As if there weren’t enough things to worry about, here is a new one. There have been several reports of people finding button-sized Apple devices, called AirTags, in their cars, purses, and pockets before realizing that they are being stalked. In this GKIS article, we will be discussing what AirTags are, how they are being utilized for stalking, what happened to Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, Brooks Nader, when she was being stalked, and how to keep yourself and your kids safe. For more information on technology and useful tips about how to make the internet a safer place for your family, check out our Screen Safety Essentials Course to get parenting and family coaching information, support, and other valuable information.
What is an AirTag?
AirTags are button-sized Apple devices that are supposed to help you locate your keys when they end up in your couch cushions. The idea is that you can use your phone to locate lost or stolen objects. This sounds great unless you are me and you are always losing your phone as well. Due to their small size, AirTags can be placed just about anywhere.
Here’s the Issue
Due to the small size, AirTags can be difficult to spot if some shadowy figure slips one of these into your pocket, purse, or car. There have been multiple reports of these coin-sized buttons being non-consensually used to stalk someone. They can be used to find out where someone lives or to find out where they go in real-time, which is frightening and potentially dangerous. They have also been used for other nefarious purposes like tracking nice cars to steal when they are in a more opportune location.
Strange iPhone Alerts
Recently, there have been multiple reports of people finding out they are being stalked through strange alerts coming from their iPhones. Brooks Nader, who is a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, recently discovered she was being stalked for several hours.[1]
While going about her day, she received a notification on her iPhone that said, “Unknown Accessory Detected,” with a warning that the item was moving with her for a while and the owner can see its location. She instantly took a screenshot and shared it on her social media asking her followers if they knew what was going on. With their help, she learned it was an AirTag. She eventually found that someone had slipped the AirTag into her pocket and tracked her location and followed her in their car for over 5 hours. They not only learned where she was going, but by stalking her they also discovered her regular routine and where she lived.
Kidnapping
One woman kept hearing a noise coming from her car. She pulled over and began looking for it but couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. After going to the police, they took her car to a garage and located an AirTag wrapped in duct tape and stuck to the inside of the rear bumper. It turned out to be the father of her children whom she had a restraining order against. He later used the technology to locate her, run her off the road, and kidnap her.[2]
Finding Strange Devices
Other women have also found these items through security alerts or by finding the tags themselves. One woman found an AirTag on her car after leaving a bar. Another woman found an AirTag in her handbag, and her and her husband had to go online to find out what it was. Dr. B recently rented a car and discovered the car was being tracked by its owner. She received the notifications on her iPhone, but wrongly assumed it was somehow an alert about her iPad. Apparently, the notifications don’t make intuitive sense without doing extra research.
Car Theft
While the AirTags can be used to find a stolen object, thieves are using them to steal as well. There have been several reports of car thieves placing Bluetooth trackers on cars in parking lots or at dealerships. They then use these devices to wait until the cars end up in a location that is more suitable for auto theft. By doing this, they can reduce their risk of getting caught.
Apple Update
Apple has become aware of this problem and has put out several statements. They recently changed the item description to say it was “designed to discourage unwanted tracking.”[3] The iPhone Airtag alert notifies users when an AirTag is a certain distance away from the owner and has been travelling with the tracked person. In another effort, they try to discourage stalkers by requiring that it be linked to the purchaser’s Apple account.
There are still other issues as well. These alerts only go to iPhones. Therefore, if a user has a Samsung or any other type of phone, they will not be notified. Also, linking these to specific Apple accounts will not discourage criminals who can make a fake account. They can also use VPNs and other software to mask their location and identity.
Staying Safe
Here are some GKIS tips how you and your family can stay safe and avoid AirTag stalking:
Pay attention to iPhone alerts.
Stay vigilant and practice good situational awareness.
Trust your instincts.
Stay informed.
