You've certainly seen how it's done in movies - the latest-model BMW in a James Bond film, a certain brand of cigarettes on the table as a lovely actress lights up. Well, advertising watchdogs are now concerned about this: "Advertisers have discovered that videogames are a cool way to get their products in front of impressionable kids," as Reuters reports. The example the article gives is ex-cop … [Read more...] about Embedded ads in kids’ games
Gamers not just kids
The majority of video game players are over 18, Reuters reports, citing an Entertainment Software Association survey. "In fact, the average age of game players was 29 and the average age of buyers was 36, with men making up 59 percent of the playing audience," ESA found. Their game playing is at the expense of watching TV and going to the movies, and 43% of them play games online an hour or more a … [Read more...] about Gamers not just kids
Daughter’s blog, mom’s dilemma
"Not long ago, a friend sent me an unsettling email," writes a mother in the Washington, D.C., area in a commentary at the Christian Science Monitor. "She'd discovered the Internet links for her daughter's and my daughter's online journals. Was I interested in reading my daughter's?" Would she end up doing so? You'll see that arriving at the answer was neither simple nor applicable to all … [Read more...] about Daughter’s blog, mom’s dilemma
Cyberbullying: Thorny new parenting problem
As some of us know only too well, technology's instant and macro-level results (via the Web, IM, etc.) mean two things to pranksters and the grownups in their lives: They've "all but erased the reflection time that once existed between the planning of a silly prank - or a serious stunt - and its commission" and "made it nearly impossible to contain a regrettable deed - because once committed, … [Read more...] about Cyberbullying: Thorny new parenting problem
File-sharing privacy risks to families
Parents, if you don't know that kids' file-sharing (or digital music downloading) activities can be a family privacy risk, here's a heads-up. We asked Tim Lordan, head of Washington-based GetNetWise.org, about this issue, and he said that - though reports of identity theft and other privacy violations are as yet nonexistent - exposing personal files on the P2P networks is definitely happening. By … [Read more...] about File-sharing privacy risks to families