My visit to Australia for the World Congress on Family Law & Children's Rights has been rich in hospitality and insight – I've had the privilege of talking with people in government, online-safety advocacy, industry, school (students!), primary and secondary education, research, of course many parents and grandparents, and even "Australia's Dr. Phil," as Michael Carr-Gregg has sometimes … [Read more...] about Australian teen panelists on social media: Meaty insights
cellphones
Teens’ tech getting very mobile: New study
Ninety-five percent of US 12-to-17-year-olds use the Internet, 93% have access to a computer at home and 71% of teens with that computer at home share it with other family members, according to a study released today – the biggest explanation, most probably, for why teens' Net use has gotten so mobile. It allows them to keep their connectivity personal. "The nature of teens' Internet use has … [Read more...] about Teens’ tech getting very mobile: New study
Apple’s settlement with parents
Interesting: On the one hand, I hear a Nickelodeon executive saying kids are hard-pressed to spend $10 in the Apple App Store, and on the other I read that Apple reached a settlement with an untold number of "parents who sued the company for making it too easy for kids to rack up charges by buying add-ons to games and other apps." That's according to the Washington Post. Parents won't be able to … [Read more...] about Apple’s settlement with parents
Details, context on Rounds, Vine & other video-sharing apps
The company behind Rounds – a video hangout app for mobile and Web – has decided to keep the socializing just among friends. Referring to its "young user base" (it says 70% of its users are under 25, though it has yet to catch on at my son's high school), this week announced that the less than 3-month-old app was "retiring" its "Meet New People" feature "to focus on longer, more meaningful video … [Read more...] about Details, context on Rounds, Vine & other video-sharing apps
Perishable pix: First Snapchat, now Poke
Snapchat, the little app that came out of nowhere – well, Stanford University, but launched with no media fanfare by a couple of students whose service now supports 50 million snaps a day – has been joined by a similar "ephemeral messaging" app by Facebook: Poke. But now that perishable photo-sharing (the photos disappear in 10 seconds or less) is a trend, let's look at what's really interesting, … [Read more...] about Perishable pix: First Snapchat, now Poke