If you happen to be raising kids or teenagers in these days, then you deserve to be nicknamed “the social media parent.” And let me tell you, if you thought being “the Internet parent” was hard, think again, because in comparison, that was a walk in the park!
Like anything in the world, social media comes with the good and the bad — the exemplary figures that you can learn from and the lousy, misguided personalities. While filtering websites and teaching your kids how to use e-mails and how not to share messages with strangers was good enough in the pre-social media era, it is not that simple anymore. For one thing, social media is all about sharing, about interacting with friends, or those who want to be friends.
In a 2013 survey report by Pew Research, 80 percent of teens using the Internet are using at least one platform of social media. 24 percent of them are using Twitter compared to only 16 percent in 2011. The average number of friends on a Facebook account of a teenager is 300.
Not only that, what the survey noticed was that teens were sharing more personal information like never before. For example, 91 percent posted their personal photos online compared to 79 percent in 2006. 71 percent shared their school names and cities, while only 49 percent were giving their school names back in 2006. 20 percent of them posted their mobile phone numbers compared to only two percent of the same year.
For a parent, monitoring his or her kid’s behavior on social media is not only challenging, it is full of worries and fears. It is a wide spectrum of dangers out there, from online sexual abuse and cyberbullying to kids submitting to peer pressure. To be a good parent in the age of social media, you need to equip yourself with a whole new set of skills and techniques. The first of those skills is to actually know what social media is all about. Amy Morin, a psychotherapist and parenting expert, recommends that parents take time to research and learn about the different social networks their children are using, as reported on Mashable. It is impossible for a parent to assess the risks a social media platform could pose on his or her children without being familiar with the platform itself. “It’s important for parents to understand the difference between Tumblr and Snapchat, because each social media platform has different risks,” Morin said.
There are so many tools, resources, and tips on social media that are available to parents these days; adjusting the settings to control content, for example, keeping the devices used to access these platforms in the open family area, and above all, talking to your kids, opening a channel with them to talk about the risks they might be facing online, at least you would ensure that they would come back to you when they are faced with an abnormal situation.
I told you, it is not a walk in the park.
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@smaldosari
Parenting getting tough in the digital era
Parenting getting tough in the digital era
Apple to update EU browser options, make more apps deletable
- iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7
- Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options
STOCKHOLM: Apple will change how users choose browser options in the European Union, add a dedicated section for changing default apps, and make more apps deletable, the company said on Thursday.
The iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7, forcing big tech companies to offer mobile users the ability to select from a list of available web browsers on a “choice screen.”
The new rules require mobile software makers to show the choice screen where users can select a browser, search engine and virtual assistant as they set up their phones, which earlier came with preferred options from Apple and Google.
In an update later this year, Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options.
A randomly ordered list of 12 browsers per EU country will be shown to the user with short descriptions, and the chosen one will be automatically downloaded, Apple said. The choice screen will also be available on iPads through an update later this year.
Apple released a previous update in response to the new rules in March, but browser companies criticized the design of its choice screen, and the Commission opened an investigation on March 25 saying it suspected that the measures fell short of effective compliance.
The company said it has been in dialogue with the European Commission and believes the new changes will address regulators’ concerns.
It also plans to introduce a dedicated area for default apps where a user will be able to set defaults for messaging, phone calls, spam filters, password managers and keyboards.
Users will also be able to delete certain Apple-made apps such as App Store, Messages, Camera, Photos and Safari. Only Settings and Phone apps would not be deletable.
