I’ve done it, you’ve done it, everyone has sent that message you immediately regret. Snapchat’s new feature will allow you to message “regret free” by adding a delete feature. You can now delete a message after you’ve hit that send button. Maybe there’s just a dumb typo, perhaps what you said could come across differently than how you meant it, no matter the reason, they’ve got you covered.
To delete a message just long press it and select the delete option. Everyone will be alerted that you deleted the message but they won’t see the message itself. Previously, Snapchat only made messages disappear when everyone in the group had seen them but this will change that up quite a bit. Obviously, screenshots can be taken of your message if someone sees it before you’ve eliminated evidence, but you’ll be notified of that as well.
This is a small change for Snapchat but it speaks volumes about the nature of a messaging app like this one. The idea has always been to remove regret, apprehension, and maybe even responsibility for the messages you send online. Our kids should understand that there are consequences for what we do on the internet, even is some of our apps try to make us feel like there aren’t.
One of my biggest concerns about Snapchat is the disappearing messages. I have heard story after story of parents reporting their kids being victimized by bullies or predators on Snapchat only to be told by police that there is nothing they can do because there is no evidence of the messages that were sent. Snapchat has always been on my uninstall list and it most likely will never be taken off that list. If your kids are under 16, think long and hard before you allow them to use a disappearing messages app like Snapchat.
It’s one of the most popular questions at our Digital Boundaries Workshops and one of the most common messages I get on Facebook. Parents want to know what the deal is with Fortnite. Nothing since fidget spinners have had parents scratching their heads from such seemingly sudden popularity. I have mentioned it a few times in podcast episodes and articles about video games and addiction but I have yet to share my thoughts on the game itself. Since it was released on iOS a while back I finally downloaded it and played a few rounds. I must say, I’m not very good at it but that didn’t keep me from seeing what makes it so much fun.
Fortnite is a Battle Royale game. In this wildly popular game style, players drop onto a playing field empty handed and have to find weapons and take each-other out until only one player is left standing. The last man standing wins. This game-mode was made popular by Player Unknown’s Battleground and H1Z1. Both are battle royale games that have been around while in development for a while. Their popularity was increased by the competitive nature of the last man standing format and streamers who play online for a live viewing audience. Fortnite is the first Battle Royale game to get a T for Teen rating since the graphics are more cartoon-like and the violence isn’t bloody or gory at all. When a player is shot they dissolve into a blue current of some kind.
Fortnite is also free to play, unquestioningly contributing to its popularity as well. Since kids can download this game for free on their XBox, Playstation, Mac, PC, iPhone, or Android phone, it is basically available to anyone at all who would like to try it. In fact, this game has swept every category of every app store in the world.
The app became the best-selling app in 13 countries less than 12 hours after its release, coming in the top five in a further 12. It’s worth noting that that’s not for the games chart – Fortnite Mobile is the best-selling app in the world, currently beating out YouTube for the top spot. – PCGamesN.com
People Watching People Playing Fortnite
As absurd as it may seem to you, millions of viewers tune in every day to watch their favorite YouTube Creators and Streamers play their favorite video games. Some watch to learn to be better at playing themselves, others just like to watch someone else play because they can’t play as well, and sometimes a streamer or YouTuber is just very very entertaining to watch. The head of Gaming, VR, and AR on YouTube had this to say about Fortnite’s popularity on YouTube:
“How big is @FortniteGame on YouTube? Fortnite holds the record for the most videos related to a video game uploaded in a single month EVER. Yesterday, the Battle Royale tournament had over 42M live views, and set a record for biggest single live gaming stream @ 1.1M concurrent,” – Ryan Wyatt, YouTube
The impact this game is having on our kids’ culture is massive. Kids have been watching other people play video games for a long long time, i.e. Minecraft. Gamers are making a lot of money by building their communities of viewers and accepting sponsorships, subscriptions, and donation funds. It is actually a major industry and kids are noticing. I have had several parents recently tell me their kids want to play games for a living when they grow up. I tell these parents not to get too discouraged about this news since it is actually a career path that many have taken and have come to benefit from.
