Social Media

Toy makers have started striking licensing deals with YouTube channel creators as children are increasingly seeking out toys based on their favorite YouTube programming. For example, toy manufacturer Jazwares will start selling merchandise based on three popular children's YouTube channels this year - Blippi, a preschool education-and-entertainment character with more than 21 million subscribers; toy-unboxing and reviews channel CKN Toys, which has 14.7 million subscribers; and Cocomelon, a channel known for nursery rhymes, which has 74 million subscribers. Jazware's Laura Zebersky says, "The world has changed and you will see properties ranging from 'Fortnite' to influencers on YouTube who are leading and competing against movies and TV shows on a day-to-day basis."

When it comes to digital safety, a lot comes down to modeling the kind of behavior you would like to see your kids follow as well as setting rules and expectations for everyone in your household, including visitors. One way to do that it is to let other parents know when they drop off their kids at your house what kind of rules you follow when it comes to television, movies, games and apps. Here is how to do that:

• Clearly state your media dos and don’ts. Be as specific as possible about the time limits, types of media, and content you allow and don't allow.
• Share the titles. If your kid is currently into a certain show or game, it's likely they'll want to enjoy it with their friend. Tell the other parent that you're comfortable with, for example, the kids watching two episodes of The Mandalorian after they get back from riding bikes.
• Check out their response to your rules. Remember, the other parent may not like your media rules. And if you want them to respect yours, you need to return the favor.
• Make sure your kids know the rules. Discuss any media rules with your kid in advance and make sure they know that playdates depend on them being responsible about sticking to the rules.
• Be consistent. The more you set the ground rules at your home around media and tech, the more other parents will start to expect it from you. And if you're lucky, they'll start following your lead.

And remember…. If your kid ends up seeing something at someone else's house that you wouldn't have approved of, it's not likely to do much damage. Restate your rules with your kid, but don't put too much pressure on them to uphold them when you are not around. They're still learning how to do that. And if you freak out because their friend showed them an off-limits video, they might not tell you about it next time. If it was egregious (porn, explicit R-rated movie, etc.), you might consider having an open, nonjudgmental conversation with the other parent and next time, invite the other kid to your place!

Personalization is the key to effective parent-school communication, according to a survey of parents, teachers and school leaders by the Center for American Progress. The survey found that in-person, parent-teacher conferences were preferable to technology-based communication, with research associate Abby Quirk saying, “We thought there might be special interest in options that use technology because they’re newer, they offer potentially more options, but what we found was that the technological advancement, so to speak, of the communication method really wasn’t that important. What we found was that the individualization was really important.”

Bowing to criticism, TikTok has unveiled parental controls in a new feature called Family Safety Mode that allows parents to link their accounts to their teens'. This allows parents to set time limits as well as manage direct messages and content. The safety mode is currently only available in the UK but will be expanded to other geographic areas in the near future.

YouTube has announced criteria for how it will allocate $100 million to producers of children's content, an initiative it announced in September. The programming targeted to ages 3-8 is meant to “drive outcomes associated with the following character strengths: courage, compassion, communication, gratitude, curiosity, humility, teamwork, integrity, perseverance, self-control, empathy and creativity”, and can be live-action or animated. The announcement was made following YouTube getting slapped with a record US$170-million settlement from the US Federal Trade Commission and the New York Attorney General for allegedly collecting personal information from children without parental consent.

According to Social Media Today research conducted by 5W Public Relations, Facebook is the most popular social platform among millennials and Gen Z, with 77% of them indicating that they're active on the platform every day, followed by Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat, Reddit, Pinterest and TikTok, respectively. When it comes to targeted ads, 52% of millennials have clicked on an Instagram ad and 35% have purchased a product via the platform.

In these divided times it is easy to blame social media for much of the partisanship and misinformation that is flooding the internet. But a new study from the Pew Research Center suggests that there is overall bipartisan agreement that news that comes from social media sites is suspect. Incredibly, almost two thirds of adults don't trust Facebook as a source of news — and the numbers are mirrored on both sides of the aisle, with 59 percent of Democrats (and independents who lean that way) and 62 percent of Republicans (and independents who lean that way) reporting distrust. The numbers are similarly symmetrical for Twitter (46 percent distrusted by Democratic voters, 51 percent for Republicans) and Instagram (41 and 45 percent, respectively). 

