Digital Smarts Blog

Have you ever wondered how certain emojis have made it on to your phone and others just don’t seem to be there… or not yet, anyway? It turns out that an organization called the Unicode Consortium is responsible for choosing those pictographs, and a new batch are up for approval next spring. The deciding group includes executives from Apple, Google, Facebook and other technology giants. Some people think emojis might someday turn into a language of their own.

Have you ever wondered how certain emojis have made it on to your phone and others just don’t seem to be there… or not yet, anyway? It turns out that an organization called the Unicode Consortium is responsible for choosing those pictographs, and a new batch are up for approval next spring. The deciding group includes executives from Apple, Google, Facebook and other technology giants. Some people think emojis might someday turn into a language of their own.

Is your school or district collecting data on your children? Do you know what kinds of questions you should be asking about that collection? It comes down to the old “who, what, when, where, and how” method. What data is being collected and how? How is the data stored? Who has access? And when does it expire? Find out before you need to know the answer to any of these questions.

Is your school or district collecting data on your children? Do you know what kinds of questions you should be asking about that collection? It comes down to the old “who, what, when, where, and how” method. What data is being collected and how? How is the data stored? Who has access? And when does it expire? Find out before you need to know the answer to any of these questions.

Interested in keeping your teen involved with relatives they encounter at the Thanksgiving dinner table? Perhaps they would enjoy taking part in the The Great Thanksgiving Listen, a new oral-history project from StoryCorps. StoryCorps, an organization whose mission is to record and archive the stories of Americans from all backgrounds, wants to work with high school students across the country to preserve voices and stories of grandparents and other elders -- in any language. Incredibly, these interviews have the option to become part of a lasting record in the StoryCorps archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. All that is needed to participate is a smartphone and the free StoryCorps mobile app, available from the App Store and via Google Play.

Interested in keeping your teen involved with relatives they encounter at the Thanksgiving dinner table? Perhaps they would enjoy taking part in the The Great Thanksgiving Listen, a new oral-history project from StoryCorps. StoryCorps, an organization whose mission is to record and archive the stories of Americans from all backgrounds, wants to work with high school students across the country to preserve voices and stories of grandparents and other elders -- in any language. Incredibly, these interviews have the option to become part of a lasting record in the StoryCorps archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. All that is needed to participate is a smartphone and the free StoryCorps mobile app, available from the App Store and via Google Play.

As you probably know by now, when you do a Google search, Google tracks you and sends you ads from places you have visited and ads based on your interests. In fact, it keeps a detailed list of your interests. Want to see what they are? Go to https://www.google.com/settings/ads. You'll see a different screen depending on whether or not you're signed in to a Google account. If you are signed in, you’ll see a list of the interests Google has collected, and you can deselect the ones that aren't really interests of yours, or that you don't want to see as the subject of ads. You can also add interests if you want. If you scroll down a bit you can also turn the ads off completely. Just turn "Ads based on your interests" to "Off."

If you're not signed in to your Google Account when you visit https://www.google.com/settings/ads, or you click the "Control signed out ads" button as described above, you'll land in the area where you control what happens to your information off of Google's sites and in Google Search.

This is a good reminder that even if you aren't signed in to a Google account, Google still records what you search for on Google Search and builds an interests list using cookies stored on your computer. The upside is that it can't link your information to a name, but Google is still tracking your interests and using them for ads. Want to know more? Visit the Google Ads Help Center.

As you probably know by now, when you do a Google search, Google tracks you and sends you ads from places you have visited and ads based on your interests. In fact, it keeps a detailed list of your interests. Want to see what they are? Go to https://www.google.com/settings/ads. You'll see a different screen depending on whether or not you're signed in to a Google account. If you are signed in, you’ll see a list of the interests Google has collected, and you can deselect the ones that aren't really interests of yours, or that you don't want to see as the subject of ads. You can also add interests if you want. If you scroll down a bit you can also turn the ads off completely. Just turn "Ads based on your interests" to "Off."

If you're not signed in to your Google Account when you visit https://www.google.com/settings/ads, or you click the "Control signed out ads" button as described above, you'll land in the area where you control what happens to your information off of Google's sites and in Google Search.

This is a good reminder that even if you aren't signed in to a Google account, Google still records what you search for on Google Search and builds an interests list using cookies stored on your computer. The upside is that it can't link your information to a name, but Google is still tracking your interests and using them for ads. Want to know more? Visit the Google Ads Help Center.

According to a survey done by Intercede, a firm that specializes in protecting digital identities, less than 5% of United Kingdom and US Millenials (people age 16- 35) believe their digital identity is completely protected by the safeguards used by the government, businesses or social networking sites. 80% of respondents said it was "vital" or "very important" that personally identifiable, financial, and medical data be shared only with those whom they have authorized access. Respondents were somewhat less concerned about other data: 74% responded the same about location data, 58% for social media content, and 57% for purchasing preferences. This is in contrast to the widely held general stereotype that Millenials don’t care about privacy or data security.

According to a survey done by Intercede, a firm that specializes in protecting digital identities, less than 5% of United Kingdom and US Millenials (people age 16- 35) believe their digital identity is completely protected by the safeguards used by the government, businesses or social networking sites. 80% of respondents said it was "vital" or "very important" that personally identifiable, financial, and medical data be shared only with those whom they have authorized access. Respondents were somewhat less concerned about other data: 74% responded the same about location data, 58% for social media content, and 57% for purchasing preferences. This is in contrast to the widely held general stereotype that Millenials don’t care about privacy or data security.

Eighth-graders who participated in a CNN-backed study of social media habits cite their desire to see whether their posts were being liked or commented on as a primary driver for compulsive social media checking, bordering on addiction. More than 200 eighth graders from across the country allowed their social media feeds to be studied by child development experts who partnered with CNN. This is the first large scale study to analyze what kids actually say to each other on social media and why it matters so deeply to them.