It isn’t going away, esports is very popular. The Luxor in Las Vegas built the city’s first ever esports (electronic sports) arena and has already held some majorly successful events there. One of those events was a record-breaking event featuring Ninja, a professional streamer, and Fortnite player. The event featured Fortnite players from all over the world competing against Ninja and the competitors won $2500 if they killed Ninja in a match and another $2500 for winning a match. Twitch.tv streams of this event reached as many as 667,000 viewers at one time during the event. The most online viewers of any gaming event at any one time. Lots of people enjoy watching other people play video games and it’s big business.
Ninja streams a round of Fortnite on Twitch.tv
Well, I played it and here’s what I learned.
Fortnite Battle Royale is wildly popular for several reasons. First of all, it’s very approachable. You can jump into the game for free and start playing as often as you’d like. You will get destroyed over and over again as you learn the game but if you’re any good at first-person shooters, it won’t take you too long to get the hang of it.
Secondly, it is fast-paced. The action is immediate and it’s non-stop. You don’t really get any downtime with Fortnite Battle Royale once the battle starts. You have to immediately begin running around and finding resources to craft defenses and weapons and ammo to fight with. While you’re battling a relentless “storm” is approaching that drives all players to the middle. If you get caught in the storm your health slowly ticks away until you either get out of the storm or die. You’re also drawn to resource drops that seem to collect enemies to battle against as well while rewarding your bravery with better weapons and gear. These features are common to all Battle Royale games but the cartoon-like graphics and silly dance moves and costumes set Fortnite apart.
The third reason I think this game is so popular is the social aspect. Squad mode is one of the most popular versions of the game in which you can connect with your friends and win as a team. Being able to sign on and fight with their friends in squad mode gives Fortnite major appeal with younger gamers. You can also connect with random people in squad mode, opening up the ability to voice chat with them.
What Parents Should Know
First person shooters are a tricky thing to discuss with parents. While I DO NOT believe that playing shooter games desensitizes all kids enough to cause them to be violent. I do think that there are those who shouldn’t get involved in the first person shooter genre for a variety of reasons. FPS play can increase the symptoms of ADHD and other Hyperactivity disorders. Too much screen time has been cited to slow educational development and decrease creativity among kids ten and under. Games like Fortnite increase the likelihood of “lost time” on screens. Lost time is that feeling when you sit down to play a game and before you know it you’ve been playing for hours. Our kids experience this phenomenon for a lot of reasons but gaming seems to be the most common cause. It contributes to more wasted time and a decrease in productivity, exercise, and “green time.” (Time outside.)
Parents should be aware that while not gory, Fortnite is rated T for Teen because of violence. In a society where the topic of guns and shootings are more heated than ever, the first person shooter genre always enters the conversation. Like I said, I haven’t found evidence to support the claim that shooting games create murderers but I do know that if our kids are younger than the recommended age for the video games they are playing, they can suffer negative consequences. If nothing else these games increase interest in the topics of guns and shooting. Some may see that as positive, some may not. Either way, parents should be aware of these possibilities.
Finally, parents should understand that Fortnite is played online with millions of other people. “Matchmaking” for rounds of the game is random and you can be connected with anyone of any age from anywhere. The game is played by people of all ages and once you have someone’s “Gamertag” or “username” you can be friends and invite them to your squad. There is no rating for online multiplayer games because the experience is impacted so much by the people you’re playing with. Just be aware that your child is playing a video game with strangers from all over the world.
Overall Fortnite is a low impact shooter game that keeps it animated enough to keep it from being a problem for most kids. Just watch for obsessive and addictive behavior and be sure to be firm on your time limits. Use something like UnGlue to help keep track of how much time your kids are spending online and talk to them often about their time playing Fortnite. Learn about their multiplayer experience and teach them what to do if they feel worried or creeped out by anyone’s behavior while they’re playing.They shouldn’t join squads with people they don’t know in real life (you can voice chat within your squad) and just be generally aware of what they do when they play. You can’t be clueless about the things your kids like to do and who they do those things with. I wrote this article to take away your excuse. Don’t forget to comment or send us an email from the contact page if you have any questions about Fortnite or games like it.
When Facebook Messenger for kids was released several months ago, I immediately installed it for my kids and began to test it out. I like that parents have to approve every single friend request. I was glad that it is encrypted, no data is collected, and that kids don’t have to open their own Facebook account. Finally, I was impressed that they built it with its own kid-friendly GIF library and camera filters. Now, Facebook has made a small change that could be helpful for many parents.