Dr. B is in a unique position to help you to learn more about the potential dangers that your family could face when engaging with technology. She can help you to navigate safely throughout your journey as a practicing psychologist, university professor, and mother. In Dr. B’s book, Screen Time in the Mean Time, she discusses and attacks the issue of raising a family while safely integrating technology rather than fearing it. Also, you can download the free GKIS Connected Family Agreement simply by creating a GKIS account on our website home page. Finally, Dr. Bennett’s Social Media Readiness Online Course for tweens and teens will give you the answers you are looking for and help you to navigate through these ever-changing waters!
Thanks to CSUCI intern, Michael Watson for researching AirTags and the issues surrounding them.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
[1] Court, A. (2022). Model stalked in NYC after stranger slips AirTag into her pocket. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2022/01/07/sports-illustrated-model-is-latest-victim-of-airtag-stalker/
[2] Cassi, S. (2022). Kidnapping suspect previously used tracking device on victim’s car, Bethlehem cops say. Lehigh Valley Live. https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/2021/10/kidnapping-suspect-previously-used-tracking-device-on-victims-car-bethlehem-cops-say.html
[3] Apple. (2022). AirTag. Apple. https://www.apple.com/airtag/
Now that I’m an “older” working mom, I love to share offline and online organization hacks and efficiency grabs that have saved me through the years. These organizational techniques were the difference between frazzled and peaceful at our house. With the overtasked lives we lead, most of us are guilty of brain fades and frantic searches while yelling and scolding overwhelmed kids. Even if you set up only one or two of these ideas, it may be the difference between fun family mornings versus a school day launched with tears and resentment.
Unclutter study spaces by setting up customized, distraction-free workspaces in niches and corners for each kid.
Kids in my practice often complain that the kitchen table is too distracting to get homework done quickly and neatly. The psychological research agrees. Studies reveal that fractured attention leads to irritability, wasted time, and poor grades. To optimize learning, set up a quiet corner office for each child. All it takes is a willingness and clever organization ideas and fresh accessories. Check out my GKIS Connected Family Online Course for a detailed blueprint for creating award-winning maker spaces with awesome Pinterest DIY ideas. A customized works station is a compelling magnet to get your kids creating in 3-dimensional space as a complement to screen learning. Ergonomic, body-healthy setups in the place of slouching on beds and couches avoid repetitive stress injuries to the neck, back, wrists, and hands.
Avoid missed soccer practices and study deadlines by setting up a digital family calendar.
Family schedules are chaos! Streamline communication and scheduling by color-coding child activities and setting up Family Share on Apple’s Family Calendar, Google’s Calendar, or Microsoft’s Outlook. Each member can share calendared activities and set up automatic reminders. Shared organization at a glance!
Just as you throw out old clothes your kids have grown out of, it’s also important to declutter digital spaces.
Schedule a fresh-start fall family meeting where everybody gathers with their mobile screen devices to trash apps and games they have grown out of.
Revisit (or grab) your free GKIS Connected Family Screen Agreement at GetKidsInternetSafe.com. This will help you set sensible rules like a digital curfew and create screen-free zones – including bedrooms and bathrooms.
Finally, teach cybersecurity measures from my Cybersecurity Red Flags Supplement. New this fall, you and your family members can tweak bad habits so don’t fall victim to bad actors online.
Cleanse social media profiles with an eye toward future reputation.
If your tween or teen is on social media already, you know the time-suck risks during school time. Help them sort out the necessary from the unnecessary by helping them avoid the bio-hack elements designed to capture their attention.
Consider limiting teens to only one or two social media apps to decrease wasted time due to mindless browsing and compulsive checking.
Insist that apps with visual notifications be on the second swipe screen on smartphones. That way they won’t get distracted by little red notifications and, instead, can batch their check-in times as research suggests is best.
And finally, delete old posted photos and unnecessary personal information from social media history. Sharing real-time with friends on a private profile is fun, but do you really want somebody lurking through your past photo-by-photo? Point out that other parents, relatives, teachers, coaches, future employers, and even college app administrators may be forming impressions based on your digital footprint. So instead of having an online resume populated by off-color jokes and sexualized photos, create a flattering stream of artistic works, philanthropic activities, sports activities, and fun friend and family time. A progressive, balanced, healthy life looks beautiful online – and may help you get a college placement or dream job instead of hinder it!
