Family Tech Blog

Category: Social Media

  • Tumblr App Installs “Adult Content On Switch”

    Tumblr App Installs “Adult Content On Switch”

    Tumblr has lost some traction over recent years. It’s not so much a social media platform as a blog host and not really even that. It’s more used for GIF (animated images) posting than anything nowadays. Apple has always had a pretty strict standard on adult content in the apps in their app store. They require developers to have adult content disabled by default. This usually means that image searches on your browser should be without any blatant pornography unless your search is specifically for that. Tumblr has updated their iOS app with a workaround for this rule. There is now a switch that will allow users to turn adult content back on in Tumblr. It’s actually a “safesearch switch” and it’s set to on by default, thus following the rules set up by Apple. All it takes, however, is for someone to go to the settings page of the app and turn the safesearch option off. This will unleash the cacophony of adult content that is available on Tumblr (many say that pornographic images and gifs have become it’s main purpose) on the user.

    What Parents Should Know

    The Tumblr app is basically a browser in which anyone with an account can see any of the user generated blog content posted on the site. As mentioned above, the app has become inundated with adult content and is not safe for anyone you’d like to keep from those sort of images or videos. The safe search switch isn’t located in the restrictions settings on your iPhone. It is just in the settings for the app. This means safesearch changes can be made without a password. This app is an easy way for your child who has been looking at inappropriate images or videos to access more of that. Now that the safesearch can be turned off, you’ll want to add this app to the uninstall list.

    Our children can be greatly harmed by pornography. Studies are showing it’s addictive nature and the ability it has to alter a person’s sexuality and preferences, creating what they call an “arousal template.” This causes kids to be attracted only what they’ve seen online and can create serious problems for them in the future. They also say that kids who view pornography are six times more likely to force others into sexual behavior. Many in our culture view online adult content as only entertainment but it’s being proven that it’s detrimental to the mental health of our kids. If there is anything you can do to protect your children from adult online content, you must take steps to do so. Uninstalling Tumblr just became one of those steps.

  • Musical.ly Teams Up with Apple Music to Sell You More Stuff

    Musical.ly Teams Up with Apple Music to Sell You More Stuff

    Musical.ly allows users to film themselves lip-syncing and performing current pop music hits and scenes from movies or TV shows. It has become one of the most popular apps for teens and pre-teens and a connecting point for music artists and their fans. In fact, there are now Musical.ly stars who are seeing success in more mainstream markets as well. Most of them are quite young teenagers. Today, Musical.ly has announced that they’re partnering with Apple Music to provide the song clips that make up their lip sync library. They will also be promoting subscriptions to the music streaming service and allowing Apple Music subscribers to listen to full versions of songs.

    Musical.ly grew a ton in 2016 and has seen a tapering off in their young audience during the beginning of 2017. This move seems to be a way to bring more value and financial stability to Musical.ly while putting Apple’s music streaming service in front of another audience. Apple Music has been chasing Spotify for subscriptions and the aren’t gaining ground. This is an obvious attempt to target Musical.ly’s young audience with their option for streaming music. Allowing full versions of the songs kids are lip syncing to in the app is adding value that many of the app’s users will see as valuable. Possibly valuable enough to ask their parents for a subscription to Apple Music. That is if they don’t have the ability to sign up on their own.

    What Parent’s Should Know

    I have been pretty outspoken on my disdain for Musical.ly in the past. One of the major reasons is the lack of an age restriction to sign up and the CEO’s attitude about it. Now I see another potential hang up for parents who’s kids use the app. There are already songs available on the app that many parents may feel are unsuitable for the age of their kids that use the app. Now the entire songs will be available if you are one of the 20million families who have an Apple Music subscription. If you don’t have a subscription be warned that the app will be consistently asking your pre-teen if they’d like to sign up for one. Also, there are likely to be features made available that won’t be useful without an account with Apple Music. How many times will your 13 year old have to be blocked from using a song until they start asking you to subscribe for them. Advertising is still, however, the least of my worries with Musical.ly.

    Parents of young teens should pay close attention to what their kids do on Musical.ly. If your young daughter is spending a lot of time singing and dancing in front of her camera know that there is no age verification so the fourteen year old boy who watches every one of her videos could actually be anyone, anywhere, of any age. In this day and age where kids are being asked to meet up by strangers and actually saying yes, there is no reason for your kid to be unsupervised on an app like Musical.ly. I recommend and uninstall if your kid is under 17 and then to closely monitor their use of the app. 

  • How to Turn on Social Media Post Notifications

    How to Turn on Social Media Post Notifications

    One of the easiest ways to keep track of your kids activities on Social Media is to follow their accounts yourself. Some social media sites make it even easier to monitor by allowing you to turn on notifications. The major social media apps allow it but the way you set each up is very different. The video below is a walkthrough of how to set up post notifications on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Snapchat. Remember that following your kids is good and being notified when they post is even better. Communication is, however, more important than any of it. Be sure to let your kids know you follow them and that you’re getting these notifications. Hopefully the video below will help you out.