You no longer have to be Facebook friends with the parents of the friends your kids want to contact on Messenger. The approval requirements haven’t changed. Your children aren’t allowed to make contact with anyone you haven’t pre-approved and any request will be sent to your Facebook account for easy approval or denial. This update will just free parents up to allow their kids to chat with friends regardless of being mere acquaintances with that friend’s mom and/or dad.
What Parents Should Know
I still think that Facebook Messenger for Kids is one of the better messaging apps for kids. It’s easy to set up and use and there is no data collection, account setup, or advertising.
Here, however, is my warning: You should probably know your kids’ friends’ parents if they’re going to be chatting online. I’m not saying you should follow them on Facebook and be online BFFs, just that you want to be sure your children are chatting with other children. You give up a certain level of security when you aren’t looking out to see who your kids are talking to. With Facebook messenger kids the only way to find out who they’re talking to is through the account of their parents. Friend request their parent and then unfollow them if you must but you should be able to see what you can about their family to make sure your kid is only messaging other kids.
*This article is for parents and there is discussion of x-rated content. You have been warned.
The Snapchat Discover page has been my main source of concern for kids and teens when it comes to the photo-sharing app. I posted a video over a year ago announcing that Snapchat was being added to my uninstall list because of the Discover page. This magazine rack style page featured articles from all kinds of magazines and other publications that highlighted sexuality, drug use, and other adult themes. As I began to understand the discover page, it became obvious to me that this app was intended for adults even though it’s used by High School and even Junior High students all over the country.
The latest source of concern with Snapchat for parents is, as I’ve been saying, the Discover page. A new feature from Cosmo, called “Cosmo After Dark” features content that Cosmo themselves calls X-Rated. These articles are about everything from how to masturbate properly, to truth and dare ideas, and pornography site recommendations. I won’t say much more about this because the video below says it all.
Remember, this video is from a year and a half ago, I saw this content coming from a mile away!
Parents, PLEASE, pay attention to this news and require your child to uninstall Snapchat NOW. Use your parental control software to block data access to the app, do whatever you can to keep them away from the over-sexualization that social media is instilling in our children. Snapchat has really always been about sex, they seem to be really going for it now with this new “after-hours” content.
So many people found themselves migrating their photo sharing to Instagram several years ago because of their chronological timeline. As Facebook became more algorithm based, people felt like they had no control over what they were seeing on their timelines so they opened Instagram accounts. A few years ago Instagram went the way of the algorithm as well trying to give posts you are most interested in a higher priority in your feed. This was met with mixed reactions and now Instagram is working to give you more control.
external link…
The first addition, effective now, is the “Mute” feature. This allows you to hide posts from your feed without completely unfollowing them. This could be useful for hiding bullies without letting them see that you’ve unfollowed (which could encourage even more bullying) and just helping the algorithm know your preferences even better. To mute someone simply press the three dots to open the menu on a post. Select Mute in the menu and that’s it, you shouldn’t see posts from that user anymore.
The second announcement is for updates that haven’t made their way to users yet. Soon, Instagram will include an insights feature that will allow you to see how often and how you use the social media service as well as a notification when you’ve seen all the posts from the previous 48 hours. Instagram and parent company Facebook are hoping that these features will improve the user experience by helping them develop better usage habits. There has been more of a focus recently on improving the “overall well-being” of their users. Some of the recent updates on YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram have been attempts to encourage more engagement within their communities without having to spend as much time using their services.
What Parents Should Know
Any changes made to social media sites that encourage breaks from screens are good changes. But nothing will replace a parent setting limits for their children. Remember, also, that there is no better lesson than your own example. Monitor your own screen time and make healthy choices so that you can advise your kids from a place of leadership. Instagram’s new mute feature will help moms and dads keep unwanted posts away from their kids as well as help older kids silence those they don’t longer want to hear from.
My hope is that as parents we can guide our children into proper use of social media. Statistics are showing that the chance of depression increases the more our children use social media. More depression increases the rate of suicide among young people. In fact, suicide is now the second leading cause of death among teenagers. With these facts in place, even the social media services themselves are taking notice and making changes. Parents, do not allow yourself to be caught in the dark when it comes to your kids and safe use of their technology. While Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube have been making changes, the responsibility does not fall to these companies to protect our children. It falls to us, their parents.