Reboot your Screen Safety Toolkit.
Each developmental stage offers unique online safety challenges. For example, little kids are best accommodated in a walled digital garden like YouTube Kids, and older kids need a little more digital space to explore and create. To parent well in the digital age, you need specially-selected free and third-party software tools to help you filter and block inappropriate content, set time-limits, monitor online activity use, remotely pause or offer rewards, and even locate and track the driving activities of your teen. If you get overwhelmed or need help figuring it all out, check out my GKIS Screen Safety Toolkit for tips, product recommendations, links to ISP and social media app safety guides, and free digital learning tools for best academic performance.
There you have it! Five quick and easy parenting hacks that will launch the school year with fun and success. Just as I recommend shoes live by the front door so you are not always searching, digital folders and organization tools will keep you dialed-in in your virtual life. Most importantly, set a peaceful intention with a six-second exhale for positivity and fun each morning before you enter the family’s living space. Parents must actively define the heart of the home. If we start the morning with a smile and warmth, our kids emotionally synch and return the joy. Soak in every chaotic and blissful moment!
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
Also, if you are a local Southern Californian and need a little TLC to get started on your screen safety/fun parenting plan, join me for a morning of pampering and friendship.
Move over debutante balls and high school dances, unboxing a brand new smartphone is the new coming-of-age ritual for today’s teens.[6] Teenagers born in 1995 and after are the first generation to live their entire adolescence with a smartphone.[5] In 2017, ten years old was the national average for receiving a smartphone.[6] This profound and sudden cultural shift has fundamentally changed childhood and parenting. Smartphones are a new-found necessity and parents are scrambling to provide one as soon as possible.
“What’s the WiFi password?”
Technology is an important part of our modern culture. In comparison to the rest of the world, the United States provides cell phones to the youngest kids.[8] Everywhere you go there’s a child or teen glued to a screen. There are babies listening to “Baby Shark” in their strollers during morning walks with mom, toddlers playing Candy Crush in their restaurant booster seats, and teenagers scrolling their Instagram feeds while blindly following their parents around Costco. It shouldn’t be surprising that adults and kids alike spend more than half of their days staring at a smartphone screen.[6]
With a smartphone in every hand, parents are peer pressured by their friends and begged by their children to provide one. Parents feel guilty for withholding one for too long because they see their children socially isolated.[11] Yet, giving a smartphone to a ten-year-old today is fundamentally different than when parents gave sixteen-year-olds flip phones in the 90s.[4]
Nokia Flip Phone vs. iPhone
Down to the basics, the main function of a cell phone is to call and send text messages wirelessly with no data. Smartphones such as iPhones, Androids, Google Pixels, and so forth have transformed those basic necessities.[7] They need data and WiFi to power infinite applications and endless Internet access. Basically, it’s a mini-computer that is more powerful than all of NASA’s computing power in 1969…in the palm of your hand!
Innovative or Addictive?
