ScreenRetriever’s Online Safety Blog
Summer Time Parenting Online
What are you doing to Parent Online this summer? Summer vacation is starting around the country. Are you being mindful of your children, tween and teen’s online habits? Recently I was sitting right next to a family in a restaurant. This family comprised a Mom, Dad, a baby and a five year old. The little boy had his head down in a smartphone the entire lunch. Makes for a nice, quiet peaceful lunch, doesn’t it? But, all I could think of was what this little boy was looking at on this internet connected device? Were these parents sure that the content he was looking at was appropriate...
read moreLive Streaming Apps Lets Kids Share “In the Moment”
New Online Craze for Kids… Live Streaming is the latest fad, and may put kids at risk! What’s the latest online craze for kids? Live Streaming Apps. What is live streaming you ask? Kids simply point their smartphone cameras at whatever interests them (including themselves) and that video footage is transmitted over the Internet to other viewers. Living in the moment is what these apps are all about and one of the reasons why they’re so popular with tweens and teens today. Living in the moment, often impulsively, can put kids at risk for...
read moreTregedy Averted
This Potential Tragedy was Averted… “ A Colombine style attack”, that is what a teen threatened a school a few days ago only twenty-five minutes away from where I live, using the social media phone app, Whisper. This happened in a quiet, sleepy, picturesque town of less than 5,000 west of Boston, where working farms and apple orchards abound. The Nashoba regional high-school represents several towns in the area and has a student population of just over 1000. When I saw this article, I thought about just how important it is for parents to be aware of what their kids are posting online. Thank...
read moreISIS Recruiters Use Predator Grooming Tactics
ISIS Lures Teens on Social Media When kids go online, there are many risks, cyberbullying, exposure to inappropriate content, damage to reputation and more. Now there is a new one to add to already crowded field, ISIS recruitment. Similar to the grooming tactics of online predators, ISIS recruiters also groom their victims. Grooming is the process by which trust is gained and a relationship is established. Many vulnerable adolescents may have no idea that they are being groomed. Adolescence is notoriously a time of turmoil, raging hormones and pushing away from parents to establish...
read moreCyber Basics
When was the last time you thought about these cyber basics? When was the last time that you talked to your child, tween or teen about them? Cyber Basics Computer devices are a privilege not a right Computer devices are powerful tools and need to be treated with caution and respect Every person’s online footprint begins at birth Privacy doesn’t exist in the cyber-world The delete key doesn’t make your cyber life disappear Think before posting anything online such as images and comments because they can impact future employment and other opportunities Treat...
read moreIs Your Teen Texting While Driving?
New Study About Distracted Driving Getting a driving license is a big deal to all teens. It spells freedom and independence! It can also spell danger if your teen is distracted while driving. Not surprisingly, teens have the highest car crash rate! Researchers at the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that distracted driving by teens that resulted in car accidents is worse than originally thought. Researchers reviewed more than 1700 videos from in-vehicle-event-recorders that were placed inside the cars of teen drivers. They studied behaviors in the seconds prior to a crash. They found...
read moreCould Your Child Be a Cyberbully?
Could your child be a cyberbully? Social Media Sites and Apps are handed to our kids as soon as they get a smartphone or other internet connected device. These devices are powerful and potentially dangerous but many kids are getting them without so much as a blink of an eye from parents. Many parents want their kids to have them for safety reasons so they can get in touch with them in a nano-second and vice versa. They also get them so their kids won’t feel left out socially. Let’s take a step back and think about another dangerous device that’s on the roadways, cars. Fortunately, there are...
read moreHeads down in computer device screens! Are our kids missing out on the world around them?
Heads down in screens! Are our kids missing out on the world around them? We’ve all seen kids heads down, mesmerized in their devices, in the car, at a restaurant, visiting Grandma, on vacation texting with their friends, social networking or playing games. Some Stats: 95% of teens (12-17) use the internet 81% use social media 50% log into social media more than once per day 21% of kids under 13 use social media sites Kids as in all generations, like to connect with their friends… There is no doubt that staying in touch with friends is important to tweens and teens. Remember when we were...
read moreOnline Safety 2015 – My Comment
My Comment to “Online Safety Redefined, the 3 Key Elements”, by Stephen Balkam, CEO, Family Online Safety Institute Yes, taking risks in life is necessary. As kids are learning and growing parents are the ones that guide them and teach them with regard to many potential risky behaviors. Novices at white water rafting have a guide in the raft to help navigate dangerous waters. Many powerful tools, including computer devices are dangerous in uneducated, unsupervised hands. Kids may love woodworking, but no parent is going to let their child use a table saw with out guidance. Many little...
read moreSocial Networking or Gaming: What You Should Know About Online Addiction
Online Addiction Your tween or teen is up in their bedroom with the door closed. They come down for dinner and occasionally utter a grunt. Then they go back upstairs. What are they doing? Playing video games perhaps? Are you worried that you or your child may have a problem? Take this Quiz: What is Online Addiction? There are people whose online behavior or online over-use becomes out of control. They can’t stop, just as a drug user can’t stop from getting the next fix or an alcoholic hides their bottle of booze in their dresser drawer at the ready to feed their craving....
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