
It's unusual to see a tech reporter anticipating Net safety problems with a new social app feature. So I was impressed with a post by TechCrunch.com's Sarah Perez about Secret's forthcoming addition of "Secret Dens" for anonymous sharing in specific locations (like schools, companies and other organizations). Launched early this year, Secret is an app for sharing thoughts, "secrets," etc. … [Read more...] about Hmm. Secret to open anonymous ‘Secret Dens’
Texting options multiplying like rabbits (even more now)
Everybody's, including kids', texting and talking options continue to multiply like rabbits. First there was texting from your mobile carrier, then phone-based texting like Apple's iMessage and voice via computers (later adding in phones) as with Google Voice and Skype. Along came texting apps too, such as the simple and spare WhatsApp now owned by Facebook and the something-for-everybody, … [Read more...] about Texting options multiplying like rabbits (even more now)
The real goal of unplugging
I love the parenthetical in the headline of "Five Ways to Break Your Kids’ Screen Addiction (and Yours, Too)," by Yahoo family tech columnist Dan Tynan. Because – if there's such a thing as screen addiction and it's not just something fashionable to (anxiously) joke about – what we model for our kids in our own use of phone and other screens has huge influence on them. [You've probably seen videos … [Read more...] about The real goal of unplugging
FB privacy & the social media ‘collective unconscious’ (so far)
Some people read Facebook's near 180-degree change in how new users experience privacy as a response to pressure from privacy advocates and policymakers. I don't think so. It's largely a response to something even more powerful: changes in how users are using social media – all kinds of social media, not just Facebook. We're seeing a lot of the changes right in our own experiences and … [Read more...] about FB privacy & the social media ‘collective unconscious’ (so far)