Unlike phones in the 70s, there are thousands of engineers and tech designers updating smartphones every day.[5] Their job is to make sure that smartphones and applications consume all our attention. They dazzle us with colorful visuals, sound effects, and seamless switching between applications. Studies have shown that children exposed at a young age to these stimulating effects become wired to crave easy dopamine release.[12] Instead of going outside and playing with their friends, they turn to their screens for pleasure
Sean Parker confessed to taking advantage of the human psyche when developing Facebook.[1] The former president of Facebook explained their objectives were, “How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?”[1] He and Mark Zuckerberg knew that small hits of dopamine from notifications would hook everyone.[1] Parker reflects, “I don’t know if I really understood the consequences…God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains.”[1]
It’s true. Silicon Valley’s tech executives have become wary of their own creations. They’ve noticed the negative effects on their own children.[11] For example, Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs limits his children’s tech time. He even kept the iPad away from them when it was first released.[10]
Smartphone Dependency
With all this power comes responsibility. Former Apple designer Tony Fadell struggles with whether his apple products have helped or hurt society.[2] In his own children he has seen smartphone dependency:
“They literally feel like you’re tearing a piece of their person away from them — They get emotional about it, very emotional…They go through withdrawal for two to three days.”[2]
Dr. Bennett details in her book, Screen Time in the Mean Time: A Parenting Guide to Get Kids and Teens Internet Safe, how smartphone dependency is like that of drug and alcohol addictions. Whenever teens hear a notification or see new content, dopamine is released and pleasure is felt. If too much time is spent apart, the smartphone-dependent gets agitated. There’s even evidence that we get distracted just by having a smartphone near us, even if it’s turned off as if we are in a state of chronic hypervigilance for notification. She chooses to have a screen-free classroom, stating that the research demonstrates that, not only is the screen users distracted from the lecture, but so are those around them.
Notifications on smartphones can be so addicting they cause phantom buzzing or ringxiety. Daniel Kruger researched cell phone dependency at the University of Michigan. His study found that “if your phone is rubbing in your pocket or if you hear a similar tone, you might experience it as your phone vibrating or ringing, especially if your phone messages are highly rewarding to you.”[3] That’s how adept our attention has become to our smartphones.
“Best” Age
Many studies have tried to determine which age would be best for a smartphone. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) came out with guidelines recommending no screen use for infants under one year of age and only an hour a day for kids under 5. Dr. Bennett’s GKIS guidelines, which are offered in her must-have Connected Family Online Course, are consistent with this recommendation as well. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Pediatric Society also recommend no screen time for toddlers younger than two years old.[12]
Many parents are under the false impression that virtual reality can replace real-life lessons for toddlers. But the psychological research shows that the skills don’t transfer over. For example, toddlers who play building block games don’t know how to build the same blocks when presented the toys in real life.[5] This is because the toddlers didn’t develop the skills before seeing it on the Internet.
Furthermore, Dr. Bennett states in her keynote lectures that some kids are less likely to try a task after seeing performed on YouTube. It’s as if watching “scratches the itch” of wanting to do it themselves. How-to videos often demonstrate an effortless learning curve, as the practice and messy sessions are edited out – leaving a quick and perfectly executed trial to view. When a child tries out the task themselves, they can fall into “compare and despair,” feeling that their very normal imperfect trial was a failure rather than a healthy try.
Dr. Bennett recommends that, from two to twelve years old, children shouldn’t have Internet-enabled smartphones. A normal flip phone that only allows for calling and texting will suffice for any safety concerns. Some starter phones even have GPS tracking.
Those are a general rule of thumb since all children vary in maturity. Age doesn’t qualify a child to use a smartphone well but instead impulse control, social awareness, and true comprehension of what technology does.[5] Bill Gates’ household requires at least one of the following to be met before a smartphone is given[6]:
Must be 14 years old
Demonstrate behavioral restraint
Comprehend the value of face-to-face communication
Dr. Bennett further points out that, even at 14 years old, kids don’t have the brain development to anticipate consequences and engage in high-order thinking. Just telling them what not to do will not keep them from making unwise, impulsive decisions online. In fact, kids are neurologically programmed to copy some of the cruel and vulgar behaviors they will invariably run across online, even with parental controls. Be prepared to calmly coach them through a variety of online mistakes. No child escapes it.
Wait Until 8th Campaign
If you’re looking for a place to start, GKIS recommends Wait Until 8th. As of March 2019, 20,000 families across the entire nation have signed the Wait Until 8th pledge.[9] These families have pledged not to give their children smartphones until at least the 8th grade. They emphasize that it isn’t the only path, but a path that offers a safe space for parents with the same concerns. Professionals in law, psychology, education, healthcare, business, and social work created the non-profit pledge.[10] They’re parents who have seen the negative effects of premature smartphone usage in classrooms, court systems, private practices, communities, and households. By spreading the pledge, the Wait Until 8th Campaign hopes to:
Increase engagement in education
Encourage parents to set screen time boundaries
Change society’s view on technology so children can live authentic childhoods
“Can I have one now?”
