#Verified — Worth the Risk?
In the social media world, a little blue checkmark next to a username is a sought-after status symbol. Celebrities, global brands, famous pets, and public figures alike have verified Instagram accounts, indicating to fans that the account they are following is “verified” as the real deal. With an established social ...
The Mute Button: How to Use Your Most Underrated Social Superpower
For a Monday, the school day was turning out to be surprisingly awesome. Mackenzie sat with friends at lunch, chatted with her favorite teacher, and aced her English test. Then came the shift. It happened between 5th and 6th period when Mackenzie checked her Instagram account. One glance showed several posts ...
Helping Kids Deal with the Digital Rejection of ‘Ghosting’
Rejection is the unspoken risk that is present when we enter into any relationship be it a friendship or a love relationship. It’s a painful, inescapable part of life that most of us go to great lengths to avoid. That said, there’s a social media phenomenon called “ghosting” that can take ...
5 Reasons Why Strong Digital Parenting Matters More than Ever
As a parent raising kids in a digital culture, it’s easy to feel at times as if you have a tiger by the tail and that technology is leading your family rather than the other way around. But that familiar feeling — the feeling of being overwhelmed, outsmarted, and always ...
Could the Photos You’re Sharing Online Be Putting Your Child at Risk?
Confession time. I’m a mom that is part of the problem. The problem of posting photos of my kids online without asking for their permission and knowing deep down that I’m so excited about sharing, I’m not paying much attention at all to the risks. Why do I do it? ...
Tech Talk: Ways to Help Your Child Conquer Back-To-School Fears
The first-day-of-school jitters nearly did me in as a kid. Our military family moved ten times, so I got used to the stomach aches and stares that came with every new school. I can’t imagine making those big moves as a kid in today’s digital culture. The cliques are far more ...
Too Much Tech: 4 Steps to Get Your Child to Chill on Excessive Snapchatting
We were in the midst of what I believed to be an important conversation. “Just a sec mom,” she said promptly after a Snapchat notification popped up on her iPhone. She stopped me mid-sentence, puckered her lips, rolled her eyes, typed a few lines of copy, and within three seconds, my ...
#CyberAware: 4 Actionable Steps to Boost Your Family’s Safety Online
Summer has officially rolled out its welcome mat. But as most parents might be thinking about slowing down, for most kids, summer is when digital device use goes into overdrive. That’s why June — which also happens to be Internet Safety Month — is a perfect time strengthen your family’s ...
You vs. the Internet: 5 Hands-On Ways to Begin Safeguarding Your Family’s Privacy
Data mining. Privacy breaches. Malicious third parties. Do you ever feel like these scary sounding, albeit significant, concerns got left at the curb somewhere between carpool duty, doctor appointments, and trying to hit two softball games and a track meet in the same day? You are far from alone. If ...
Can’t Keep Up? 6 Easy Things You Can Do to Keep Your Kids Safe Online
Having a hard time doing what needs to be done to keep your kids safe online? Do you mentally shrink back when you realize you don’t do any of the tips experts so often recommend? Let the guilt go, parent because you are not alone. Family life moves at warp ...
