WhatsApp is all over the tech news sites today with the announcement of GIF support in their app. This is pretty cool news for users of WhatsApp but as parents keeping an eye on our children’s online activity this news makes it more and more interesting to our kids. So, what is WhatsApp and what should parents know? (more…)
To handle a language skillfully is to practice a kind of evocative sorcery. – Charles Baudelaire (Poet)
Working with digital devices requires the knowledge of a certain language. If you understand what certain words mean you are able to know what is happening in a certain device with just a glance. As parents, it is imperative that we can understand the activities our children are engaging in on their smartphones, tablets, and computers. This is why the thirteen words in this tutorial, of sorts, will be so powerful in your hands as a parent. (more…)
Joe and Beth have had a Living Room Workshop and bought What’s in Your Pocket? They are doing everything they can to protect their kids online. They have accountability software, filters, and they even sit down with their kids every now and then and talk about internet safety. It’s great…for a few months. Then, suddenly, during one of their family meetings Billy tells them he saw something he shouldn’t have. It bothered him pretty badly and the whole family is having to re-establish their plan. (more…)
I installed Musical.ly on my phone just to see what it was all about. “I have to do this sort of thing,” I said “it’s my job.” I then began to look around on the app and was annoyed very quickly. Unsurprisingly, it’s all about music. It’s about the latest pop hits, it’s about the classic songs everyone knows, and it’s about videos. Lots and lots of pre-teens making their own music videos. (more…)