Your teens will eventually get a smartphone, like everyone else. We don’t want to restrict them for so long that they go wild once given access. But first, we have to coach them to make good decisions on their own. This way, we can better trust them to be mature when facing issues like cyberbullying and age-inappropriate content. As simple as they seem, smartphones are very powerful. With that power comes great responsibility for parents to make sure that smartphones are a tool we use, not a tool that uses us.
Already given them a smartphone or getting ready to start? It’s never too late to make some adjustments. Dr. Bennett has put together a reliable Screen Safety Toolkit to help you get started. This resource offers links and explanations of parental control options on devices, through your Internet service provider, and through third party products so you can match your child’s use patterns with the right toolkit. She also offers a bonus of great learning apps and websites to help your child build their joy of tech-assisted learning!
Thank you to our GKIS intern Hanna Dangiapo for writing about this topic! (She admits that she still reminisces about her Motorola Razr).
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
Screen technology provides amazing entertainment, convenience, and communication as well as a wide range of problems, particularly for kids and teens. Parents and professionals complain they can’t find the perfect tech toolbox to help. There are a lot of costly third-party solutions out there, but where do parents start? None seem to cover all the bases! Apple may have helped us by launching the Screen Time setting in the new iOS 12 update. Promising more speed, the ability to FaceTime up to 32 people at once, new personal animojis, stickers, and filters, augmented realities, easily sharable photos, searching, and shortcuts, Apple is committing to more “power” overall. Features that promise to help us control our use include auto turn-off Do Not Disturb, Instant Tuning to selectively turn off notifications, advanced shortcut and privacy features, and Screen Time tracking. Find out what you need to know in today’s GKIS article.
Tracking Your Usage
This update offers Screen Time, which will allow you to see which apps you use most often and how much time you spend on each activity with an easy-to-read bar graph and data count. Screen Time also allows parents to see which of your kids is the Twitter addict and which is up past their bedtime watching YouTube videos. You can monitor multiple devices linked to your iCloud account.
The Screen Time feature also tracks how many notifications you receive and from which apps they are coming from. Screen Time even tells you how many times you picked up your phone, a number that may surprise you.
Setting Limits
There are several limits that you will find with this update. If you see that social media is taking up a majority of your child’s day, you can set a timer on that category and for the entire day they will only have a set time to use their phones for that specific purpose. If your concern is about a certain app, like Snapchat, then you can just set a limit on that app alone.
Another useful tool is the Content and Privacy Restrictions, which allows you to monitor your child’s internet usage and their app store purchases. This is a simple way to ensure that your child is not viewing graphic or inappropriate internet content.
The last major setting that can be utilized by this new update is called Downtime. Downtime allows for you to schedule time for yourself or your family to disconnect from the distractions of your apps. This may sound a lot like Airplane mode, however the difference with Downtime is the ability to allow certain apps to continue to be used. Calls and texts come in automatically with Downtime, but if you can’t be without your emails you can allow that to remain active during this scheduled break.
Opportunity to Start Important Screen Time Conversations with Your Family
With the new Screen Time feature, your kids may feel like their privacy is being infringed upon, and you aren’t giving them enough space. However, we at GKIS feel that filtering inappropriate content and monitoring screen use is an important aspect of parenting, especially for younger kids and teens.
Rather than avoid the discussion and lock their screen use down, negotiate what seems reasonable for your family. Have spirited conversations. Share important facts about risk and benefits that you learned from GKIS articles. Team work builds stronger relationships.
There is no more influential tool for screen safety than a healthy parent-child relationship. Trust is earned on both sides. As stated in Dr. Bennett’s book, Screen Time in the Mean Time, your attachment to your child is a relationship built upon communication, negotiation, and fun. It’s important to ensure that your children’s privacy is something that is as important to you as it is to them, and that seeing where their time on their phones is spent is a way to look after their digital health and social well-being.