So what can parents do about social media and the stress it puts on kids? Encourage your kids to put down their phones and do something else –play sports, go shopping, head outside and just have fun another way. Parents also need to get on these networks and see what it is like. Parents need to understand what it is like to be “liked” online and, on the flip side, to be excluded or to suffer some not-so-positive comments. And, as always, keep talking.  If you see your child is down and out after being on their device, ask them about it. Teens have always been concerned about popularity, but it takes on a whole new dimension when they can measure their status in likes, shares and comments. Parents can and should help their kids keep it all in perspective.

Eighth-graders who participated in a CNN-backed study of social media habits cite their desire to see whether their posts were being liked or commented on as a primary driver for compulsive social media checking, bordering on addiction. More than 200 eighth graders from across the country allowed their social media feeds to be studied by child development experts who partnered with CNN. This is the first large scale study to analyze what kids actually say to each other on social media and why it matters so deeply to them.

So what can parents do about social media and the stress it puts on kids? Encourage your kids to put down their phones and do something else –play sports, go shopping, head outside and just have fun another way. Parents also need to get on these networks and see what it is like. Parents need to understand what it is like to be “liked” online and, on the flip side, to be excluded or to suffer some not-so-positive comments. And, as always, keep talking.  If you see your child is down and out after being on their device, ask them about it. Teens have always been concerned about popularity, but it takes on a whole new dimension when they can measure their status in likes, shares and comments. Parents can and should help their kids keep it all in perspective.

Perhaps at your back-to-school night this fall, your children’s school acknowledged the issue of digital citizenship. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) defines digital citizenship as such: “Students understand human, cultural and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.” So what does that mean exactly, and how can you help your children become good digital citizens? ISTE has expanded the definition to nine themes for parents and teachers to think about. These include not only digital literacy – learning how to use technology- but also electronic responsibility for actions and deeds involving the use of technology and the rights and responsibilities of everyone that is part of the digital world. Digital etiquette is also part of the equation as well as self-protection and security. For more on the subject take a look at Embracing the 9 Themes of Digital Citizenship .

Perhaps at your back-to-school night this fall, your children’s school acknowledged the issue of digital citizenship. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) defines digital citizenship as such: “Students understand human, cultural and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.” So what does that mean exactly, and how can you help your children become good digital citizens? ISTE has expanded the definition to nine themes for parents and teachers to think about. These include not only digital literacy – learning how to use technology- but also electronic responsibility for actions and deeds involving the use of technology and the rights and responsibilities of everyone that is part of the digital world. Digital etiquette is also part of the equation as well as self-protection and security. For more on the subject take a look at Embracing the 9 Themes of Digital Citizenship .

School districts are investing in protective cases and taking measures to protect the tablets, laptops and other devices they provide students for classroom work. Still, some teachers and administrators say that the best protection is to instill students with a sense of ownership in their technology and teach them how to treat devices with care and respect. That lesson certainly needs to start and be echoed at home.

School districts are investing in protective cases and taking measures to protect the tablets, laptops and other devices they provide students for classroom work. Still, some teachers and administrators say that the best protection is to instill students with a sense of ownership in their technology and teach them how to treat devices with care and respect. That lesson certainly needs to start and be echoed at home.

Do you have a new iPhone 6S or are you thinking about getting one? The new photo feature on the phone captures a second and a half of video and audio before and after each “still” picture snap and, by default, this feature is set to “on.” That can help your photos come “alive,” but right now no one expects the taking of a photo to include a recording of their words. In keeping with the “law of unintended consequences” when it comes to technology, that means that lots of unintentional words are going to be caught along with that still picture – for instance, who has a crush on whom, or maybe some nasty comment. Think about warning friends that what they say, as well as what they do, may be captured when they go to take a picture, and make sure those pictures don’t get uploaded or tagged without the permission of the person who is speaking. Remind your kids, who might have the new iPhone, that other people’s privacy needs to be protected as well as their own, because after all, payback may be just a snap away.

Do you have a new iPhone 6S or are you thinking about getting one? The new photo feature on the phone captures a second and a half of video and audio before and after each “still” picture snap and, by default, this feature is set to “on.” That can help your photos come “alive,” but right now no one expects the taking of a photo to include a recording of their words. In keeping with the “law of unintended consequences” when it comes to technology, that means that lots of unintentional words are going to be caught along with that still picture – for instance, who has a crush on whom, or maybe some nasty comment. Think about warning friends that what they say, as well as what they do, may be captured when they go to take a picture, and make sure those pictures don’t get uploaded or tagged without the permission of the person who is speaking. Remind your kids, who might have the new iPhone, that other people’s privacy needs to be protected as well as their own, because after all, payback may be just a snap away.

According to a study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, even basic anti-bullying state laws are associated with significantly lower in-person and cyberbullying instances reported in schools. Data shows high-school students in states with basic anti-bullying laws were 24% less likely to report being bullied in general and 20% less likely to report being bullied online. Every state does now have a law on the books addressing this pervasive and problematic form of peer harassment, but now the issue may be school districts.  According to a report put out earlier in 2015, 26.3% of districts don't have existing bullying policies.

According to a study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, even basic anti-bullying state laws are associated with significantly lower in-person and cyberbullying instances reported in schools. Data shows high-school students in states with basic anti-bullying laws were 24% less likely to report being bullied in general and 20% less likely to report being bullied online. Every state does now have a law on the books addressing this pervasive and problematic form of peer harassment, but now the issue may be school districts.  According to a report put out earlier in 2015, 26.3% of districts don't have existing bullying policies.