Family Tech Blog

Tag: tech

  • 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…)

  • What in the What is WhatsApp?

    What in the What is WhatsApp?

     

    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…)

  • Mobile Device Vocabulary Lesson 1

    Mobile Device Vocabulary Lesson 1

     

    Lesson 1 – Why you should know this basic Mobile Device Vocabulary

    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…)

  • Here’s Why Your Passwords Don’t Work

    Here’s Why Your Passwords Don’t Work

     

    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…)

  • Why We Don’t Like Musical.ly

    Why We Don’t Like Musical.ly

     

    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…)

  • Your Family Device Security Checklist

    Your Family Device Security Checklist

     

    There are many steps to take in order to start protecting your family online. Below is the checklist from our book What’s in Your Pocket? (more…)

  • You Need a “Device Contract” with Your Kids

    You Need a “Device Contract” with Your Kids

     

    In our book What’s in Your Pocket? we emphasise online and offline involvement in your child’s digital life. The fact is that…

    You can talk to your kids until you’re blue in the face about the internet, but if you aren’t keeping tabs on what they are accessing, you’re not doing all you can to help them. On the other hand, you can keep watch like a hawk on what your kids do online, but if you never talk to them about it, you’re just gaining knowledge that you never use to make any change. You have to put forth the effort on both fronts.

    (more…)