On the whole, a whopping 72 percent of people in the survey said they trusted news information on social media sites either "Not too much" (38 percent) or "Not at all" (34 percent). As for the people who do trust their feeds to be factual: Only 15 percent of people across both sides said they trusted Facebook, 12 percent trusted Twitter, 6 percent trusted Instagram, and a slightly concerning 17 percent trusted what they saw on YouTube.

While is hard to know exactly what these numbers mean and what kind of “news” people are referring to, it is reassuring that many people seem to be aware that everything they read online may not be true. It is definitely a message that parents need to remind their children of constantly. And one positive note, new research from the Reboot Foundation suggests that it is possible to cultivate students’ ability to spot fake news by learning to "read beyond the headline," "check the date" and "check your biases." 

Sharing pictures and updates about your children on social media has become a norm for most people who want to keep in touch with family and friends around the world, despite experts on digital safety cautioning parents about being very careful about what you post.  Accustations of “sharenting,” or obnoxiously sharing every little detail of their children’s lives in pictures online, criticize parents who are robbing children of their right to privacy and dignity, and sometimes rubbing others the wrong way by what many see as bragging. So what should you think about when it comes to cautiously and sparingly posting pictures of your children online?

• Before you post a picture to any site, understand there is still the potential for anyone to see it. Even if you have created a private or “secret” group, with every privacy control available, people may still be able to forward pictures and messages, so think very carefully about what you post. Anything that is shared online – pictures, messages, status updates­– is stored somewhere and has the potential to come back and haunt you (or your child) later. Think about how pictures of your child misbehaving or negative comments about behavior or learning issues could affect them in the future.
• For what you do decide to post, use as many privacy control settings as possible before posting a picture of your child on any social media site. These are not absolute guarantees to keep strangers from seeing her photo, but it decreases the risk. Also turn off your phone’ s GPS. The default on most phones is to have the GPS turned on.
• Think about using photo-sharing sites such as Google Photos or Flickr that require users to log in to see your individual pictures (unlike on social media, where all your followers can see them).
• Never offer any personal information with the photo such as your home address, your children’s school, where their birthday party was held or even what sports team they are on or where the game was played.
• Make it a rule to try to not include your children’s friends in pictures, but if it is unavoidable do not identify their friends by name.
• Avoid posting any pictures or comments suggesting your child is a loner or if he's upset about something someone said. Strangers might use that to lure your child into a situation that can be dangerous.
• Recognize that while you are the owner of the photo you took, by posting it on a social media site you effectively grant permission to the website where you posted it to use the work in any manner according to its terms of use or privacy standards. If copyright is your concern, consider adding a digital watermark (a superimposed logo or word) to your photos.
• If you share custody of your children, take care. Sometimes ex partners find it emotionally trying to see photos of their child when they are not part of the happy occasion.
• As soon as your child is old enough to understand, ask permission before posting any photos. What may seem innocent to you, it might embarrass her if her classmates see it. The last person you should ever want to embarrass or expose to cyberbullying is someone you're supposed to protect.
• Once the picture is posted be prepared for a variety of feedback. Not everyone will see that darling or amusing picture of your child the way you do.
• Keep in mind that posting a picture of a child could identify you to advertisers and data collectors as someone to target for baby or childrens products.

Facebook filed papers recently pledging to enact privacy protections "far beyond those required by United States law" as it urged US District Judge Timothy Kelly to approve the platform's $5 billion proposed settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. Facebook is also working to appease advocacy groups that contend the fine isn't enough punishment and doesn't hold the platform accountable for past violations.

The "Outlet Challenge," a new trending challengs circulating on social media video platforms including YouTube and TikTok, is being blamed for kids damaging electrical outlets, causing fires in classrooms, and developing skin burns across the country. Officials are warning parents about the challenge, which involves inserting the plug part of a phone-charger only part way into a wall outlet and then trying to produce a spark by touching a penny to the exposed prongs. Firefighters are issuing serious warnings about possible fires and electrocutions.