A report published in 2017 by an independent UK health education charity named Instagram the social media platform that most negatively impacts the mental health and wellbeing of 14-24 year olds. After surveying nearly 1500 people in this age group, the Royal Society for Public Health ranked the platforms from…
It’s that time of year again. School is wrapping up and, for many families, this means it’s time to start packing for a summer away at camp. Cot-sized sheets need to be ordered and clothes need to be labeled, but there’s one item that often remains off…
We know there are many pitfalls to kids owning smartphones. However, for most parents, giving their kid a phone is a practical choice. Just because a kid has a smartphone doesn’t mean they will cyberbully, sext, or worse (but they can be on the receiving end of of risks…
The practice of data mining involves analytics companies harvesting large sets of data from large internet providers like Google, or social media giants like Facebook, and using it to track user behavior in order to benefit their company or clients. Data mining has been in the headlines recently because of…
The purpose of Latch Mobile’s patent pending technology is to take the worry out of giving kids smartphones. Parents receive real time alerts when kids are in trouble or need help when they are using their phones or mobile devices so parents can intervene early, before there are consequences.…
Earlier this year I wrote about the recently released Facebook Messenger for Kids. We did not download it for our daughter but, I’ll admit, it didn’t seem like an entirely bad idea for children in the 6-13 age group. Some kids are determined to communicate digitally no matter…
Cyberbullying can happen in many forms and through many different apps on a phone, and sometimes victims don’t even have to have a phone. I’ve heard of instances where mean things were said about a fourth grader in a text message exchange, and then the exchange was shown…
According to The Cyberbullying Center, cyberbullying is the willful and repeated use of digital communication tools to inflict harm or make another person feel angry, sad or scared. While this definition is fairly straightforward, the world of cyberbullying and toxic conversations is deeply nuanced, especially in the realm of children…
