Family Tech Blog

Tag: ios

  • Houseparty App Gives Your Teens a Chance to “Unwind” with Friends Online

    Houseparty App Gives Your Teens a Chance to “Unwind” with Friends Online

     

    Everyone needs their “third place.”

    The third place is explained by sociologists as

    “the coffeehouse, the bar, the mall — a public space for relaxing, socializing, sharing ideas, or goofing off.” –TechCrunch

    Your kids are finding an online version of that public space and it’s in an app called Houseparty. Houseparty is a group live “hangout” or video chat app and it’s been increasingly popular in high schools since May. This app provides a way for teens to connect with friends away from the pressures of school, work, or even parents. It gives them that “third place” to unwind. It gives them an opportunity to be social, but is it really social?

    “Despite the positive impact of emerging communication technologies on scientific research, our results provide striking evidence for the role of physical proximity as a predictor of the impact of collaborations.” – Harvard Medical School

    Relationships are better built in person. More and more research is showing that time spent near your friends is more important even than time spent talking with them. While video chatting allows for group conversation, it doesn’t allow for the mannerism cues and continuous turn taking. (Bejing Normal University) To say that using a video chat to build relationships is good for our kids, or at least better than nothing, is not really accurate.

    How It Works

    screen322x572The Houseparty app uses your contact list to automatically log you in with up to eight friends who are online when you open the app. You don’t set up or invite people to conversations, it just puts you in a room to hangout with whoever is on. So using your contacts list ensures that you’re hopefully only chatting with friends. You may, however, have the contacts of some folks you aren’t interested in chatting with. There is a “stranger danger” feature that will alert the user if someone joins the chat that isn’t on their contact list. This is a pretty good feature.

    What Parents Should Do.

    I think this app is trying to get a lot right. While there can always be concern with video chatting, simply because anything created with good intentions can easily be used to do something inappropriate. Similar to the AfterSchool app, I would say Houseparty is something that parents should be aware of and talk to their kids about but I wouldn’t advise uninstalling on sight, necessarily. Whether or not your are ok with your children building their relationships through online communication is up to you.

  • 5 Social Media Rules for Parents

    5 Social Media Rules for Parents

     

    Social media is a fact of life. In fact, our kids are often more social on social media than they are in the “real world.” I hesitate to say the real world because for your kids, their life online is their real life as well. Use these tips to help you be as diligent as you can while protecting your kids on their social media accounts.

    1. Do Use the Same Social Media Your Kids Use

    Even if your only have this account to be able to see what your kids are doing it’s a good idea. I call this a “stalker account.” That sounds more harsh than it is. It’s just a good idea to be able to see what they are posting. This method is less intrusive than taking their devices and looking at their accounts. If your teen argues with you and says they don’t want you to follow them (or unfollows you themselves) you can always ban their use of that social media site and I recommend that you do.

    2. Do Follow Your Children on Social Media (more…)

  • Your Kids Use “AfterSchool” So You Should See This

    Your Kids Use “AfterSchool” So You Should See This

     

    Some apps come out and there is no way to know the intentions of the developer. AfterSchool is not one of those apps. The vision behind this app is to turn online activity into real world interaction. In a good way. AfterSchool is an app that lets students connect with other teens in their school. Here’s what their site says about what you can do on the AfterSchool app:

    “After School’s innovative features channel students toward making new connections and friendships, and engaging in positive offline activities. …On After School, students can share openly and honestly, without fearing judgment or ridicule. They choose whether to reveal their name or remain private.” – afterschoolapp.com/about

    While these apps allow you to stay private, a lot of students choose to make their identities known. Most of the “testimonials” from teens about why they like these apps speak to being able to hear what people really think about you. They talk about everyone being open and honest on the app. Honesty and openness is good but if you are saying “what you really think” about someone, that could cause problems in the teen world.

    Yes, the creators of AfterSchool designed this app to ban bullying and hateful behavior but I still say that as a parent, we need to understand how this app works. What it does and what our kids are using it for. If they are wanting to meet up, what are they meeting to do? The app has built in features to block explicit content but there are ways around those filters. They also claim to have live moderators who keep cyberbullying and inappropriate posts to a minimum. While this is all great, there is no better moderator than mom and dad talking to their teens about what they’ve seen on the app.

    Even the creators of AfterSchool understand this and so they’ve put together an extensive guide for parents. I’ve included a link to their PDF below. I recommend you go check out the site. They boast that teens in 80% of US High Schools use AfterSchool. That means your kids are most likely using it to. You should read this:

    Click to Download the PDF
    Click to Download the PDF
  • WhatsApp Update Adds Video Calling

    WhatsApp Update Adds Video Calling

     

    We recently wrote about WhatsApp and explained a few things parents should know about the messaging app. Now, a new updated requires we update our information as well. This new update brings video calls to the app that is owned by Facebook.
    Video Chat is Awesome!

    WhatsApp is largely considered safe because of its authentication and encryption settings but with the addition of video calls the app enters a completely new realm. Video calling is very convenient and a great way to stay connected to family and friends that you aren’t always near. Apps like Skype and Facetime have been mainstays in allowing you to use WiFi to talk to someone while looking at their face. Something that is priceless for someone as easily distracted from a phone call as I am. The concern with this new feature, though, is how it could be used by those who have ill intentions.

    What Parents Should Know

    I’ll say it like I do in so many articles, you have to be monitoring what your children do in any messenger app. With new features like GIFs and video calling being added all the time we are just seeing more and more opportunities for our kids to get into trouble. Will all kids use these features for evil? Of course not, but it’s too likely that someone they know (or worse, they don’t know) will be using it to cause harm.

