sensible guide

The GKIS Sensible Parent’s Guide to BeReal

October 11, 2023 by Samantha Sanchez

If you’re a parent, you know how much kids use social media. Apps are everywhere, and they’re becoming more popular. BeReal is a social media app that aims to “spotlight someone who’s living in the moment, going for it, celebrating life and all its weird/wonderful chaotic energy.”[1] Teens and tweens are falling in love with BeReal and its positive message. In this article, we’re covering what you need to know about BeReal. Does it allow harmful content? Are we ready to handle the risks that may come with it? Learning about social media can be tricky, but the GKIS Social Media Readiness Course helps teens and tweens learn the risks of social media and practice good psychological wellness. Read on for more info on this new popular app.

What is BeReal?

BeReal is a French social media app released in 2020 by Alexis Barreyat and Kevin Perreau that allows users to post real-time photos taken from the front and back phone cameras at the same time.[2]

BeReal’s mission is to “create an authentic world that keeps you connected with the people you really care about.”[3] It encourages users to live in the moment and stay away from harmful filters and trends. BeReal currently has over 6 million users a day.[4] It became popular in 2020 when teens on TikTok started posting their BeReals with celebrities and influencers.

How to Use BeReal

BeReal is easy to use. Users receive alerts at random times during the day to take a photo of what they’re doing.

Once alerted, users have two minutes to take their photo and post it. If they post on time, they can take two more BeReals that day. If they post late, they only get one photo op that day.

Although BeReal users can’t upload images from their photo albums, they can react and comment on friends’ photos or save their reaction photos to be re-used on their friends’ future BeReals.

Benefits of Using BeReal

No Filters

BeReal’s main benefit is that its layout forces users to post with no slimming, skin-lightening, or makeup filters. Social media filters have been found to lead to insecurity, depression, and more harmful effects. Check out our GKIS articles “Influencers Hurt Child Self-Esteem by Overusing Filters” and “Beauty Filters Don’t Embrace Brown Beauty: The Rise of Colorism” to learn more about the dangers of filters.

No Likes

On BeReal, there is no “Like” button. Other apps like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok show the amount of likes someone gets on their post. It’s no secret that most children think how many likes they get contributes to how cool they are. BeReal takes away this feature, making it less of a popularity contest.

Private Accounts

When you make your BeReal account, it automatically makes your profile private. Users must approve friend requests for you to see their posts.

Risks of Using BeReal

Location and Time Sharing

Like any app, there are some risks to using BeReal. BeReal posts include the city in which the user took the photo. It also includes a timestamp of when they took the photo.

Public Photos

Another risk is that you have the option to make your individual BeReals public for friends of friends to see. Friends of friends will not see your account, but an individual BeReal you posted may show up on their feed.

Other Risks

Other risks to using BeReal include:

Being or feeling pressured to share
Viewing inappropriate content
Experiencing unwanted contact
Oversharing

Privacy and Safety Options

Account Privacy

BeReal automatically makes your profile private when you sign up. Friendships must be approved by each user, so users can deny anyone access to their profile.

Photo Sharing

You can make an individual BeReal post public or private. To make it private, take a photo and click “My friends only” before posting.

To make it public, take a photo and click “My friends + their friends.” This allows friends of your friends to see your BeReals.

Location Privacy

BeReal shares the location of each photo when posted, but we can fix that. Users can turn off the location feature by taking a photo, clicking on “location,” and then selecting “location off” before posting.

Report and Block Inappropriate Users and Posts

If you see a post you don’t like, click on the three dots in the corner of the photo and click “Report this BeReal.” This means BeReal will no longer show you that post or any other posts from that person.

If you see a lot of inappropriate posts from a user, you can remove them as a friend or block their account. This stops you from seeing their posts and stops them from seeing yours.

GKIS Safety Ideas

BeReal’s features don’t make it the healthiest app for screen time, but it’s a step above other apps. Check out Dr. Bennett’s book, GKIS Screen Time in the Mean Time: A Parenting Guide to Getting Kids and Teens Internet Safe to learn what you need to know before your kids use social media.
Our GKIS Screen Safety Toolkit is also a great resource guide to help parents best manage their kids’ screen device use.

Thanks to CSUCI intern Samantha Sanchez for researching BeReal and preparing this article.

I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.

