Digital Smarts Blog

Prosecutors say that cyber-harassment crimes are proving to be difficult to verify, since many new social media apps make it hard to preserve messages. Many incidents go unreported and suspects are finding it easier to mask their identity with anonymous messaging apps such as Kik, Whisper, Snapchat and Surespot, all which allow users to talk with friends or strangers without revealing their identities. Some cases involve spoofing technology with sites like FakeMyText.com that trick people into picking up the phone when their caller ID shows someone from their contacts list. In addition, many local police departments don’t have the resources to digitally investigate cyberbullying and domestic abuse cases.

Prosecutors say that cyber-harassment crimes are proving to be difficult to verify, since many new social media apps make it hard to preserve messages. Many incidents go unreported and suspects are finding it easier to mask their identity with anonymous messaging apps such as Kik, Whisper, Snapchat and Surespot, all which allow users to talk with friends or strangers without revealing their identities. Some cases involve spoofing technology with sites like FakeMyText.com that trick people into picking up the phone when their caller ID shows someone from their contacts list. In addition, many local police departments don’t have the resources to digitally investigate cyberbullying and domestic abuse cases.

A Canadian study has found that nearly 30% of teens have a condition called tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing in their ears. The condition could be a sign that their auditory nerves have been damaged, and could lead to hearing loss later in life. The World Health Organization has warned that 1.1 billion young people are at risk of hearing loss because of portable digital music players and damaging levels of sound at entertainment venues, such as electronic dance music festivals, where sound levels can top 120 decibels for hours. Other experts blame smartphones and warn that a major health crisis may be looming as these teens become adults. Experts say the best way to protect young ears is to apply the "60/60" rule: Keep the volume on the MP3 player under 60 percent and only listen for a maximum of 60 minutes a day.

A Canadian study has found that nearly 30% of teens have a condition called tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing in their ears. The condition could be a sign that their auditory nerves have been damaged, and could lead to hearing loss later in life. The World Health Organization has warned that 1.1 billion young people are at risk of hearing loss because of portable digital music players and damaging levels of sound at entertainment venues, such as electronic dance music festivals, where sound levels can top 120 decibels for hours. Other experts blame smartphones and warn that a major health crisis may be looming as these teens become adults. Experts say the best way to protect young ears is to apply the "60/60" rule: Keep the volume on the MP3 player under 60 percent and only listen for a maximum of 60 minutes a day.

Some critics and parents are attributing the rise in cases of inappropriate relationships between teachers and students to the increased use of social media and the lack of implementation of rules for student–teacher contact online after school hours. An article, Friending Your Teacher: How Should Students & Teachers Interact on Social Media?, appearing on the site of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, examines a variety of positions on the issue including the extreme view that teachers and students should be legally prohibited from communicating with each other on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and other social media sites.

Some critics and parents are attributing the rise in cases of inappropriate relationships between teachers and students to the increased use of social media and the lack of implementation of rules for student–teacher contact online after school hours. An article, Friending Your Teacher: How Should Students & Teachers Interact on Social Media?, appearing on the site of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, examines a variety of positions on the issue including the extreme view that teachers and students should be legally prohibited from communicating with each other on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and other social media sites.

The divide between families who have computers with Internet access at home and those who do not is known as the ‘homework gap’. Numerous articles have been written on the subject, but the lack of technology is not the only reason children fall into the divide. There is also a chasm separating students with parents who control their own work schedules and those whose parents don’t. A 2014 report from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth noted that nonstandard work schedules have an effect on children’s cognitive development and success. Homework Inequality: The Value of Having a Parent Around After School, an article on The Atlantic site, examines the issue of parents not being there to help their children use technology for schoolwork tasks and supervise their proper use of digital media.

The divide between families who have computers with Internet access at home and those who do not is known as the ‘homework gap’. Numerous articles have been written on the subject, but the lack of technology is not the only reason children fall into the divide. There is also a chasm separating students with parents who control their own work schedules and those whose parents don’t. A 2014 report from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth noted that nonstandard work schedules have an effect on children’s cognitive development and success. Homework Inequality: The Value of Having a Parent Around After School, an article on The Atlantic site, examines the issue of parents not being there to help their children use technology for schoolwork tasks and supervise their proper use of digital media.

A recent study showed that sixth graders who spent just five days away at a tech-free sleepaway camp developed greater real-world communication skills including the ability to read facial expressions, make eye contact and interpret tone of voice. Imagine what a whole summer away from a cell phone could do. This thought was taken up  in a recent New York Times article entitled Phone Sick at Camp. An interesting point the article suggests is that it is often parents who are more anxious about giving up the constant connection to their kids. To prepare for such a detachment, many of the camps recommend one family tech-free day per week over the month before camp starts.

A recent study showed that sixth graders who spent just five days away at a tech-free sleepaway camp developed greater real-world communication skills including the ability to read facial expressions, make eye contact and interpret tone of voice. Imagine what a whole summer away from a cell phone could do. This thought was taken up  in a recent New York Times article entitled Phone Sick at Camp. An interesting point the article suggests is that it is often parents who are more anxious about giving up the constant connection to their kids. To prepare for such a detachment, many of the camps recommend one family tech-free day per week over the month before camp starts.