Recap
You can see which apps are the most used and for how long
You can set limits to specific apps and categories of apps
You can set content restrictions for internet and iTunes usage
You can set a bedtime for yourself and your children
Thanks to GKIS intern Adam Ramos for keeping us up on the latest! We at GKIS are big fans of Apple’s new Screen Time innovation. It is worth carving the time out of your chaotic parenting schedule to check this one out. It’s easy to use, free, and a giant step toward personal screen time accountability. Need support how to start these important family conversations, set your home up for safe screen use with handy tech tools, and get your family behind sensible rules? Check out the GKIS Home Starter Kit. In 10 easy steps and in as little as two hours, you can make several giant steps toward a closer relationship and better screen safety in your home.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
The summer is coming to a close, which means students and parents are preparing for the back to school mayhem. I don’t know about you, but the first day of school always manages to sneak up too suddenly at our house. We at GKIS are all about making family life easier so there’s more time for joyful rejuvenation. Here are a few helpful screen-help parenting hacks that can get you prepared for the madness.
Virtual Shopping for Back to School
I’m already after my kids to make their linked wish list for school clothes to avoid crowded school shopping that leaves us all haggard. The Giftster app is what I was looking for! The app allows for family members to share a wish list for the next upcoming event such as birthday, holiday, and back-to-school.
Super Deals
It’s not just the time shopping that can leave us depleted, so can the spending! To get the best coupon discounts, download RetailMeNot.
Not only can you browse for sales, coupons, cash back, and gift card savings, but I often search store names once I’ve collected my purchases. The online coupon can then be scanned at the register. I’m also in the habit of asking for AAA, education, or military discounts in the counter. Our local retail mall often offers up to 20% off every purchase if you qualify.
Staying Within the Budget
Beyond discounts, many of us need to stay within a budget. Intuit’s Mint app links to your bank card for close budget tracking. Spending is laid out on an easy-to-read graph to help you tracking spending in real time.It also gives spending suggestions, allows you to track and pay bills, and gives tips on how to improve your credit score.
Quick and Easy Money Transfers
Another money app that can alleviate stress is the Venmo app. This app allows users to send money to each other with a click of a button.
If your teen is eager to earn independence, a quick money transfer can be the difference between a fun trip with their friends and a stressful tug of war with a parent. Handy notations help parents track how much and when money was offered. This is far easier than handing over money or your credit card.
Location Sharing
Location sharing is a where one person can locate the other via their phone signal. For teens this may be a fun way to see where your friends are; however for parents, this is the perfect way to see what your kids are up to.
Wondering if your youngest made it home safely on the bus? Look up his location, and you’ll be put to ease knowing they’re safe. Wondering why your oldest isn’t picking up your calls? Look them up and see that they’re at the movies, so there’s no need to worry.
As a parent, keeping track of your kids may sound easy, but life can get crazy and sharing your location with your family is a great tool to put little worries to rest and reduce stress.
For android users with a Google account, simply add their Gmail address to your Google Contacts, open the Google Maps app and sign in, tap Menu> Location sharing> Add people.
For iPhones, simply go to the contact that you wish to share your location with, then select Share Location, and select the amount of time you wish to share your location. I often track my kids from messages simply by tapping the little i in the circle in the upper right-hand corner on your texting screen.
Life360 is a free location app that is amazing! You can set up alerts for when family members make it to a specific location (like kids home from school), view route information for distracted driving details, give at-a-glance information and easy access to check in messaging requests, and offers private and group chats as well as group circles and flexible location sharing. Now that my 16 year-old is driving, this is a MUST HAVE at our house.