Onward to More Awesome Parenting

Tracy S. Bennett, Ph. D.
Mom, Clinical Psychologist, CSUCI Adjunct Faculty
GetKidsInternetSafe.com

Works Cited

[1] BeReal Realest Person Announcement

[2] BeReal

[3] BeReal – Our Mission and Values

[4] BeReal Revenue and Usage Statistics (2023)

Photo Credits

Photo by Ottr Dan (https://unsplash.com/photos/0EFrV9Pgvb8)

Photo by Nathan Dumlao (https://unsplash.com/photos/ItsW7gT8iR0)

Photo by Bruno Gomiero (https://unsplash.com/photos/jp7J14W9sSg)

Bluey Offers Parenting Training Plus So Much More

May 10, 2023 by Keith Ferries

With streaming platforms, we have more options for viewing television than ever before. Binge-watching television has become the norm. But how do we know what is good for our kids to watch? Bluey is a show for all ages, even adults. It first came out in Australia in 2018. Then Disney picked it up and aired it in the United States in 2019. Bluey revolves around a husband and father (Bandit), his wife (Chilli), and their two daughters (Bluey and Bingo). There are elements to the program that help with parenting and problem-solving, which we at GetKidsInternetSafe support. Our GetKidsInternetSafe courses are designed to help families connect with cooperative dialogue about screen safety. For families with young kids, our Connected Family Course helps open the lines of communication and set up your home with optimum screen safety. For tweens and teens, we recommend our Social Media Readiness Course. The Readiness Course offers information to help teens better problem-solve independently and recognize the red flags of digital injury. Today’s GKIS article covers the benefits of Bluey and the drama that surrounds the program on social media.

Bluey Portrays Engaged, Playful Parents

Dads on television are too often portrayed to be oafish, heavy-set men who act foolish. We can all think of lazy father characters married to an attractive wives they take for granted but win her over with bumbling charm. Bluey represents fatherhood in a more accurate, positive light. Bandit, the father in Bluey, can occasionally be goofy. But generally, he is a loving, caring father and husband.

Chilli is a loving wife and mother. She is also shown in an independent manner. She is unafraid to ask for some time when she needs a break and is seen going out to play field hockey with a friend. She is strong and loving to her family.

The first child of Bandit and Chili is the title character Bluey. Often children’s shows have the children trying to connive their parents. A refreshing part of the show is Bluey is not trying to get away with anything. She is an energetic child that enjoys playing and using her imagination. Like many children, she has her moments, but with the guidance of her parents, she understands her mistakes.

Bingo is the youngest of the Family. She, like many, looks up to her older sibling but is often involved in the activities. She is not a pest or an antagonist, she feels down sometimes because she may not be able to keep up, but the family often acknowledges her voice.

The Bluey set typically involves kids having playtime using their imagination and involving their parents. We often see them playing make-believe where they may be at a pizzeria or playing with their mom pretending to drive a car. The parents are caring, loving, and look out for each other. This positive portrayal of playtime as an opportunity for coaching and learning is excellent parent and child training. Like the ground-breaking work of Mr. Rogers, Bluey offers useful instruction in the form of family entertainment.

With the pressures of modern life, parenting can be challenging. Although technology makes us more efficient, it also adds a lot of distractions that can get in the way of healthy family relationships. In her book Screen Time in the Mean Time, Dr. Bennett reports that psychology research demonstrates that there has been a 25% decrease in child empathy. She states that parental distraction and outsourcing parenting to screen time may be major contributors to this unwanted change. She elaborates that empathy is not innate, meaning we aren’t born with it. Instead, devoted parents model empathy for their children and instruct them verbally as their kids follow along with them day to day. She proposes that Bluey models the teaching of empathy between parent and child through imaginary play. That benefits not only the kids watching Bluey but their parents too!

Bluey Tackles Challenging Topics

Like Mr. Rogers, Bluey often brings in complex and challenging topics such as coping with death and loss, working through troubling feelings, and much more.

For example, the Bluey episode Whale Watching implies the parents drank too much at a party the night before. The parents try to avoid playing with their kids but ultimately realize how vital their engagement is, resulting in them pushing through their discomfort.

In another episode titled Stumpfest, Chilli teaches Bluey how parents also need space and adults need time with friends. The kids think the dad was mean when digging up a stump with his friends. Taking away something Bluey and her friends wanted to keep and use for themselves. Chilli explains to Bluey that Bandit’s yardwork with his friends was his playtime and bonding with his pals.