    I don’t necessarily recommend not allowing your teenager to use WhatsApp. I do, however, recommend using something (even if it’s just your own eyes) to monitor what conversations your kids are having. If you aren’t comfortable with video chatting being available to your teen then you need to disable it or ask them to use a different app for messaging.

    We did a whole write-up on some key terms related to messaging. These terms and the rest of the terms in our Mobile Device Vocabulary series are too important to miss. I recommend you subscribe to this site so you can check it out. Only $60 per year will get you full access to this site. Sign up now.

  • Facebook Messenger “Public Chats” Could Be a Problem for Parents

    Facebook Messenger “Public Chats” Could Be a Problem for Parents

    Fewer and fewer teens are on Facebook these days, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. They’ve left the social media platform because of their parents and grandparents being on there so often, that is a bad thing. When Facebook launched their messenger app they made it possible to never use Facebook itself but still have conversations in messenger. Soon it may be possible to have those conversations in a public chat room. That, could be the new problem.

    Messenging is something that has commonly caused concern for the involved mom or dad. It’s easy to have conversations that parents never hear about and to get into discussions with people you don’t even truly know. The age old rule “don’t talk to strangers” doesn’t seem to apply online these days even though it really should. Facebook will soon be offering “Rooms,” in which users can discuss different topics and be connected by their interests. Rooms will be shared with a link and can be posted publicly to allow anyone to join the conversation.

    These rooms are different than group chats in that they allow more people than just Facebook friends and family to join. Literally anyone can join your “Room” if they have the link. Users will, however, have the option to set rooms to private and require administrator approval for a user to join. Facebook Messenger Rooms is currently being tested in Austrailia and Canada but look for it to be availible in the US before too long.

    What Should Parent’s Know?

    Obviously your children need to understand the dangers of chatting in public rooms on any social media service. Facebook messenger is one of the most common and popular so be sure to include it in your discussion. Also, pay attention to your child’s social media accounts. If you see them posting links that you aren’t familiar with or posting that they are opening up a public chat room, click through to that link and see what is going in in the “Room.” Again, you won’t be seeing this feature in messenger in the United States just yet, but be aware that other apps like WhatsApp have this feature already and you should be keeping track of what your children are doing in those apps.

    We have written extensively about mobile messaging and different terms you should know in our mobile device vocabulary series which is available with a subscription. Go sign up today and learn all you can to be ready for this coming update. 

     

  • Mobile Device Vocabulary Lesson 5: Gaming (2)

    Mobile Device Vocabulary Lesson 5: Gaming (2)

     

    We’ve made it to our final vocabulary post. We are visiting gaming again. We discussed several gaming terms in lesson one but I thought we should cover a few more in this final vocabulary lesson. These terms have to do with gaming and monetization (a word you learned in lesson 1.) Learning about how money works in the mobile gaming world can really help you understand how game companies market to your kids. If you aren’t subscribed to the site, be sure to register so that you can access all of the great content in this series and so much more.  (more…)

  • Mobile Device Vocabulary Lesson 4: Privacy and Security

    Mobile Device Vocabulary Lesson 4: Privacy and Security

     

    Conversations about internet privacy and security have been in the news a lot lately. Questions about who has the right to track you on your smartphone and who doesn’t. Terms and agreements that don’t really help you understand how companies use your information once they’ve gained if from your device usage. Below are three common terms that will help you walk through the minefield that is internet security and privacy. Learn what these terms mean so that you can make the right choices for your child’s online safety as well.  (more…)

  • Mobile Device Vocabulary Lesson 3: Messaging

    Mobile Device Vocabulary Lesson 3: Messaging

     

    Our kids and teenagers are communicating more differently than ever before. The note being passed from desk to desk has been replaced with words typed on a screen. Long phone conversations with friends every evening have given way to short, emoji laced text messages with pictures, videos, animated images, and links to other online content. Communication has evolved, or at least changed and it’s more common than you may have ever imagined. Just look at these statistics from April of 2015.

    73% of teenagers have a smartphone and 91% of those teens text. Teenagers send and recieve and average of 30 text per day. (PEW Research Center)

    More than nine out of ten teens who own a smartphone give and receive an average of 30 text messages every single day. That means, your child texts. The following abbreviations/phrases will give you greater insight to what messenger apps are capable of.  (more…)

  • Mobile Device Vocabulary Lesson 2: Gaming (1)

    Mobile Device Vocabulary Lesson 2: Gaming (1)

     

    Smartphones and tablets have brought a whole new set of tools to game developers. It’s critical that you, as a parent, understand some of the language used in the descriptions of these games. Since you know your kids you’re the only one that can decide if a certain game is dangerous for your child or not. For instance, our oldest is pretty analytical and has an addictive personality. Because of these traits we are very careful how much time he has in front of a screen, especially in un-controlled, purely recreational activity. We know that he can get obsessive very quickly so we have some pretty strict boundaries on his screen time. Hopefully the following terms (the first three of six gaming terms) will help you better understand some game descriptions so you can pick the right ones for your kids.  (more…)

  • Pokemon GO Update: What you should know.

    Pokemon GO Update: What you should know.

     

    The conversation about Pokemon GO has settled down quite a bit lately but a new update this week has caused a bit more discussion to begin again. I think parents need to hear some of what is being said. While this update adds a new 8 mph maximum speed to keep you from playing while driving and a few new Pokemon to catch, the issue most relevant to parents is the addition of Daily Bonuses to the app. (more…)