     

     

     

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  • Facebook Conference Gives Us a Sneak Peak at the Future of AR

    Facebook Conference Gives Us a Sneak Peak at the Future of AR

    Facebook is in the middle of their F8 developer conference in Santa Rosa, California. The leaders of the Facebook company are announcing and unpacking their newest features and offerings on the social media platforms they develop. The most major announcement from day 1 yesterday was the opening of a public development platform for the Facebook augmented reality camera. Here’s what that means.

    The Facebook Camera will be the first open augmented reality platform. This means that developers will be able to make animations and images that will show up on your screen. So far, these overlays have been developed only by the company that makes the social media app itself. This means that any ideas or filter concepts must come from Facebook or Snapchat only. Any advertising has to go through the process that Facebook sends advertisers through. That will no longer be the case.

    The open platform launched in closed beta yesterday, April 18. It will still be a while before we see thousands of filter options showing up on our cameras but it is absolutely coming. You can imagine companies and programmers are chomping at the proverbial bit to start putting their projects on the Facebook camera so once it is public we will see it grow very quickly. It’s going to be a good idea for parents to keep an eye on what’s available in Facebook and Instagram’s stories camera.

    What Parents Should Know

    An open platform means developers will have the tools necessary to create their own camera overlays and animations. This will, most likely, begin with licensed developers only but it probably won’t end there. Imagine anyone in the world being able to create an overlay that you can access in your Facebook or Instagram camera. This could result in  content being available that we don’t want our children to see. Please understand that these changes aren’t happening tomorrow. This is an early warning and a reminder to always keep your eyes on what’s developing on the apps your kids use.

    Conversation with your kids is important. It’s also important to keep an eye on what your kids are installing and using. I recommend following your child or teen on social media and keeping an eye on what they are posting and sharing. With their knowledge, this will allow you to be on top of any inappropriate posts that they may share. It’s also a good idea to have their passwords so that you can see what they’ve been receiving on direct message. Eventually, you’ll want to see what their most recent AR filters have been, this will only be possible by logging in to their account. Start developing the trust now so that when there is even more reason to keep an eye on things you’ll already have a habit of doing so.

     

  • PODCAST: Date Night Monkey Business

    PODCAST: Date Night Monkey Business

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    Amazon is changing the parental controls game, Instagram has 200 mil users, and MONKEY is a hotbed for predators.

    FAMILY TECH WEEKLY EPISODE 3

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  • Everyone You Know Uses Instagram Stories

    Everyone You Know Uses Instagram Stories

    There are those who made fun of Instagram for copying the Snapchat stories feature. Some of us saw it as a step towards saving Instagram from going the way of MySpace. Today, they’ve announced that the stories feature has 200 million daily users. That’s 40 million more than Snapchat announced this winter when they took their company public. To celebrate this momentous occasion they’ve added a few more features that Snapchat has had for a while. You can now add more stickers to your stories and even pin them to something in your video so they’ll move with you. They’ve also included Geostickers for several new cities.

    These stickers, no matter what social media platform they’re on, are causing a term to enter the conversation that may have some parents scratching their heads. AR. AR stands for augmented reality which is exactly what it sounds like. Using your camera, these apps view the real world and then change it in whatever way you choose. Whether it’s a dog mask that pants when you open your mouth or stickers of bunny ears to celebrate easter, AR allows you to apply animation or illustrations to your images and videos. This is a popular feature that folks have been using for a while and it’s now been spotted by advertisers as a major opportunity for promotions. That’s why you’ll see masks featuring the latest movie release or a filter that has the logo of a make up product or beverage in the corner. AR is the new Television commercial but people are actually paying attention to it. Instagram’s celebration of these numbers with more AR features is guaranteed to bring in more users and more advertisers.

     

    What Parents Should Know

    Your kids and teens love nothing more than making silly faces in their selfies and sharing them with their friends. It’s good fun and usually not a big deal. Obviously advertising is everywhere and it was only a matter of time (it’s already been happening for a while) until marketing companies caught on that this was the best way to gain access to young people. I would expect more and more advertisers to jump on this bandwagon in the near future. The thing for parents to keep in mind is that these social media options allow marketers to identify their niche audience more easily and reach them more frequently. They can target age groups, locations, and even specific likes and dislikes to cater their marketing for that audience. 

    AR is just where entertainment is right now for our young people. Advertisers have always looked to target them in the cheapest and most direct way possible. My advice is simply to be aware of the amount of time your kid is spending on social media. There are always dangers that we want to keep them from but, while I wouldn’t call it dangerous, the constant barrage of advertising can become worrisome for some kids. My strongest advice is for you to get an account on the social media services your children use and get to know them a little bit. At worst you’ll have to see some dumb ads and lots of dog faces, at best you could have something in common to talk with your teenager about.