Software and web developers are getting serious about the time well-spent movement. The focus on taking breaks from our screens is more and more popular and even Youtube is getting in on the trend. Their latest update includes the ability to opt-in to reminders to take a break from watching videos in the app. iOS and Android users can turn on and set the frequency of break reminders that will interrupt your viewing and remind you that you should take a break.
This feature is currently only available on the iPhone and Android app. There isn’t any information whether it is going to be rolled out to the website, smart TVs, or other streaming TV devices.
What Parents Should Know
This is a good idea and hopefully, it will trickle down to YouTube Kids soon. I always tell parents to be the example for their kids. If mom and dad are on their screens constantly then it doesn’t do much good to preach healthy screen time limits in your home. YouTube’s break reminders can be a good way to manage your own healthy screen habits so that you’re setting a better example.
Psychologists are recommending that our kids spend less time on screens and more time outside. They’ve even coined the phrase, “Green Time,” stating that kids are spending so little time outside that their development is being stunted. Use whatever tools you can find, whether it’s a built-in reminder like YouTube is offering or a separate software like unGlue to monitor and limit screen time. Build healthy habits now that will last a lifetime.
Facebook is getting into the dating game. At their developers’ event in California last week, Mark Zuckerberg announced a new dating feature for Facebook. The feature will be opt-in only and will feature only the users’ first names. You can scan through people’s dating profiles (separate from their FB profile) and select whether or not you’re interested in them. If you both see each other and show interest, you’ll be connected through a built-in messenger feature.
Tindr has had the dating app scene under control for a while, but like Snapchat, Facebook seems to be out to take some of the spotlight. This foray into online dating isn’t surprising since many (1 in 3) relationships already begin online. It is an obvious move towards Facebook becoming the one-stop app for most of your social media needs.
What Parents Should Know
There hasn’t been a release date announced for Facebook’s dating feature. It is, however, said to be completely separate from your Facebook account and it’s a feature that you have to opt-in to so it isn’t automatically available. If your kids or teens are on Facebook, they will likely have the option to join the dating feature since the age limit is set at 13 for the social media service.
I recommend not allowing your younger kids to use apps like Tindr since they are meant to make contacts for face to face meetups. There are many healthy relationships that have started on dating apps but there are also many stories of young people being tricked into accepting invitations from people who have no business contacting them. I would put Facebook’s dating option on my list of dangers for your kids under 18. It is a feature that is intended for adults and should only be used by adults. I also warn against messing around with it as a married person. As crazy as it may sound, many people who aren’t interested in dating use these apps to just check what kind of people would be interested in them. Facebook is already one of the leading topics of dissent in the marriage counselor’s office. The dating app could (I submit that it definitely will) increase the frequency of marriage problems caused by social media.
It’s the middle of the week. How have you done so far with no screen time? I can guarantee my family and I have been struggling as much as anyone. I thought it would be good to give you some tips for celebrating this screen fast week. Here are some of our ideas:
1. Go to a theme park
2. Go Put Put
3. Read Some Books
4. Cook Together
5. Play Basketball or Another Sport
6. Play a Board Game
7. Go Roller Skating
8. Play a Trivia Game
9. Play Charades
10. Take a Hike
You won’t be seeing many posts this week because we are celebrating Screen-Free Week. You can learn about our Screen-Free Week Event at BecauseFamily.org/events/screen-free-week. We are celebrating with a local roller skating night on May 6. ScreenFree.org has events listed. Go see if there are any in your area.
“Screen-Free Week is an annual, international celebration when families, schools, and communities swap digital entertainment for the joys of life beyond the screen. Instead of watching TV, surfing the web, or playing with apps and video games, they read, play, think, create, get active, and spend more time with family and friends.
Remember, Screen-Free Week is about taking a break from digital entertainment. You can celebrate, and still use devices for work or school. But if screens of any kind interfere with family time (including meals), you may want to rethink how and when you’re using them.”
It is a great idea to take a break from your screens. Whether you do the whole week or just a couple of days during the week, I encourage you to take some time to get out and do something besides use screens with your family.
Family Tech Update: YouTube has taken down over 8 million videos, is it enough? Snapchat has games on their camera, and Amazon wants to listen to your kids.
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