Another Bluey episode, Born Yesterday, shows Bandit acting like he was just introduced to the world. The kids enjoy showing him his new surroundings and how to perform in social settings. This episode helps viewers see how much we take social norms for granted and how to explain norms to the younger generation. It also encourages us to slow down, think simply, and enjoy the little things.

Other topics that have been addressed in Bluey include

Depression
Fear of abandonment
Divorce
Taking care of your parents
Death
Work Ethic

Teaching essential concepts like these to kids can be challenging. A great product GKIS offers to help bring the family together is our Screen Safety Essentials Course. Our Essentials Course promotes screen safety and a cooperative and positive parent-child alliance.

Online Conspiracy Theories About Bluey

Typical of the internet, there is social media drama surrounding Bluey. For example, there is online speculation about hidden adult topics within the show. TikToker conspiracy theories about Bluey include speculation that Bluey is a rainbow baby. A rainbow baby is a child born after a miscarriage. There is also speculation that one of the grandparent characters has Alzheimer’s disease and Bingo has celiac disease. An episode was temporarily banned because Bandit passed gas in Bluey’s face, referred to as a fluffy in the show. This episode got pushback, but the real lesson was about being honest and not trying to be sneaky. After viewers and parents realized this, the episode was placed back into the show’s streaming library.

If you find it difficult to play with your kids or integrate challenging topics into play, get your friends together and schedule an online parenting workshop with Dr. Bennett.

Thanks to CSUCI intern Keith Ferries for researching and writing this family-friendly article.

I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.

Onward to More Awesome Parenting,

Tracy S. Bennett, Ph.D.
Mom, Clinical Psychologist, CSUCI Adjunct Faculty
GetKidsInternetSafe.com

Photo Credits

[1] August de Richelieu https://www.pexels.com/@augsst-de-richelieu/

[2] Cottonbro Studio https://www.pexels.com/photo/girl-in-red-dress-playing-a-wooden-blocks-3662667/

[3] RODNAE Productions https://www.pexels.com/photo/young-family-talking-to-their-parents-6148875/

The GKIS Sensible Parent’s Guide to Reddit

April 29, 2023 by Brandon Bishop

Reddit is a popular social media website with millions of users worldwide and has a controversial reputation due to its content moderation policies. This GKIS Sensible Parent’s Guide will provide what a parent needs to know about Reddit and offer some suggestions to help keep your children safe while using the website. We also recommend checking out the GKIS Social Media Readiness Training Course, which can help you teach your kids how to safely interact with any social media website.

How long has Reddit been around how popular is it?

Reddit is a hybrid internet forum and social news media website where users can post images, videos, and links to other websites, and other users can leave comments on the original post. As of February 2023, it’s the tenth most visited website on the internet with 4.8 billion monthly visits.[1] It was founded in 2005 by Steve Huffman, Alexis Ohanian, and Aaron Swartz as a bulletin board-style website that would act as “the front page of the internet.”[2] In 2006, the website was acquired by the mass media company Condé Nast Publications, also known for magazine and news companies such as Vogue, The New Yorker, and Vanity Fair.[3]

The website is divided into thousands of subreddits that organize posts by topic. Some subreddits cover broad topics, such as r/gaming for anything video game related, while others are more specific like r/minecraft or r/fortnite for those specific games. There are subreddits for news, relationship advice, political discussion, different hobbies, and nearly anything else you might expect to find on the internet. There are many subreddits dedicated to community support, like r/TwoXChromosomes for women’s rights and r/lgbt for LGBT issues.

Posts and comments on Reddit can be given upvotes and downvotes, which are similar to likes on Twitter or Facebook. Recent posts with multiple upvotes will be displayed at the top of the subreddit it was posted in. Posts with multiple downvotes are less likely to appear and will often be tagged as “controversial” by the website’s filter settings.

Getting Started with Reddit

The only thing Reddit requires to create an account is a valid email address. Reddit’s user agreement states that users need to be over the age of 13, but there is no age verification requirement besides a check box agreeing to the terms and conditions during account creation. Reddit has a mobile app that can be downloaded from the Google Play store or Apple App store, and can also be accessed from any web browser.

