Social Media — News & Popular Guides
Quick-Guide to Roblox for Parents
Roblox includes social features like in-game chat, which can be turned off to enhance safety.
Tips to Help Stop Cyberbullying
Guidance for parents and young people on cyberbullying, including advice for ending (or preventing) the cycle of aggression. For a more comprehensive look, see A Parents' Guide to Cyberbullying. For kids and teens Know that it's not your fault. What people call...
Parent’s & Educator’s Guide to Media Literacy & False Information
Two-thirds of students can’t identify sponsored content.
Time to Think about Back-to-School Devices and Policies
If buying a device, consider school recommendations, education discounts, and specific needs for different grades.
Parent’s Guide to ZEPETO
ZEPETO is popular among teens for designing content, fashion, items, and virtual environments.
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Seniors Flocking to TikTok
When you think about TikTok, it’s easy to conjure up images of young teens lip-synching and horsing around in short videos they share with their peers.
Ask Trish: The Pressure to Be Perfect
“I sometimes feel like the pressure to be perfect on social media can be so overwhelming. Do you have tips for...
Parent’s Guide to Snapchat
Snapchat is for fun and spontaneity, with text, photos, and videos deleting after viewing.
Quick-Guide to Secure Passwords
The FBI along with other security experts are now recommending a “pass phrase” rather than simply a password. Such a phrase should be relatively long – at least 15 characters.
Tips for Dealing with Teen Sexting
Also see: Teen Sexting: Quick-Guide for Parents and Teens “Sexting” usually refers to the sharing of sexually explicit...
New Research & Resources for Online Wellness
It’s been a big week when it comes to resources for promoting wellness and helping protect children online. with new resources from Google and Instagram and a study from Common Sense Media.
ReThink Founder on How App Promotes Kindness & Decency
Rethink founder Trisha Prabhu is on a mission to help cultivate the next generation of responsible digital citizens.
Battening Down your Facebook Hatches
Controlling who can see your friends list is only one of many optional privacy settings.
Family Guide to Messenger by Facebook
Features include blocking, vanish mode, and enhanced protections for teens.
Battening Down your Facebook Hatches
Controlling who can see your friends list is only one of many optional privacy settings.
Family Guide to Messenger by Facebook
Features include blocking, vanish mode, and enhanced protections for teens.
How We Got Here
Because they’ve been written about extensively, there’s no need for me to repeat how the internet – Facebook, Twitter and lesser-known sites like Gab and the now-suspended Parler have contributed to the division, vitriol and violence that has shaken our country.
Parent’s Guide to Tech for Tots
Teaching even our youngest children how to use devices and interact with digital content in a healthy way has become an important part of parenting.
Facebook’s Messenger & Instagram’s Disappearing Act
Snapchat may have pioneered disappearing posts in social media, but Facebook is adding a disappearing act to...
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YouTube Cutting Hateful and Extremist Videos
YouTube is pulling the plug on thousands of videos that promote bigoted views, including “videos that promote or glorify Nazi ideology, which is inherently discriminatory,”
Safety and Privacy of Smart Displays and Speakers at Home and in the Classroom
We discuss our use of the Facebook Portal as well as other smart displays and speakers that they have tested. There are privacy and safety implications, but they can be managed.
Despite Free-Speech Concerns, Banning Hate a Good Thing
by Larry Magid There was big news from Paris this week where 18 countries and numerous companies, including Facebook,...
Helping Kids Survive Bullying and Other Trauma
ConnectSafley CEO Larry Magid and K-12 Education Director Kerry Gallagher talk about how adults can support youth who...
Why Facebook Instituted its Policy to Ban Support for White Nationalism and White Supremacy
ConnectSafely CEO and CBS News Technology Analyst, Larry Magid speaks with human rights expert Brittan Heller on why Facebook instituted its new policy to ban support for white nationalism and white supremacy.
Online Romance Scam Losses on the Rise. How to Protect Yourself
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the Federal Trade Commission published a post saying that in 2018, there were more than 21,000 reports “about romance scams with reported losses of $143 million,
Facebook Cracking Down on Misbehaving Page Operators
One of Facebook’s main sources of fake news and other inauthentic activity are pages operated by unscrupulous or simply careless operators that post poor quality content.
Protecting Children from Inappropriate Content in the UK
We talk to John Carr about internet safety for kids in the UK and newly regulated laws to protect children from inappropriate content and the proper education methods to seek information.
Why Tech Companies are Offering Services for Younger Children
We’ve all heard the stories about kids spending too much time with their devices or, worse, spending that time doing things online that they probably shouldn’t be doing. It’s been an issue since I started writing about kids and tech in the early 90s but with the proliferation of phones and tablets — sometimes now getting into the tiny hands of toddlers — the issue has the attention of the media, policy makers and the public.