Calgary Registration Now Open
Live in the Calgary area? I will be speaking to 9 schools in 9 days. In between, I will be hosting an RSVP function for those parents who want to hear the presentation (again, or for the first time). Two full hours of information and knowledge. Click on Calgary above to register.
See you next month!
13yr Olds Loosing Interest in Facebook
For the past year, I stated during my presentations that Facebook is on the decline with the Grade 7/8s I am talking to.. and today another study proved me (and my audience of over 100k students) correct!
Kids are turning 13 – and not many want Facebook.. That’s because it was cool to lie about their age at 10 and get on Facebook, and now kids grew board of it, and are off using Vine & Instagram.
When parents attend my sessions, they are always updated on what kids are using TODAY and will look at in months to come. So why do I still have a Facebook section in my presentation? They have left LOTs of trails behind of their activity…
The other reason? “Facebook is for old people” ( a famous quote from a grade 8 girl in Ontario this past year) Which means parents (yes, us old people) need to understand security when using Facebook
Protecting Children
I read an article this morning on how to protect your children from porn and sexting. Here is how society has things completely backwards.
The author starts off by first listing SIX applications you can use to monitor/block the ability for your technology from getting “the unwanted” on their device. THEN – point #7 & #8 spoke about constant communication with your child and monitoring their device (as a parent should be).
I have guided parents on applications they can use to assist them (to block websites, or electronically monitor what is on their mobile device, etc). But that is only AFTER we have put our parental rules & guidelines in place… these applications should not be used in place of our duties as parents.
When will we start getting it right?
What is VINE (for iOS and Android)
Vine is a free App for i-Device and Android that lets users take six second videos, and share them with their “followers”, and basically anyone that wants to watch them on the web. Here is what it looks like on your child’s device
You can only use Vine on a i-Device or Android, not through a Blackberry or Windows PC.
There is an age restriction on it also – it’s 17yrs of age. Here is the exact screenshot from the App store reflecting this, along with why it has an age restriction.
Top Downloaded Apps
July 2, 2013
Looking at the top 10 downloaded Apps for i-Devices this week, and at #5 is ASK.FM and #10 is SNAPCHAT. Viral marketing amongst youth is amazing. Parents – look for the icons on their devices. Both ASK and SNAPCHAT should not be part of your child’s life, as previously reviewed.
You can see what the icons look like below:
Instagram Update – They Added Video!
Parents – just as you caught up with what Instagram does.. they now have added one more feature: Video. Video was added June 20th, 2013
If your children used Instagram to take still pictures, they can now use it for short videos – up to 15 seconds long. Everything else remains the same as to how it is used when it comes to sharing with followers of your child’s account.
The new service runs on iOS (iPhone, iPad and iPod touch) and Android phones and tablets. It is not available for Blackberry.
The age of restriction remains 13yrs of age.
Niagara – Ottawa – Calgary : CONFIRMED
June 1, 2013
I am happy to announce that while speaking at schools in Niagara, Ottawa and Calgary during the 2013/2014 School Year – I will be hosting an RSVP event in each of those cities also!
Final details are being finalized, and an RSVP section on this website will be setup – Just like the Woodbridge function on June 10th!
Thanks to all the parents who asked for it to happen, and for the communities who make it possible to execute.
Instagram FYI
Flying back from my recent week in Calgary presenting to schools, I took time to look at how Instagram has modified it’s terms of Service as of January 2013.
One item that stuck out and was of interest to me was:
Rights
- Instagram does not claim ownership of any Content that you post on or through the Service. Instead, you hereby grant to Instagram a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use the Content that you post on or through the Service, subject to the Service’s Privacy Policy, available here http://instagram.com/legal/privacy/, including but not limited to sections 3 (“Sharing of Your Information”), 4 (“How We Store Your Information”), and 5 (“Your Choices About Your Information”). You can choose who can view your Content and activities, including your photos, as described in the Privacy Policy.
And don’t forget the age requirements for Instagram: 13yrs of age or older
What is a HashTag?
So, what is a HASHTAG? This is a hashtag: # (the number symbol)
How is it used in/on social networking sites like twitter and instagram?A hashtag is a word or a phrase prefixed with the symbol #
Example: #nhl – this will reference your posting with relation to the NHL
Try looking it up on twitter, and you will see any post made with that reference to it.
#selfie – the most common hashtag used to define a Self Portrait. If you look up #selfie on instagram, you will get over 21million pictures that have that tag assoicated with it
What is ASK.FM
ASK.FM (www.ask.fm) is an anonymous question and answer website primarily used by teens/pre-teens
It allows anyone to post anonymous comments and questions to a person’s profile and is increasingly being used as a means to communicate abusive, bullying and sexual content.
There is NO social or education benefit to being on this site. I advise parents everyday: Make sure your child is not on, visiting, or involved with this horrible website. All you need to do is look for it on your browsing history or handheld device. Do not visit it yourself and leave a trail behind so your child can explore.
As advised – there is nothing positive about this site. Yet it makes the news all the time… with sad stories. I have listed some current ones below.
April 15, 2013 – 15yr old boy kills himself after being hounded on ASK.FM
December 2012 – 16yr old girls commits suicide after bullying on ASK.FM
http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/jessica-laney-suicide-bully-ask-fm/2012/12/12/id/467459