Wellness & Safety — News & Popular Guides
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?
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.
Parent’s Guide to Teen Sextortion Scams
Huge increase in sextortion scams targeting teens, especially boys aged 14 to 17.
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...
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Facebook News: It’s Complicated
One of my favorite phrases is “it’s complicated,” because it expresses the fact that many things in life are not as simple as they seem.
What is Digital Wellness?
Educators are surely familiar with the term “digital citizenship.” We are familiar with coaching and modeling for our students the ways toward acting as an upstander, blocking and reporting bullies and bad actors, and making the internet a more positive and truthful place.
Parent’s Guide to Amazon Fire TV
Manage what, when and how long kids watch through mobile, tablets and the web.
Like Fictional Killer Robots, Even Well-Intentioned Algorithms Can Do Harm
Algorithms – software that figures out what users want to see on social media – help sell us not just products, but ideas that affect our behavior.
Generosity is Great, But Be Cautious When Giving to Charity
“Giving Tuesday,” which is now behind us, is really the start of the end-of-the-year holiday giving period. Unfortunately, this season of generosity also brings out online scammers.
Ask Trish: Social Media and Mental Health
Dear Trish: Maybe it’s just me but I just feel really bad about myself when I’m on social media. Like literally everyone seems to be living their best life and it reminds me how much is wrong with mine. How can I feel better?
Family Guide to Parental Controls
How do I know when to use them, and should I tell my kids?
Guide to Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses
How to use Ray-Ban Meta Smart glasses responsibly.
Protecting Mental Health on Instagram
I’m grateful to the Wall Street Journal for shedding light on some of the ways social media can contribute to a sense of inadequacy and other mental health issues. But what the article didn’t include is tips on how parents and teens can deal with these issues for a healthier online experience.
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.
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.
How Smart Watches Monitor Your Health
So, now that I have all this health technology on my wrist and my phone, there’s only more thing I need to do and that’s to relax and lower my anxiety which, ironically, means spending more time enjoying life and less time looking at the data from the watch I’m wearing.
Facebook’s Messenger & Instagram’s Disappearing Act
Snapchat may have pioneered disappearing posts in social media, but Facebook is adding a disappearing act to...
Parent, Educator & Youth Guide to LGBTQ Cyberbullying
64% of LGBTQ+ respondents have been harassed online.
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Google Password Checkup Helps Make Sure You Have Secure and Unique Passwords
Weak or compromised passwords are among the biggest threats to online security and privacy. Once cyber criminals get hold of your password, they can not only use it to break into your account but sell it to other criminals
How to Disable Facetime till Apple Fixes Serious Privacy Flaw
As you may have heard, there is a flaw on Apple Facetime for iOS and Mac that makes it possible for someone to listen in on what the microphone of another user hears even if that person hasn’t accepted the call.
Avoid Charity Scams and Get the Kids Involved in Giving Decisions
by Larry Magid The period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s eve is a time of giving. One reason is, of course, the...
Be Safe When Shopping Online
With the holiday season underway, a lot of people will be shopping online this year. For the most part, it’s pretty safe but there are some basic precautions worth remembering.
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.
Teen’s Street Literacy' Thwarts Phone Thief
My sons are just as smart. On both occasions they deliberately made mistakes entering their passwords and on the first occasion stalled the attackers long enough so as to raise suspicion. When a passing neighbor shouted out across the street, “Everything all right lads?” the thieves fled.
Media Literacy for Educators and Families with Young Children
ConnectSafely’s CEO Larry Magid and K-12 Education Director Kerry Gallagher talk about media literacy aimed at young children and teens. Kerry talks about approaching media literacy in the classroom as an educator while Larry approaches it as a journalist.
AI, Machine Learning Battle Child Sexual Exploitation
I’ve seen a steady increase in the number of reports to the organization’s CyberTipline about online child sexual abuse images (child porn) and other crimes against children.
Facebook's New Tech to Counter Child Sex Abuse Images
Podcast | ConnectSafely CEO Larry Magid speaks with Michelle DeLaune, senior VP and COO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) about the center’s work and new technology being used at Facebook to very quickly identify and remove child pornography.