Benefits and Popular Features of Reddit

Custom Home Page

By default, the home page of Reddit shows the subreddit r/popular, which displays a variety of posts from a list of the most popular subreddits, with some restrictions related to political and adult-oriented subreddits.[4] Reddit users can also sort by r/all, which displays the top results from all subreddits on the website.

Reddit users can subscribe to specific subreddits they like, causing those subreddits to appear on their home page. Users can also subscribe to other user profiles so that they can see what another user posts no matter what subreddit it’s posted in. By doing so they can create a curated feed of content that relates to their interests.

Subreddits are mostly created by Reddit users and act as community forums for discussion and sharing media. They are run by moderators, who are users that set and enforce rules within each subreddit but are not paid employees of Reddit.[5] Reddit employees known as administrators only get involved in a subreddit if there are violations of the website’s terms of service and content policies.[6]

Community Events

Reddit is also known for having large community events on April Fools’ Day every year. In 2015, the subreddit r/thebutton was created, where a sitewide countdown clock could be reset by pushing a button, but each user could only push the button once.[7] In 2017 and 2022, Reddit ran an event called r/place where its community members could collaborate to create pixel artwork on a canvas where each user could only edit a single pixel every five minutes.[8]

Reddit’s Privacy and Safety Options

Reddit’s user settings and account creation process offer several options to protect yourself and your information while you use the website.

Anonymity
- Reddit does not require any personal information besides an email address to create an account.
- In its Safety & Privacy Settings, you can choose whether you want your profile to appear in search engine results from websites like Google or Bing.
- Users can delete their posts, comments, or their entire account from their profile settings at any time.
Personal Information
- Reddit collects personal information about its users but allows users to restrict what information is collected and how it is used in its Safety & Privacy Settings.
- Reddit users can file a data request form to receive a copy of the data that has been collected from their account.
- When an account is deleted, the username is removed from all posts and comments made by that account. However, the posts will still be publicly visible unless they are deleted before the account.
Chat and Private Messages
- Users can choose whether they want to receive chat requests and private messages in their Chat Settings and can restrict messages from accounts less than 30 days old.
- Users can also block individual user profiles, preventing that user from messaging them or sending chat requests.

Risks of Reddit

Adult-Oriented Content

Reddit has many subreddits dedicated to easily accessible adult content like pornography and graphic violence. Posts from these subreddits are marked as NSFW (internet slang for ‘Not Safe for Work’ or ‘Not Suitable for Workplace’) and excluded from r/popular and r/all.[4] Despite this, directly searching for adult content is only restricted by a check box below the search bar asking if you would like to include NSFW search results. Those results still appear if you select to hide NSFW posts in your user settings.

Additionally, the process for tagging NSFW content is only enforced by moderators, not site administrators. Inappropriate posts that contain nudity are automatically tagged, but ones that do not show explicit nudity can slip through the filtering process. Posts containing graphic violence are also often poorly moderated, and content from subreddits like r/fightporn (videos of street fights) and r/CombatFootage (GoPro videos of military conflicts) often make it to Reddit’s r/all page even if they show severe injuries or death.

Political Content and Hate Speech

Reddit has had many controversies surrounding the political subreddits on its website. In 2015, five popular hate speech subreddits targeting ethnic and gender minorities were banned for violating Reddit’s anti-harassment policies.[9] It banned the subreddit r/altright in 2017 after posts were made which called for the harassment of and leaked the personal information of a man who punched right-wing personality Richard Spencer.[10] Multiple political subreddits such as r/The_Donald, R/DonaldTrump, r/GenderCritical, and r/ChapoTrapHouse were banned under new policies designed to reduce hate speech in 2020.[11]

Despite these efforts, Reddit continues to have problems with hate speech and politically motivated harassment on its platform. While these bans remove the offending subreddits and all posts within them, the users who subscribed and made posts in those subreddits are rarely banned unless they directly violate terms of service. Users from the banned subreddits will often continue posting in other subreddits with similarly relaxed rules about hate speech and discrimination until it is banned as well.