  • The Monkey App will be a Hotbed for Predators

    The Monkey App will be a Hotbed for Predators

    You can often tell a lot about an app or product by their logo. (See Instagram or YouTube) They often use the small icon to entice you into using their app based on the style or the creative way the image can explain what the app is used for. Sometimes, though, you can be lured into a false sense of security by the playfulness of an app’s logo or icon. Monkey is a perfect example of this. When I saw Monkey listed as number 51 on the app store’s top downloads I was expecting to see some kid’s social media platform that would allow you to chat privately or play games or something. That’s not at all what I found.

    In reality Monkey is a chat roulette type of video chatting app. Once you’ve downloaded the app it will ask you your age. You set your age to whatever you’d like it to be, provide your phone number and your snapchat username and you’re in. It immediately begins connecting you with someone to video chat with. While it’s connecting it shows your face dimly in the background and says who it’s connecting you to. You have the option to skip the connection or accept. If you accept you’ll be shown their video feed and they’ll see yours. In the short time I tested the app I was connected with all males ranging from ages 22-45.

    Once you have connected with someone a countdown clock begins. You can tap the clock to add time and keep talking but if they don’t tap their clock you’ll be disconnected. This is another “swipe right” concept that gives each user the option to continue the connection with a simple gesture on their smartphone. To be honest I never accepted a connection. I still just don’t get a good feeling about the gamble of finding random video chatting partners. I don’t know what I”ll see when I connect. You also don’t know what your kids might see.

     

     

    What Parents Should Know

    The dangers of a roulette style video chat app should be pretty obvious. The potential for unwanted material and contact with dangerous people is real. While there is a report button to flag any inappropriate content, that method takes the “after the damage is done” approach to keeping their app free from pornography and bullying. The app is rated for users aged twelve and over and the terms and agreements explain how the company takes no responsibility for the content that may be displayed on the app.

    YOU FURTHER UNDERSTAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, WHILE THE SERVICES ARE NOT PROVIDED FOR PORNOGRAPHIC PURPOSES OR FOR MAKING SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONTENT AVAILABLE, YOU MAY BE EXPOSED TO CONTENT THAT YOU DEEM TO BE OFFENSIVE, INDECENT, OBJECTIONABLE, OR SEXUALLY EXPLICIT, AND YOU AGREE TO WAIVE, AND HEREBY DO WAIVE, ANY LEGAL OR EQUITABLE RIGHTS OR REMEDIES YOU HAVE OR MAY HAVE AGAINST MONKEYSQUAD WITH RESPECT THERETO. – Monkey Terms of Use (All caps theirs.)

    This app was developed by two sixteen year old kids from Australia. They said that they designed the app to allow teens to build more random online relationships. Ben Pasternak and Isaiah Turner told Mashable “…Snapchat is for your real life friends and Monkey is for your internet friends.” These teenagers saw a line between their real world relationships and the ones they could make with people all over the world through the internet. This is exactly what parents need to consider. While living in a more globalized world has many positives there are also very real risks to exposing our young teens and kids to the entire globe. 

    My advice is to put this app on your uninstall list. Never trust an app based on their branding or icon. Have a real conversation with your teen about the potential of seeing body parts or other unsightly things on this app. Remind them of the problem of connecting with random people online. There are always people who will lie about their age or their gender in order to connect with someone they’d like to prey on. Even if they know they’re only going to be connected for a few seconds. Sometimes a few seconds is enough to cause major problems for our young kids. Don’t let the cute monkey emoji logo fool you. Uninstall on sight!

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  • Instagram Voted Most Narcissistic Social Media Platform

    Instagram Voted Most Narcissistic Social Media Platform

    We’ve all seen that special selfie smile. The one that doesn’t allow your eyes to crinkle since we don’t like how our faces look when we laugh. This smile is most noticeable on the photos in your Instagram feed. As you scroll through you’ll see a version of people’s reality that usually makes their life look incredible. Is it possible that people are just posting to get more likes and comments on their photos? Could, maybe, these posts be a vain attempt to be accepted by your peers online? A large group of young adults were polled and they think that’s exactly what’s going on.

    A recent study by LENDEdu rates the vanity of the users of major social media platforms. Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter users all seem to be equally motivated by getting likes but Instagram users are extremely more driven by that double tap. It’s all about getting the LIKES on Instagram. So much so that more young people voted Instagram as the most narcissistic platform than the other three platforms combined.

