Category Archives: Social Media

Raising Digital Natives on the News

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I got an interesting call the other day, asking for commentary on a brand new application that allows you to see tweets, instagram streams and any other geotagged, shared material. If you want to see what your neigbors are posting, or what people at your child’s school are posting, just sign up for Geofedia . You can also find some of this information through the apps themselves, but this makes it much easier. I’ve perused some middle and high schools and seen images like this…

parenting speaker

A momement of sharing from a suburban high schoolSo NBC news

So NBC News Chicago invited me to comment, and you can see the full newsclip with my comment here:

As well as a little more of the interview here:

If this creeps you out, don’t geo-tag your posts! I can only imagine that within weeks, this will mean that someone will walk up to you in a store to say: “I see you are tweeting about wanting a warmer coat. We have one on sale.” The journalistic potential is incredbible, but the marketing potential is what this app seems designed to capture.

Should Parents Monitor Their Kids Online?

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SHOULD PARENTS MONITOR THEIR KIDS ONLINE? A million dollar question…this article in the NYTimes profiles a couple of families who monitor their kids, sometimes using software like
net nanny


Big Brother: No It’s Parents

If so, should they let their kids know they are doing it?

Should they have their passwords?
“Friend them?”
Use “spy” software?

Here are some ideas parents have shared with me:

• Computer in a public spot (no laptops or computers in bedrooms).
• Making sure kids feel safe talking with parents about what they are doing/seeing/experiencing.
• Making password sharing w/ parents a condition of use.
• Relying on friends and family members to “friend” their child and keep an eye on things.
• Reminding kids that they can do whatever they want when they buy their OWN computer.

Please share your thoughts…

I think this article raises important questions—For example, in the case of the young woman in the article who claims to feel safer because her parents monitor her…How might parents mentor kids to feel safe online more independently?

Snapchat? Fun times…What’s it really for?

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So Nick Bilton of the NYTimes (and others…) have identified the new app, snapchat as being tempting for sexting. The marketing does seem to favor temptingly topless young women…Any thoughts on other possible uses for snapchat? The idea of a photograph that only exists in the moment has a haunting and fascinating quality…Snapchat art anyone? I want to imagine kids using this for other cool stuff. I searched Twitter Streams to see what the buzz in on the new app, and found this droll tweet:

Funny/sad/sarcastic? Would have to know this young woman more in context to say. If one of my adult women friends said it, I’d think it was pretty funny.