The time has come. Your child, or adolescent, is asking for a phone. But not just any phone will do, of course. They need a smartphone. Preferably the latest model. “Everyone has one,” they’re telling you. (Which may not be 100% true, by the way.) But before you go and purchase said smartphone, you decide to research online. (For that we say, good going!) And here you are, wondering about
When you hear about sex trafficking, you probably think, That will never happen to me. Teen sex trafficking occurs when an adolescent becomes dependent on someone who then uses her to provide sexual services for others. Sometimes, teens could become involved in a trafficking ring by force – such as via kidnapping. (Which is why it’s been ingrained in you by your parents, ever since you were a toddler, never
Some call the app “digital karaoke.” On it, teens can create 3-15-second videos of themselves singing, lip-syncing, dancing, or doing anything at all – antics and silly pranks included — to background music. The videos, by default, loop on repeat, making it often addictive to keep watching. Popular TikTok videos mostly show young adolescents, often provocatively dressed, dancing or singing to popular songs or lyrics from movies. Songs are often
What Is the Dark Web? You may have heard of the dark web. It’s the underground Internet that you can only access through special software, and it’s full of dangerous activity. The dark web hides your location and identity, so it is frequented by teens who want their digital activities to stay hidden. On the dark web black markets, a teen can buy and sell almost anything—while staying totally anonymous.
You may have heard of Insta. It’s short for Instagram, a popular social media photo-sharing app that’s a favorite of teens and adolescents around the world. But Finsta? What is it? Finsta is a combination of two words: Fake and Instagram. It’s a secret account that can only be accessed if you know someone has one, and you know what their username is. Hence, it’s more private and exclusive. For
If you check online news feeds regularly, you’ve probably noticed a trend over the past three months: there’s been an abundance of headlines in national media outlets linking social media use with depression in adolescents. When we see these types of headlines, we take them with a grain of salt. Online news media survives by getting clicks. The best way to get clicks is to write a provocative headline. Sometimes
The researchers at Common Sense Media deliver again: this time, with an in-depth look at social media use among adolescents. The report “Social Media, Social Life: Teens Reveal Their Experiences” examines answers to salient questions that adults – including parents, educators, mental health professionals, and public policy makers – want to know about teen social media use. It’s a follow up on their 2012 report “Social Media, Social Life: How
In November 2015, Common Sense Media published a large-scale study that examines the way young people in the United States use media and technology. The study, conducted over six weeks in the early spring of 2015, included 2,658 children age eight to eighteen. Tweens were defined as children age eight to twelve. Teens were defined as children age thirteen to eighteen. The four primary goals of the Common Sense Media
An article published in the Washington Post in January called What Teens Wish Their Parents Knew About Social Media got us thinking: what do teens really want their parents to know about what they’re doing online? Everything? Nothing? Somewhere in between? The article’s author interviewed teens about these very questions. But what we’re more interested in is you: What do you want your parents to know about what you do
STOP NOW. JUST STOP. Hey, you. Teenage boy. Yeah, you. Are you the reason teenage girls are saying things like this? “Every single guy I meet online and start texting always asks ‘do you send nudes.’ I say no of course. But they won’t stop bugging me. It’s like I can’t have a real guy friend or a real boyfriend without them asking for gross things.” -Anonymous Teenage Girl If
What are They Even Saying? We’ll start this post by reminding all the parents out there of the first rule of teen slang: It’s for teens. Try it out at your own peril. At worst, your teens will roll their eyes and groan, and at best, you might score one or two hipster points. Which brings us to another rule. About trying to be the hip parent: Give up the
