SnapChat - a headache for parents, and an opportunity for conversation

Facebook is old and stodgy, according to teens. The new cool thing for teens is SnapChat. Like many a "cool new thing" kids like, SnapChat makes us parents nervous, and for good reason. The idea is that it allows a user to send a picture to another user, and then that picture disappears after ten seconds. At least, that's the idea. In reality, anything you post or send electronically is never really gone. I think parents need to remind kids of that. You can use this article as an example.

Parents need to have an open dialogue with their children about what they are doing on their devices, and make very clear expectations. Disallowing them from using SnapChat is probably a good idea, but having a conversation with them about why they want to use it is an even better idea. Getting beyond the typical responses of "it's just cool- you wouldn't get it," or "my friends are doing it" is challenging, but beneficial. Encouraging a teenager to articulate the reasons they want to use it (or any app) may make them analyze their motivations differently.

Having this relationship with children and teens is the most important thing, so that we can help them develop the skill of thinking about the consequences of their decisions. This is harder than simply erasing SnapChat, but has more long-term benefits. After all, this isn't the first app/service/site to allow kids to do impulsive things that they'll later regret, and it won't be the last.

Good to Know: Protecting Your Data (and Yourself) on the Web

Whether you are a new or experienced Internet user, Google's "Good to Know" page is a great resource safe and responsible Internet use. You may want to use it to educate children about how their data is used, and how to safeguard it. It's broken into 4 main areas:

• Stay Safe online — good for teaching about strong passwords, the dangers that exist, such as phishing, malware, and scams and more
• Your Data on the Web — learn how you are tracked using "cookies" and IP addresses
• Your data on Google — good for teachings kids how to use a search engine properly, as well as making them  aware that Google (and other sites) collect data on users
• Manage Your Data — the best part of this section is "Me on the Web," which is a perfect starting place for students to learn about their "digital footprint"

An added bonus is the "jargon busters" section at the bottom of the page, which explains some technical terms. 

The direct URL is http://www.google.com/goodtoknow/