Digital Citizenship

These cold winter months when you are stuck inside more often with your technology is a good time to think about starting some new habits that will help simplify the tech in your life. Creating individual passwords is one thing to think about, and password managing apps can make it easy. Doing some device maintenance, like getting rid of those apps you never use and backing up your photos, can put your mind at ease and keep your devices running smoothly. For more ideas check out Brian Chen’s article Five Resolutions to Simplify Your Tech Life in The New York Times Personal Tech section.

Did your kids seem less than surprised by what they got for holiday gifts? Maybe that is because they got some clues from your browser history or those Internet ads that pop up on websites because of the searches you did. What can you do about those annoying ads? Take a look at this USA Today article entitled How to prevent ads from following you online for more complete advice on cleaning up your online trail and controlling ads you see in Facebook. In a nutshell, clear your browser history after you have finished a gift search and block those cookies. See the article for more step-by-step advice.

Are you or your kids waiting to get your hands on a pair of Spectacles from Snapchat? Spectacles are sunglasses with an integrated video camera that makes it easy to create short videos, and marketing experts are saying the influencers your kids follow online (celebrities and bloggers who post “personal reviews” and have millions of followers online) will be using these stylish pieces of hardware in significant ways in 2017. They expect we will see more first person reviews and “unboxings” of products meant to influence teens and other consumers. They also expect that the device will be used to do more first person shoots of extreme sporting events – think of a more advanced Go-Pro. If the thought of these “glasses” is concerning to you, there are already teens posting hacks on how to disguise the spectacles to prevent others from knowing they are being filmed. This obviously raises concerns about video being used to bully and harass since the glasses will do all the work and no one will even have to pull out a phone or use their hands to point and shoot.

It is estimated that 98% of millennials and teens are active on some form of social media. Ypulse, a site that reports on teen and millennial online behavior, recently posted five stats about social media that parents may find interesting. One finding states that 10-17-years-old “were really concerned” about what their parents posted about them on social media, and it was reported that kids were nearly three times more likely than parents to feel that there should be rules in place about what can be shared. When it comes to privacy, eight in ten millennials and teens would rather use a social network that only allows close friends to see their posts.

Social media usage may be replacing drug use for teens, or so it appears. A Michigan University study recently revealed that in 2015 the percentage of teens using alcohol and drugs reached its lowest point since 1990, and some experts reason that the lack of offline experiences is driving the decrease. The director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse explains: "There may be a protective effect brought about by the fact that they don't have so many occasions to get together where the use of drugs would be facilitated." 

There are thousands of apps created for kids these days, so how do you filter through them all when deciding what to download for your children? Common Sense Media takes that on with seven questions that can help you figure out how to separate the wheat from the chaff. The article 6 Ways to Download Kids' Apps Smarter (and Cheaper) can help you find apps that your kids will enjoy but will also prove to be time and money well spent.

Is threatening to take away your teen’s phone the deterrent you think it is? What is really going through the mind of your teen when you do take the phone away? Answers to those questions and more is covered in an eye-opening article on the Child Mind Institute site called When Should You Come Between a Teenager and Her Phone?

According to a new survey done by the Future of Privacy Forum entitled "Beyond One Classroom: Parental Support for Technology and Data Use in Schools," parents are still mostly clueless about the laws regulating the use of student data, and they don't buy into the idea that more laws will somehow provide the answers they want. Only one in five parents knew that there were federal laws restricting what companies can do with information collected from children online. Another 24 percent knew there were laws but didn't know the details. The remainder knew nothing about federal laws in particular. That contrasts with the 94 percent who responded that they felt they should be informed when their child's record was being shared so they would know with whom it was being shared and why. Do you know what data is being collected from your child and how is it is being shared and protected?

A new study from the Journal of Pediatrics reports that teens who used screen devices, such as smartphones or tablets, for five or more hours daily had a twofold higher likelihood of drinking sugar-sweetened beverages and were 43% more likely to become obese than those who didn't use such devices. The findings also showed a 74% increased risk of poor sleep among those who used screen devices for at least five hours daily. While only you know what effect screen devices has on your children, one dietician pointed out "If kids are playing video games on the computer while they're eating, they sometimes don't register an end to their hunger. Eating can become mindless rather than mindful, and they may not realize they are actually full." That’s just something to keep in the back of your mind for cold winter days when kids are glued to the couch playing video games.

Generation Z students -- those born in or after 2001 -- view technology overall as beneficial to learning, according to a recent survey from Quizlet (an online self-quiz generating app). However, the findings show a difference of opinion on educational apps, with 80% of teachers saying apps make learning more fun, compared with 51% of students. Also in a time period where many districts are trying to make students “responsible” for their own learning, the one thing students and teachers of all ages agreed on is that interaction between students and teachers is the most important part of a classroom learning environment.