Wellness & Safety — News & Popular Guides
Tips for Better Teen Sleep
Teens need between 8 to 11 hours of sleep per night, and less than 2 in 10 teens report regularly getting that much.
LA Fires Remind Us to Backup Data and Prepare for Outages
Whether it’s fires, earthquakes, tornadoes or even massive hack attacks, it’s important to make sure your data is backed up.
Parent’s Quick-Guide to Tech for Tots
Consistency, balance, and structure are key for screen time management.
Internet Governance Forum Focuses on Protecting Kids
While it doesn’t pass resolutions or make binding decisions, the IGF serves as a space for dialogue and collaboration.
Supreme Court Allows States to Require Age Verification for Porn Sites
By a 6-3 vote along ideological lines, the United States Supreme Court voted to uphold a Texas law requiring users to verify their age.
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Ask Trish: U.S. Surgeon General’s Social Media Advisory
What you should know about this week’s report on social media and youth from the U.S. Surgeon General and why it’s a big deal.
Meta Opens Horizon Worlds Metaverse App to Teens
A Meta exec explains social VR app Horizon Worlds and how teens and everyone can use it safely.
Google Doubles Down on Sleep Sensing
I have to admit, I’m a bit obsessive when it comes to sleep technology.
Ask Trish: Fun and Safe Live Streaming
Trish, how can I have a fun and safe livestream on Insta or YouTube?
Parent’s Guide to Google Search
Parental involvement and productive conversations are crucial for ensuring safe and appropriate experiences.
FBI Issues Warning About Sextortion After Arrest in Teen Death
The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) issued a joint national public safety alert on financial sextortion schemes.
What is Catfishing and Why It’s Dangerous
Catfishing can result in disappointment and broken hearts, but — as in the case in Riverside — it can also end in tragedy.
Online Risks and Links to Resources on How to Manage Them
Introduction Almost all good things have some risks Using any device that’s connected to the internet comes...
Ask Trish: Telling a Parent You’re Being Cyberbullied
Research finds that just 10% of young targets choose to report their harassment to an adult, including a parent. Let’s change that.
Is There a Relationship Between Tech Use and Gun Violence?
It was bullets, not bytes — that took the lives of 10 people in Buffalo and 21 people, including 19 elementary school students, in Uvalde, Texas. Still, some are blaming video games and social media, along with mental illness.
Ask Trish: My Debut Book, ReThink the Internet
My debut book, ReThink the Internet, the world’s first-ever by-youth, for-youth guide to safely navigating the digital world, is coming out at the end of this month, on May 31st.
Digital Wellness is Emotional Wellness
Emotional wellness is an area our society is, thankfully, working to build awareness and progress. In schools it is often called “SEL” or social emotional learning and it is sometimes the focus of “self care” content in popular media.
Ask Trish: Stressing About Social Media
I’m always so stressed about social media, like who’s viewing my stories, how my pictures look, and if I “measure up” to everyone else. How do I let go?
Quick Guide to Online Safety for Seniors
A 2018 Pew Research Center survey found that 66% of Americans over 65 were internet users. That number is getting bigger all the time, especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Advice on Sexting, Sextortion and Revenge Porn
The safest way to avoid a picture getting into the wrong hands is to never take it, allow it to be taken, or share it. Sadly, there are cases (sometimes called “revenge porn”) where someone shares pictures meant only for them
Internet Ethics Amid Covid-19
Larry Magid and Kerry Gallagher speak with Irina Raicu, Director, Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics/Santa Clara University, about ethics and Covid-19 contact-tracing apps.
How Schools and Parents Can Promote Media Literacy
Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, executive director of National Association for Media Literacy Education, speaks with us about why media literacy is more important than ever.
Why Teens Love TikTok
We spoke with Jeff Collins and Lavanya Mahendran about all things TikTok, including how people are creatively using the service during this period plus TikTok’s new safety features.
What Parents Gain When they Game with their Kids
ConnectSafely’s CEO Larry Magid and Dir. of K-12 Education Kerry Gallagher speak with Roblox’s VP of Marketing and Digital Civility Tami Bhaumik.
Facebook Global Head of Safety Antigone Davis
ConnectSafely’s Larry Magid and Kerry Gallagher interview Facebook Global Head of Safety Antigone Davis Podcast (Audio...
Zoom Chief Product Officer Oded Gal
Larry Magid and Kerry Gallagher interview Zoom Chief Product Officer Oded Gal about how the company is handling its explosive growth and how to use Zoom’s privacy, safety and security features
TikTok Adds Parental Controls and Disables Direct Messaging for Users Under 16
TikTok, the popular app that allows users to share short (typically 15 second) videos announced Family Pairing to give parents greater control over their teen’s safety setting.
Apple and Google Building Automated Covid-19 Contact Tracing Technology
You may have heard about the technology developed jointly by Apple and Google to automate contact tracing to help alert people who may have been in proximity to someone infected with COVID-19.