     

     

    In fact, likes are so important that many who were polled admitted to taking down a photo or video if it didn’t get enough likes. This strengthens the case for the narcissism of Instagram. Some even use social media to create a different version of themselves. If they aren’t perceived in the way they’d like to be perceived they’ll just remove the evidence like it never happened. They also speak of an unspoken rule in which you like the posts of those who liked yours. This code of conduct allows users to build their desired persona while helping their friends build theirs.

     

    What Parent’s Should Know

    If you use Instagram you would probably answer these questions the same way. It’s obvious that people are only posting what they consider the best version of themselves on social media. When it comes to our teenager and tweens there is a risk involved with wrapping your self worth around the response your posts get online. Our children should be taught how to find their confidence and identity in something other that what others think about them.

    The “narcissism” referred to in this study points to young people in our culture’s desire to be accepted. That desire has always existed but it’s so very volatile in this increasingly global world. While social media may have been invented to allow us to share our experiences with the world, in reality, many are posting a filtered (literally) version of their lives. The quest for likes and approval from those who follow our accounts can easily lead to negative consequences in our children’s lives.

    My advice is to keep your child away from social media as long as possible. When you feel they are mature enough to have the right attitude about their reasons for posting online then let them open an account. If you feel they are merely looking for acceptance from their peers then it may be a good idea to delay access to such obvious criticism. As a parent you are what stands between your kids and some of the emotion that can come with your online activity being commented on, liked, and hated. Step in and take action to protect them from some of those potential negative emotions until they and you feel they are able to handle the load.

  • Meet Sprinkles, Microsoft’s New Fun Camera App

    Meet Sprinkles, Microsoft’s New Fun Camera App

    Here’s what you need. You need a new camera app that will allow you to put text, stickers, and emojis on top of your photos. That’s what we all need, right? What? You already have six apps on your phone that do that? Well, nobody told Microsoft because they’ve just released their own. Ignoring the fact that they released it on April 1st (it’s still there so no, not entirely a joke) we should spend some time looking at what this app does and who the target audience is. 

    First of all it’s just a camera. This is not a photo sharing app with a built in social experience. When you take and edit your photo you can share it on any of the social media sites you have connected on your phone but there no native sharing system. The app uses a basic AI (artificial intelligence) to recommend what you could put on your picture. The choices are mostly text overlays and are based on what you took a photo of. You don’t have to post what it recommends, you can add your own text, stickers, or emojis by swiping the screen and hitting a few buttons.

    What Parents Should Know

    This app is geared toward young users. The quotes or sayings are silly and there is a high volume of illustrated overlays and emojis to chose from. This app could be a good option for kids who want to take photos and put silly stuff over the top but shouldn’t share online. Just be sure to look at the settings by clicking the gear in the top left of the camera screen. The settings will give you the option to activate or deactivate more mature overlays. (Mostly language.) You can also set the permissions it has, such as location and notifications. You can enter your name and birthdate to allow the app to recommend certain overlays on your special day or with your name on them. Remember that photos taken on this app are scanned so that overlays can be recommended. Encourage your children that even if they aren’t posting online, they don’t want to take a photo of something they don’t want anyone else to see. It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with this app if you’re going to let your younger kids use it. Take it seriously, even though it was released on April Fool’s Day.

  • Facebook Creepers Beware!

    Facebook Creepers Beware!

    Anonymity on the internet is and has always been a myth. Facebook, however, has become a place where people can search for others and learn all about their lives without revealing their creepy behavior. Facebook’s new Stories feature is changing that a bit. In a move to keep and attract younger users Instagram and Facebook messenger added their own version of Snapchat’s stories. That feature has now been rolled out to the main Facebook app and it gives people an way to see who’s been watching. 

    Facebook’s stories are photos and videos that post in vertical-full screen format on your phone. They last only 24 hours and you can add text or drawings on the screen and the in-app camera has filters, masks, and overlays that you can add to your photos as well. There is also an option to see who looked at your photo or watched your video. This is a major difference for Facebook since the standard has been to go see what folks are up to with no threat of them finding out you’ve been watching. This may be good news for you because you don’t like the idea of people looking at your stuff without you knowing. Or, this may be disturbing because you, my friend, are the creeper. 

    What Parents Should Know

    Facebook is trying to become a real social media contender for young people again, so parents should be keeping tabs on the moves their making. The stories on Facebook add another way for people to show the reality of their life and world which is what your kid or teen likes to see and do on social media. You should encourage your son or daughter to keep an eye on who’s watching their story. Let them know that the feature is there and that if they’re using Stories they should go check out who’s been following their Story.

    Remind them, also, that anonymity online is a myth and that everything that is posted online can be there forever. Just because their Story disappears from Facebook after a day doesn’t mean it’s truly gone. Screenshots can capture an image and then it can be uploaded anywhere else on the internet. The rule should be that you never post anything on the internet that you don’t want the entire world to see and that you don’t want to be there forever. I say that these rules are good for us to teach our kids but some of us parents may need to remember these warnings as well.

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