This week I was bombarded with, for lack of a better word, TONS of articles regarding cell-phones and social networks... Though these are two topics we have covered before (10 Apps You Should Be Aware of & Darn Technology Distracting Us from Each other) with the amount of articles posted this week I thought I would do a brief Cellphone & Social Media 101!!
Cell Phone 101: Technology is neutral... It by itself is not bad or good!
Texting
- “The average teenager texts 4,000 texts a month” (Group Publishing)
- "78% of all teens have a cell phone" (Just over half are smart phones)
- “31% of teen phone users deflect conversations by faking calls” (Denver Post)
- As of 2011, AT&T was the only company who would print out text messages upon request. However, because of the 2006 Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act parents can get a print out of your son/daughter’s phone if court ordered.
- “Over half of 11 to 14 year olds say they have been in a dating relationship…But dating to tweens isn’t what adults think: relationships are fleeting but all consuming” “Tweens date in packs but expect their boyfriend/girlfriend to be monogamous…firing over 300 texts back and forth each day…breaking up is most commonly done via a text” (Homeword)
Sexting
- Sext messages created by minors = child pornography. Taking nude, sexually explicit, pictures of a minor, even if it is of yourself, is a felony and then sending those pictures to others is a second felony. All recipients of that sext message can also be found guilty of a felony (even if they didn't want to receive it) because it is possession of child pornography. Being convicted of possession or distribution of child pornography can get you on a sex offender list which will stay with you for LIFE and affect your ability to live where you want to, getting into college and getting a job.
- “39% of all teens have sent a sexually suggestive text” (Parents Guide...Cell Phones)
- “48% of teens say they have received such messages" (sexually suggestive or nude)
Apps & Internet accessibility (2013, Apple announced 60,000,000,000 apps downloaded)
- Top ‘Apps’ (Applications):
o Social Media: Facebook (#1 Free app), Twitter, Instagram, Vine, etc.
o Streaming: Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, etc.
o Games: Candy Crush Saga, Flappy Bird, Clash of Clans, Bike Race, etc.
- Angry Birds (most profitable game ever…downloaded over 2 billion times)
o Very Concerned: Omegle, SnapChat, Whisper, Kik, Tinder, etc. (Click here for more)
5 Tips for Managing Cell Phone Usage with Your Teen:
- Talk together as a family about when it is or isn't appropriate to use the cell phone (no cell phone after 9pm, no cell phone until your homework is completed, etc.)
- Make your child responsible of the phone and helping out with the bill (All of it, some of it, just the texting, chores for it, etc.). Go over the bill with them.
o Pre-pay or pay as you go, Like Kajeet
- Take it away if they are failing in school or not following through with rules you set! Let them have it back when they show progress!
- Have a “charging station” or centralized location for all cell-phones (and ipods). Have mandatory charging times during family times, dinner, bedtime, etc.
- Be the example of healthy cell phone use. Show them what you want to see in regards to how, when and where to use your cell phone. If you have it out at dinner they will!
Parental Controls
- AT&T, Sprint, Verizon & T-Mobile
- "Bless them with blackouts...
Set limits; you are the parent. There should be times of day, and especially night, when the internet, text messaging and other media is unaccessible. Your kids may complain, but it is a gift to give them downtime and remove the possibility of being connected." (Guard and Guide Your Children Online)
Social Media 101: What the school & mall was to kids of the 60s-90s is what the Internet is to the millennial!
The Bigs
- Facebook (1,110,000,000 “Friends” as of March 2013)
- Twitter (300 billion Tweets Sent as of October 2013)
- Instagram (55 million Pictures shared each day)
- Myspace (Making a comeback after essentially being purchased by Justin Timberlake)
*"88% of teens have seen someone be mean/cruel on a social networking site" (UKnowKids)
Top 3 Websites in the world…
- Google (Around 13 Billion searches a month… Estimated to be worth over $270 billion)
- Facebook (Around 45% of internet users visit facebook)
- YouTube (Purchased by Google for $1.65 billion)
o More than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month
o YouTube reaches more U.S. Adults aged 18-34 than any cable network
o 100 Hours of video are uploaded every minute
o Top Videos
- #1 most viewed: ‘Gangnam Style’ by PSY (1,915,156,692 views)
- First video uploaded “Me at the zoo”, April 23rd 2005 (13 million views)
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly…
- Some say all this technology & media stimuli, creates a heightened awareness to culture & better ability to multi-task!! (‘Everything Bad is Good for You’ by Johnson)
- “Tweens that spend waking hours switching between social networks & texting are more likely to develop social problems” (Standford University: Dev. Psychology)
- Signs of addiction (Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery):
o Preoccupation with ______________
o Increased use of ______________
o Repeated, unsuccessful efforts to control ______________ use
o Restlessness, moodiness, depression when cutting down on ______________
o Online longer than originally intended
o Jeopardized or risked loss of significant relationships
o Lies to family members or others to conceal use of ______________
Tips for Parents with Social Media…
- Have an agreement in regards to knowing passwords and what networks they are in
- Privacy Settings must be used (25% of Facebook users don’t bother)
- Develop rules for what can and should be posted online (pictures, location, etc.)
- Computer in a centralized location in the home (this is hard with iphones & laptops)
“Most young adults are over-exposed to information earlier than ready and under-exposed to real life situations later than they were or should be ready” - Tim Elmore (Artificial Maturity)
3 Things we can do starting RIGHT NOW...
Be the example you want to see!!
Discuss helpful boundaries!!
Empower them to make positive choices!!
Here's just TEN of the articles sent to me and/or posted this week (if interested):
- Secret social media apps teens don't want you to know they are using
**If you are interested in my personal three-hour training of the '10 Things YOU Should Know About Teens & Tweens' please e-mail me for a FREE copy of the manuel and video link!!
