Apps

Two months ago if you asked a teen or young adult to call someone on the phone they most likely would have looked at you like you were crazy, preferring communicating by text or social media instead. Now in the solitude of quarantine, a craving for intimacy and personal connection means people want to hear each other's voices and see each other's faces more than ever. In an article on the rewriting of social connections during the crisis, cultural anthropologist Megan Routh describes the ways the pandemic is reshaping the way people connect with each other, including the democratization of online communities as people turn to social platforms for interaction (i.e. anonymous Zoom dance parties). She writes that young and old consumers alike are rejecting aspirational content from social influencers and instead are seeking relatable content that reflects real life, seeking optimism instead of snark and having more respect for facts.

The coronavirus tracking apps coming onto the market, initially hailed as an important tool for containment of the virus, have quickly encountered fears about privacy, cybersecurity and effectiveness. Tracking apps are already in use in Australia, India, China, Singapore and South Korea, and under development in France and Germany. In the United States, tech giants Google and Apple are teaming up to develop “exposure notification” software for use in iOS and Android apps. The technology uses Bluetooth signals to determine the distance between phones. A person with a confirmed case of coronavirus can automatically send notifications to other phones with the contact tracing app, alerting users that they may have been exposed to the virus. The software, which is in beta testing, will be shared with local health departments. Apple and Google say location services will not be used and any personal data would be anonymized and stay on the user’s phone, rather than going to a centralized database. However, researchers say that anonymized data can be reverse-engineered and mined for valuable particulars including gender, age and marital status.

The old Russian proverb “Trust, but verify” aptly describes the relationship you should ideally have with your kids when it comes their use of digital devices and the Internet. Without a doubt, the most powerful tool you have to keep your kids safe online is your relationship. You want them to know that they can come to you about anyone or anything that bothers them online and have a frank discussion, without blame, about how to handle the situation. But with kids being kids, it could be that they will come across (intentionally or unintentionally) some inappropriate material or situation online. That’s where parental controls come in place. With certain kinds of technology helping to filter and field what they come across, that is much less likely to happen.

So where do you need parental controls? Chances are your tweens and teens are most likely to get into sticky situations when they are away from home using their phone, so the first set of parental controls you need to look into are those afforded by your cell phone manufacturer (Apple or Android, for example) and/or your cell phone carriers. Do a search online for what your specific carrier has to offer by using the name of the service and the search term “parental controls” (many of these also apply to tablets). Both cell manufacturers and cell phone carriers offer parental controls, including the ability to set content filters and disable or limit Internet access or certain apps on Web-enabled phones. Mobile controls can also allow parents to disable, limit, or monitor a child’s texting capability, and picture and video messaging.

There are also a myriad of apps for monitoring your child’s cell phone use. What you need from a parental-control app mainly depends on how old your kids are. If you're the parent of children under 12, you absolutely want to be able to block objectionable websites. If you've got teenagers, you might be ok with just monitoring instead of blocking. You might also want to see who your teens are talking to in messenger apps, or where they are late on a Friday night. And you might want to consider a service that monitors your kids' Windows and Apple devices as well as their smartphones. The best parental control apps will offer, at a minimum, a website filter, location tracking, screen-time limits including a scheduler, and an app blocker.

As far as your laptop and desktop goes, again you may want to look into what your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has to offer by doing a search on their website or by contacting them directly. Depending on what operating system you are using (Windows, Apple, Chrome, etc.), there are parental controls built in as well. Again, doing an online search for your operating system and particular concerns is going to be your best bet for finding what you need to fit your particular purpose. There are just as many apps that you can download for your computer– free and otherwise - as there are for your phones. For your computer you are looking for much the same capabilities as for your phones – a website filter, screen time limits, an app blocker, and the ability to limit certain texting and messaging services.

The Mozilla Foundation recently released a report detailing how the top 15 video-conferencing apps -- including those used by schools, such as Zoom, Google Hangouts and Microsoft Teams -- measure up when it comes to privacy and security. Of those studied, 12 met the company's minimum security standards.

