Digital Citizenship

Teens are bombarded with a lot of advertising on apps such as Snapchat and Instagram. Recent surveys reveal that 47% of Internet users between the ages of 13 and 17 in the US think ads can be trusted to some extent, compared to 46% who think advertising can't be trusted, per a YouGov survey. 52% of male respondents thought ads were somewhat trustworthy, compared to just 42% of female participants. Separate data from Kantar Millward Brown found that teen Internet users worldwide were more likely than older respondents to be impatient with invasive digital ad formats like online display ads, video ads and autoplay ads on social channels. Teens were also significantly more likely to skip ads than older people.

This generation going off to college next fall may be “digital natives,” but some of them certainly have a lot to learn yet about digital etiquette, safety, and privacy.  Harvard College canceled admission offers to at least ten prospective students of the Class of 2021 because of racist and sexually explicit memes they posted in a private Facebook chat, according to the a recent report. The individuals were informed in April that their admissions offers to the prestigious Ivy League institution were under review, then later rescinded, because they had posted memes mocking the Holocaust, sexual assault and child abuse, among other topics, in a private Facebook messaging group that was formed late last year, according to The Harvard Crimson. This incident certainly should be part of all parents’ discussion about how nothing you post is really private online and anything you post, no matter how exclusive the group, can come back to haunt you.

What was that ding? Was it your laptop, smartphone, tablet or other digital device letting you know that yet another text, email, news alert, or Facebook message has arrived? That’s great for you – if you don’t mind a huge negative impact on your performance and concentration throughout the day – but for everyone around you it can get very annoying very quickly. Try reading up about notification options on your iPhones and iPads or on your Android device. And while we are at it, here is some advice on how to ask other people to turn off those alerts.

If you are reading this you may be thinking that you and your family already use Facebook so what does it mean to “master” it? Well for one thing, would you like to opt out of advertisements or remind yourself how someone got on your friends list? Perhaps it would also be good to set up a legacy contact just in case something happens to you, in case of emergency? To find out how to do all of these things and more, check out Kim Komando’s page on the USA Today site entitled These 7 tips will help you master Facebook.

A growing number of Americans, including nearly 70% of teens, are paying attention to multiple screens at once, according to a new survey by the Vision Council. That puts even more people in danger of digital eye strain, with symptoms such as dry or irritated eyes, blurred vision, headaches and neck or back pain—after staring at a screen for hours. What are some solutions? Printing out pages to read off screen is one analog solution, but you can also consider the 20-20-20 rule: for every 20 minutes with your screen, give your eyes a 20 second break and look 20 feet away, which will relax the focusing muscles. 

As kids and their cell phones are about to head into summer vacation mode, you may want to look at ways to help the whole family stop the burn when it comes to cell phone data. One of the best ways to do that is to figure out how much data your favorite apps use and adjust usage accordingly. It is the best way to help you avoid costly overages or painfully slow speeds, depending on your carrier. Not sure where to start? Take a look at this article from USA Today that breaks down the data usage of several popular app data hogs including Netflix, YouTube and Google Play, and gives tips on how to keep your data in check.

As summer vacation approaches, you might suspect that your kids are going to be spending more time on YouTube, so what should you know about making that time more constructive? USA Today has recently published a quick parent’s guide to watching YouTube with your kids, with tips such as using the YouTube Kids app which has features such as a timer and entering an age level so it only shows appropriate videos.

Brian Chen of the Tech Fix blog on The New York Times recently prompted a reality check for smartphone users on what is really need to protect your device. Check out his advice on why you should buy a case, and maybe a screen protector, but pass on the extended warranty. If you missed it, also check out his take on tips and myths of how to extend your smartphone’s battery life.

A survey done in the UK by #StatusofMind, part of the Young Health Movement and Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), indicates that overuse of the more image driven apps such as Instagram and Snapchat may be affecting the mental health of young people. While YouTube came out as having the most positive impact of all the well-known social media, Instagram and Snapchat came out in the study of 1,479 teens and young adults as fostering feelings of inadequacy and anxiety among youths who engage often with them. Experts commenting on the study reminded both professionals working in the field of teen mental health and parents that “it is important that we have checks and balances in place to make social media less of a wild west when it comes to young people’s mental health and wellbeing.”

“If Beyoncé thinks her body needs to be edited, what on Earth does mine need?” writes teenager Sarah Kendrick in a commentary on the KQED site (a National Public Radio/ Public Broadcasting System affiliate). As Kendrick points out, it takes courage to buck the pressures of social media and post real, unaltered, “unPhotoshopped” images of oneself online. She goes on to challenge other teens to ditch image-editing tools and embrace the beauty of their imperfect, natural selves.