Are You A Facebook Lab Rat?
The Facebook Experiment Have you ever thought of yourself as a lab rat? I hadn’t either until I learned about Facebook’s emotional manipulation study. The study manipulated the content of the newsfeeds of 700,000 of their (trusting) users. Facebook looked at the impact that positive or negative posts would have. Facebook made an amazing discovery OMG !!, LOL, when people see positive posts it makes them happy and when they see negative posts it makes them sad. Wow, Einsteins at work on their lab rats, namely all of us little peons. This has been dubbed the Facebook...
Read MoreOnline Safety For Kids; Are We Doing Enough?
The state of online safety for children seems to be heading in the wrong direction. Exposure to online risks is increasing for kids today; not decreasing says a leading research group. More kids are being cyberbullied, seeing hate messages, sexual images, meeting up with someone they met online and visiting pro-anorexia sites. Online Safety for Kids; Are We Doing Enough? The numbers should be getting better not worse. Children are clearly being put in harms way and we need to pay serious attention to that and make every effort to turn these numbers around. Technology has so many wonderful...
Read MoreViolent Content, Violent Video Games and Violent Behavior
Recently there was a diabolical attack on a twelve year old girl in Wisconsin. Two girls lured their “friend” into the woods and then stabbed her nineteen times supposedly to impress a nightmarish, fictional online character known as Slender Man. Slender Man can be found on the horror story site, www.creepypasta.com. Since this tragedy the website has taken a step to caution users, by posting this: “This website contains fictional content that may be too scary for younger readers. Please verify that you are either at least 18 years of age or have parental permission before proceeding.” ...
Read MoreBuried in Your Smartphone While Watching the Kids?
Parents distracted by their smartphones… How many of us have felt compelled to check and respond to messages or other activities on our computer devices when we’re supposed to be paying attention to our kids? Lots of hands are being raised (virtually) I’m sure! This study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics found you’re not alone. Recently, while on vacation my husband and I were sitting on our balcony enjoying the beautiful ocean view, palm trees, and sandy beach. Two young children with a soccer ball appeared, with their Dad in tow. Mom was no where to be...
Read MoreThe Long-Lasting Impact of Bullying
The Long-Lasting Impact of Bullying We read about the horrific affects of bullying in the news almost on a daily basis. Extreme cases of cyberbullying can lead to suicide which fortunately is the rare exception. But nevertheless, bullying is serious and leaves scars on it’s victims for years to come. The results of a study in the American Journal of Psychiatry that spanned five decades found “children who are bullied and especially those who are frequently bullied continue to be at risk for a wide range of poor social, health, and economic outcomes nearly four decades after...
Read MoreCheck-in On Your Child’s Online Activity But Not Secretly!
Most Parents Are Checking Their Child’s Social Networking Activity, but Secretly! A survey by Eset found that a majority of parents are secretly checking on their children’s social networking activity. While I absolutely believe that parents need to check in on their children’s online activity and behavior, for safety reasons, I’m not in favor of spying. Parental awareness is key in our digitally driven world. It’s crucial for parents to know what’s happening in their child’s online world, to understand the risks and to have continual conversations about appropriate device use, activity...
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