Thank you to GKIS intern, Adam Ramos, for helping us get the most useful time-and money-saving apps. Also, because teens can be sneaky, make sure and read The GKIS Sensible Parent’s Guide to Venmo so you know every work-around. Have time-saving apps you love? Share them with us in the comments.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
It seems we may have FINALLY reached the tipping point for Internet safety. Governments are paying attention (GDPR), states are paying attention (Utah’s free-range parenting law), and Silicon Valley is paying attention (Google’s Family Link and Facebook’s Parents Portal). Guess why they’re paying attention! Because parents are demanding help. Parents now care, A LOT, about online privacy and preventing digital injury, and we are using our voices to make real change for our families. Today’s post is a quick summary of several things that have happened in the last few weeks that mean BIG THINGS are on the way to achieving screen safety for our kids.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Today is GDPR’s implementation date. The new mutually agreed General Data Protection Regulation was adopted by the European Parliament and European Council on April, 2016 after four years of negotiation. The two-year preparation period allowed businesses and public bodies opportunities to prepare for the changes. These new data protection laws were developed to replace the 1995 data protection directive with the objective to “harmonise” data privacy laws and give greater protection and rights to individuals.
After the slew of massive data breaches in the past six months with giants like Yahoo, MySpace, and LinkedIn, we at GetKidsInternetSafe believe this is a very positive move toward customer awareness and overall privacy protection. Under GDPR, the “destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to” personal data has to be reported to the country’s data protection regulator. Also, companies and organizations who collect customer data are required to document and inform customers about the details behind their data collection practices and systematically monitor processing. For some companies, this may mean hiring a data protection officer (DPO) and obtain consent in some situations. Noncompliance could result in fines. GDPR also gives customers more accessibility to the data collected about them and information about how it’s processed and what it’s used for.
What does this mean for American companies? For most, it means they’re scrambling to get compliant with GDPR. Giants like Facebook and Google have released statements committing to GDPR compliance, while others have gone dark as they block European customers from their sites until they’re confident with their compliance to avoid steep fines.
Utah’s Free-Range Kids
May 8thUtah Governor Gary Herbert signed bill SB65 that allows kids to have some independence from their helicopter parents to earn independent problem-solving skills. Controversial for certain, I commend Utah for taking a stand supporting kids to branch out and walk to school, hang out at the neighborhood park, and wait in the car while mom or dad runs errands. I like the idea of parents making decisions for their kids without fearing law enforcement sanctions. Obviously, safety must be considered, but our kids long for a chance to spend time running and biking outdoors. Let’s give it to them!
Facebook’s Messenger Kids, Youth Portal, and Parents Portal
Facebook has been on the well-deserved hot seat lately. But I also want to commend them for reaching out to the child development expert community for partnership in the development of their Messenger Kids messaging app. Even some of us on their Youth Advisory Council were openly and outspokenly suspect of the potential risks of this child product, yet they are correct in saying that kids are on their parent’s social media platforms and messaging sites already. By developing a platform with kids in mind, they have implemented much-needed parent controls and socioemotional and educational features that enrich development and connection. Their new Parents Portal and Youth Portal promises to provide much-needed information that can help many of us get back on track with safety measures.
It’s a work in process, with testing and tweaks. But now that the bridges have been built, I believe Facebook may open their doors to all types of facilitation for connection. I love that corporate is cooperating with the academic and clinical communities in support of kids and families. I, for one, will continue to be a fierce advocate for family connection and safety and welcome collaborative, creative opportunities.
Google’s Family Link and Apple’s Families Web Page
Google’s Family Link and Apple’s Families Web Page are also newly live. Although there are improvements to be made, the focus is shifting to the potential for digital injury with kids and how to prevent it. That is what I’ve been clamoring for many years now. Good news!
With all the expert portals up, parents are getting the information they need to set controls. However, I also think the main issue is getting missed. It’s not only a corporate issue, or government issue, parent issue, or a kid issue … it’s a family issue. We’ve been helicoptering away to keep our kids safe and too many of us have lost the fun in being a family. It’s possible to limit for safety, be on screens, and be close as a family. That’s what GetKidsInternetSafe is all about.
Thanks for spreading GKIS info to friends and family. Have an awesome Memorial Day Weekend! Mine starts right now!
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
