This little piggy went... WHAT?!
Let’s dive into cancel culture, Photo Roulette, cash for foot photos and parental controls and monitoring (part one). Ready? Round and round we go; where we stop; nobody knows.
Say What
Cancelled.
While the notion of cancel culture has probably entered your orbit, you may not have found time to process the specifics. To be cancelled is to be boycotted. Urban dictionary defines cancelled as dismissing something or someone, or the rejection of an individual or idea.
While cancelling can have a positive impact in terms of holding people accountable for their words and actions (e.g. cancelling someone for racist or homophobic comments), it doesn’t leave much room for improvement or nuance. This is bad enough within the fickle culture of Hollywood, but can be quite devastating among teenagers, whose brains and identities are still taking shape and whose own self-worth relies heavily on the opinions of their peers.
Cancel culture not only manifested within the petri dish that is social media, but, as this New York Times piece points out, social media has a way of exacerbating it too.
We all do cringey things and make dumb mistakes and whatever. But social media’s existence has brought that into a place where people can take something you did back then and make it who you are now.
These two articles are great for gaining a better understanding of cancel culture. Further, as one article is written by a teen and the other is written exclusively about teens, they provide good perspective for parents.
A Parent's Guide to Cancel Culture, Explained by a Teenager | Parents
In this post for our ‘Teen Talk’ column—articles written by teens to help parents understand what’s really happening in their world—a teenager defines Cancel Culture and explains how parents can help their teens navigate it.
Tales From the Teenage Cancel Culture - The New York Times
What’s cancel culture really like? Ask a teenager. They know.
Read This
An eye for an i [phone]
Parental controls and monitoring: I feel overwhelmed just typing it. The volume of information, options, and opinions on the subject are astounding. We know this topic can spark powerful and entrenched feelings that transcend technology and get to the heart of parenting.
We also know that figuring out controls and monitoring can be very confusing, as the options that exist span the gamut from specialty routers to individual devices. Further, different brands have unique built-in parental controls and interact with monitoring apps differently.
In bringing you this information, our goal is to raise awareness around some of the options that exist, and the trade-offs inherent within these options.
To begin, we’ve linked to a few articles that provide general information about monitoring and parental controls. The following articles highlight salient points and best practices. (Stay tuned over the next couple weeks for more device- and app- specific info.)
We especially like the do’s and don'ts section of this Wall Street Journal article. These are two of our favorite DO/DON’T combinations quoted from the article:
DON’T view the task of monitoring your children online as a tech issue.
DO view it as a parenting issue. Experts advise parents to approach their children’s online activity as they would any other concern, such as underage drinking. “Do you go to every party and watch them? You don’t. You educate them about how to get out of a tough situation and what the consequences are,” said Ms. Repking of Cyber Safety Consulting.
DON’T sneak around and monitor your children without their knowledge.
DO have ongoing conversations with your children about appropriate technology use, starting before they get their first phones. Once you begin monitoring their activity, be transparent about it.
Safe Space or Police State: How Far Should You Go in Monitoring Your Kids Online? - WSJ
Some parents use tools that allow them to monitor every picture, email and text message a kid sends or receives and alert them at any sign of mischief.
Should You Spy on Your Kids? - The New York Times
Using smartphones to track family members can be reassuring, but it can open the door to a surveillance state in the home.
How do I monitor my kids' cell phone use without seeming intrusive?
How do I monitor my kids’ cell phone use without seeming intrusive? Get expert advice and tips from Common Sense Media editors.
Here are a couple articles written by parents with conflicting opinions. See what they have to say, and give some thought to how you feel about it.
Yes, I Track My Kids With Tracking Apps—And I’m Not Sorry
I trust my kids, I really do, but I also am a worrier. A tracking app offers peace of mind for me and less nagging for them.
Why Parents Should Never Cyber-Snoop or Monitor Their Kids Online, According to a Tech Expert
I am a tech entrepreneur. Here is why I believe cyber-snooping is ultimately dangerous for your kid, even if it seems like you’re protecting them.
DON’T view the task of monitoring your children online as a tech issue. DO view it as a parenting issue. Experts advise parents to approach their children’s online activity as they would any other concern, such as underage drinking.
Do I Have to?
Photo #2,387… Lucky #2,387!
The worst part of linking to this article is that I checked my photo roll as a reference point, and I have 8,997 photos on my phone. 8,997! This means two things: 1. I really need to organize my photos, and 2. I am definitely not comfortable allowing an app to randomly pick a photo from my camera roll to display to 49 of my friends, which is exactly what the trendy app Photo Roulette does.
Alas, it seems many teens don’t share my concerns or those of their parents. Given this, make sure and check-in with your kid about whether they’re using Photo Roulette and stress the fact that they may be setting themselves up for embarrassment or worse.
For those with younger kids, being aware of apps such as this is a good reminder that it’s never too early to start a conversation about best practices surrounding social media and app use, as a way to get your kids thinking critically of how they begin to shape their own digital identity.
Photo Roulette, the Hot App That Makes Teens Cringe and Parents Fret - WSJ
Photo Roulette, one of the hottest mobile game apps with U.S. teens, selects and shares random photos from players’ camera rolls—leading to privacy panics for parents.
Stats. Sort-of...
Today’s episode is brought to you by the NUMBER 5!
5 bats! 5 cookies! 5 dollars for a picture of feet?!
If you notice your kid has a bit more spending money as of late, you may want to ask a couple questions about foot photos. Seriously?!
Minors Are Selling Photos Of Their Feet On The Internet
When my middle school son said he’d heard of girls his age selling photos of their feet on the Internet, I thought he’d misheard. But it’s true.
Until Next Year
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