While you might think most reading resources are offline, there are a number of digital options if you are looking for creative ways to get your kids reading. Check out these ideas to bring together literacy and technology:

• Audiobooks: Audible, perhaps the motherlode of audiobooks, is free for kids as long as schools are closed. Looking for some recommendation? A site called Imagination Soup has some Audiobook Recommendations for Kids Ages 6-12 and Teens.. An easy-to-use free app Libby/Overdrive also connects to your local library so you can easily check out ebooks and audiobooks. Unite for Literacy also has books narrated in a variety of languages. You can get a month free of animated story books at Vooks. Tumble Book Library might also have something the others don’t offer. Storybook Online offers famous actors and actresses reading picture books out loud.
• Make a Book Trailer: One idea for getting kids and family (especially grandparents) to engage more over Facetime or Zoom is to get them to read the same book and talk about it. You could take it a step further by asking your kids to make a book trailer to get others to want to read your book. Try this link to look at a collection of book trailers and suggestions for various apps to use to make a short video advertising your book. For teachers looking for creative ways to include technology into reading assignments, a trailer also makes a great alternative to a book report.
• Create a Book:  To practice those writing skills, why not have your kids write a book about something they’ve become interested in? Book Creator has great ideas on how to proceed and is free to schools affected by the pandemic. Or try this list of Best Apps for Creating Books and Storybooks for resources. This is a great way to get kids actively using technology rather than just be entertained by it.

The recent and rampant flurry of harmful misinformation about coronavirus has been labeled an “infodemic” by the World Health Organization (WHO), and there are many attempts to curb the spread. Facebook recently announced that it would begin to let users know if there were posts that they have liked, commented on, or shared that included misinformation about the coronavirus. Facebook will then point the notified user in the direction of a reliable source. Advocates who want Facebook to take the same actions for political posts say this may be a breakthrough in the battle against false information. It is important in researching this topic to understand the terms when talking about “fake news”. In the language of online security, “disinformation” means the coordinated, purposeful spread of false information, while “misinformation” refers to accidental inaccuracies. This is another conversation to have with your kids about making sure they (and we!) don’t believe everything read on the Internet.

US teens have rated Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok as their favorites apps in general along with giving them the highest marks for engagement, according to a survey of 5,200 individuals in 41 states conducted by Piper Sandler. The firm's Taking Stock With Teens survey also reports that teens spent an average of 12 hours per week on social media and, while Facebook had been declining somewhat the past couple of years, it's witnessing slight rebound.

The basics of talking to your kids about staying safe on all the latest and greatest social media apps is not all that different then the general digital safety cautionary conversation you have probably had with them about the Internet in general. If you need a refresher, here is link to the basics of what should be part of that conversation. The most important thing to remember? Remind them that anything that is posted is permanent, even if you have deleted it or shared it on an app like Snapchat, where the message is supposed to disappear. There is always a chance someone could take a screen shot or can hack into your archive. Once it is up, you never know where it may pop up again.

For currently popular apps such as TikTok, Instagram and more, parents will need to spend a little time getting familiar with them in order to have any credibility in talking about them. There are lots of guides available for parents, complete with all the cautions you need to emphasize. Common Sense Media, for example, has a parent’s section complete with quick tip guides on Instagram and TikTok. They often do follow up articles on other problems that crop up with each app over time, so don’t just click on the first guide you see  - look for one that has been done more recently to make sure you have the latest information on how kids are using the app and what issues have surfaced. USA Today  also specializes in creating these kinds of parent guides. Take advantage of what others have discovered and keep your ears open for other issues and new apps that parents in your children’s social orbit may be talking about.

Online classes at several schools, on all grade levels, have been invaded by “Zoom-bombing,” an ugly new activity in which hackers disrupt virtual sessions in the Zoom app to display pornography, racism and other disturbing images. Some districts have even suspended use of the app because of these threats. However, there are ways to prevent this kind of activity, and you can pass those along to a teacher. It is important for parents to remember that many teachers were thrust into this world of online teaching without a lot of notice or preparation, and Zoom is a brand new resource to them. You can help teachers figure out all the precautions to take, such as requiring passwords for each session, guarding meeting URLs and restricting screen sharing. Parents should also remember that with any online activity there is potential for something to go wrong, and you should be prepared to talk to your children if they see something that upsets them.

The popularity of videoconferencing app Zoom has been surging during the Corona lockdown, with people using it for everything from tele-schooling to business conference calls, but there have been lots of privacy issues emerging. These concerns stem from the fact that Zoom "collects a lot of data from users about their devices, activities and data shared or transferred." There also seem to be flaws that allow attackers to gain physical control of your computer and the ability to install malware or spyware.

If you are using Zoom, check out some advice on using the app and protecting your privacy and personal data.