Users of the popular, fairly new Snapchat app tend to like it because a photo vanishes within 10 seconds or less of being viewed by its recipient. That adds something fun, spontaneous and just "real" to photo-sharing that's pretty unprecedented in social media. New parents' guide Here's why: Typically in social networking, "users tend to feel pressure to curate the perfect representation of … [Read more...] about Snapchat: Privacy as perishable as the photos
Parenting
Consider the possibility of kids’ self-regulation of digital media
Are iPads bad for little children? I ask that metaphorically, for two reasons: because iPads represent a host of tablets and other touchscreen devices children seem to play with joyfully and intuitively, and because that attraction makes it extra hard to imagine kids could self-regulate that iPad play. And yet they do. Take Gideon, for example ("Giddy" to himself and his family). In some of the … [Read more...] about Consider the possibility of kids’ self-regulation of digital media
Parenting advice from a non-parent
It's fine for people who aren't parents to weigh in on parenting-these-days – aunts, uncles, grandparents, and children do all the time – but why market your article or post as a non-parent? Anyway, columnist Frank Bruni at the New York Times did. I agree with some of what he wrote (that parenting these days is pretty over-thunk), really like some of it (I'll get to that in a minute), and find … [Read more...] about Parenting advice from a non-parent
Why we do ‘let our guard down’: Online privacy
We care about our online privacy, but we also like convenience a whole lot. And not only convenience, but often a good deal or discount beats out any worry about data security. What do deals and convenience have to do with privacy? A whole lot. An article by Somini Sengupta at the New York Times is all about what is new about "letting our guard down," as I touched on yesterday. Why we (and our … [Read more...] about Why we do ‘let our guard down’: Online privacy
So we’ve all ‘let our guard down’?
It's interesting that Daily Beast writer Caitlin Dixon precedes her question "When did we let our guard down?" with the story of sleeping on strangers' couch in Italy after finding them in a couch-surfing site. Yes, she let her guard down (but the people were great hosts). What's interesting, though, is that she compared couch-surfing to connecting with people online. One could argue – and I've … [Read more...] about So we’ve all ‘let our guard down’?