Texting is here to stay so how do you cope with teens, texting and driving? Make the ban on driving and texting non-negotiable advises a new article entitled Texting and Driving: A Killing Combination on the Common Sense Media site. And remember to model the behavior you want your teens to practice when it comes to texting and driving yourself!

Texting is here to stay so how do you cope with teens, texting and driving? Make the ban on driving and texting non-negotiable advises a new article entitled Texting and Driving: A Killing Combination on the Common Sense Media site. And remember to model the behavior you want your teens to practice when it comes to texting and driving yourself!

With the end of school year upon us, it is incumbent upon parents to help kids to find a healthy media and real world mix to make sure screen time doesn’t become the majority of what kids do. Take a look at 5 Simple Steps to a Healthy Family Media Diet for some tips and tricks for coming up with a balance that works for your family. Also, going on a family vacation? Take a look at 8 Tips for a (Nearly) Tech-Free Vacation to find out how to successfully blend travel and technology.

With the end of school year upon us, it is incumbent upon parents to help kids to find a healthy media and real world mix to make sure screen time doesn’t become the majority of what kids do. Take a look at 5 Simple Steps to a Healthy Family Media Diet for some tips and tricks for coming up with a balance that works for your family. Also, going on a family vacation? Take a look at 8 Tips for a (Nearly) Tech-Free Vacation to find out how to successfully blend travel and technology.

Online privacy is something we adults think about – or should – because having your identity stolen or having someone spy on you online is not only creepy but can be a nightmare in terms of time and money. But what about our kids? Posts in this blog have covered the various dangers over the years, but a new article on the Common Sense Media site entitled 6 Reasons Why Parents Should Care About Kids and Online Privacy puts the whole picture together of why parents need to be proactive when it comes to kids and online privacy. From remembering that hackers specifically target kids because they offer clean credit histories and unused Social Security numbers to the fact that your kid could get physically hurt when their real time location gets shared with the wrong people, it is important not to get complacent when it comes to kids and online privacy.

Online privacy is something we adults think about – or should – because having your identity stolen or having someone spy on you online is not only creepy but can be a nightmare in terms of time and money. But what about our kids? Posts in this blog have covered the various dangers over the years, but a new article on the Common Sense Media site entitled 6 Reasons Why Parents Should Care About Kids and Online Privacy puts the whole picture together of why parents need to be proactive when it comes to kids and online privacy. From remembering that hackers specifically target kids because they offer clean credit histories and unused Social Security numbers to the fact that your kid could get physically hurt when their real time location gets shared with the wrong people, it is important not to get complacent when it comes to kids and online privacy.

The Facebook Effect – the tendency to spend more time with people who think like you and less with people who are different – isn’t trivial according to a recent New York Times op-ed column entitled How Facebook Warps Our Worlds. In fact, this reassuring view of the world may actually be leading us to conform rather than think out of the box about problems, issues and solutions. While everyone’s experience with social networking is different, it is good to remember that there are many sides to every issue and the views you read on Facebook or other social networking sites or even in the first page of a Google search may only be reflecting what you already know or feel about an issue. It is important to probe further online and out in the “real” world for other viewpoints, experiences and perspectives.

The Facebook Effect – the tendency to spend more time with people who think like you and less with people who are different – isn’t trivial according to a recent New York Times op-ed column entitled How Facebook Warps Our Worlds. In fact, this reassuring view of the world may actually be leading us to conform rather than think out of the box about problems, issues and solutions. While everyone’s experience with social networking is different, it is good to remember that there are many sides to every issue and the views you read on Facebook or other social networking sites or even in the first page of a Google search may only be reflecting what you already know or feel about an issue. It is important to probe further online and out in the “real” world for other viewpoints, experiences and perspectives.

Recently, as many as 360 million MySpace accounts were offered for sale in a 33-gigabyte online dump. The massive leak included passwords, email addresses and usernames that were swiped from MySpace in a hack with information dating back to June 2013. No big deal, right? Who uses MySpace anymore? Well there actually are some people who do, but more importantly are the passwords that were stolen. If you are one of those people who use the same password for everything, your exposure to hackers may have just skyrocketed if you were ever a MySpace user. The lesson here is it’s time to go back and undo any of those old accounts and disassociate them from online services that you use in the present-day to make sure none of your other internet identities are put at risk.

Recently, as many as 360 million MySpace accounts were offered for sale in a 33-gigabyte online dump. The massive leak included passwords, email addresses and usernames that were swiped from MySpace in a hack with information dating back to June 2013. No big deal, right? Who uses MySpace anymore? Well there actually are some people who do, but more importantly are the passwords that were stolen. If you are one of those people who use the same password for everything, your exposure to hackers may have just skyrocketed if you were ever a MySpace user. The lesson here is it’s time to go back and undo any of those old accounts and disassociate them from online services that you use in the present-day to make sure none of your other internet identities are put at risk.