Cyberbullying and Harassment

Reddit is a social media website with a high risk of cyberbullying and harassment. Because Reddit users are anonymous, there are few repercussions for directly sending another user harmful messages or unwanted explicit images. A user’s posts and comments are also publicly visible to all other users, which enables internet stalking behavior. While Reddit does have anti-harassment policies that can result in an offender’s account being banned, there’s little to prevent a banned user from creating another account to continue their harassment.[12]

GKIS Suggestions to Keep Your Kids Safe on Reddit

You can sign up for the GKIS Connect Family Screen Agreement, a free course that covers the basics of internet safety and keeping open communication between you and your kids about their internet use.
You can check out the GKIS Social Media Readiness Training course, which contains 10 lessons to help your teens and tweens get ready to responsibly use social media. It also provides access to the private GKIS Connected Family Facebook group, with tips and feedback from Dr. Bennett and other families who have taken the course.
There’s also the GKIS Screen Safety Toolkit, which is a parent’s guide to setting up parental controls, screen time management, social media & text monitoring, and other technological tools to keep an eye on how your kids use the internet.

Thanks to CSUCI intern Brandon Bishop for researching Reddit and preparing this GKIS Sensible Parent’s Guide.

I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.

Onward to More Awesome Parenting,

Tracy S. Bennett, Ph.D.
Mom, Clinical Psychologist, CSUCI Adjunct Faculty
GetKidsInternetSafe.com

Works Cited

[1] Free Website Traffic Checker from Semrush

[2] <Live Episode! Reddit: Alexis Ohanian & Steve Huffman by National Public Radio

[3] Condé Nast from Wikipedia

[4] Reddit is eliminating explicit content from its public homepage by Saqib Shah

[5] What’s a moderator? from Reddit

[6] What is an admin? from Reddit

[7] The button: the fascinating social experiment driving Reddit crazy by Timothy B. Lee

[8] Reddit is bringing back r/Place for April Fools’ Day – here’s how to participate by José Adorno

[9] These are the 5 subreddits Reddit banned under its game-changing anti-harassment policy – and why it banned them by Caitlin Dewey

[10] Reddit shuts down ‘alt-right’ subreddit by Luke Lancaster

[11] Reddit bans r/The_Donald and r/ChapoTrapHouse as part of a major expansion of its rules by Casey Newton

[12] Reddit Content Policy

Photo Credits

Photo by Brett Jordan from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/red-white-and-black-labeled-box-5437588/

Photo by Designecologist from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/silver-imac-displaying-collage-photos-1779487/

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/settings-android-tab-270700/

The GKIS Sensible Parent’s Guide to Greenlight Debit Card for Kids

April 10, 2023 by katherinecarroll

Since the onset of Covid-19, many establishments have become credit card-only and no longer take cash. With this change, getting a cash allowance for doing chores or mowing the lawn is slowly becoming a thing of the past. However, it is still possible for parents to reward their children and teach financial literacy with debit cards specifically made for children. Greenlight advertises itself as a tool to help empower parents to raise financially-smart children, if you are interested in a tool to help empower you to raise digitally-smart children, check out our GKIS Screen Safety Toolkit.

What is Greenlight?

Greenlight is a debit card and money app for families that is managed by parents or legal guardians.[1] Parents are able to load money onto their child’s card and manage where, when, and how much their child spends.[1] Greenlight was first founded in 2014 and is worth 2.3 billion dollars.[2] CEO Tim Sheehan says that through Greenlight, he is teaching children financial literacy worldwide through the tools provided in his application.[2]

According to CNET, Greenlight is one of the most popular debit card apps for kids and the best choice for kids’ debit cards out of five similar cards.[3] Greenlight accumulated 10,000 users within its first five months of operation and has more than four million accounts today.[4] The Greenlight website mentions that three out of four teens do not feel knowledgeable about their personal finance, and that they were created with the mission of changing that.[5]

Features of Greenlight Debit Cards

One of the reasons Greenlight is the most popular choice among competitors is that there are a number of features that their competitors do not have.

Greenlight has three different plans that parents can choose from, each at a different monthly rate. The least expensive plan provides debit cards for up to five children and offers an educational app, core financial tools, parental controls, a one percent savings reward, fun money skill games, credit for parents, and a “lite” version of investing for parents.[6] The next plan has investing for parents, investing for kids, a two percent saving reward, one percent cash back, greenlight black card, priority customer support, and three-times protection (identity theft, purchase, and phone protection).[6] The final plan has all the aforementioned benefits plus a five percent savings reward, family location sharing, SOS alerts, and crash detection.[6]

Greenlight provides an app for both parents and kids. It is one app but allows for two different experiences.[7] Parents are able to turn cards on or off from the app, get real-time spending notifications, instantly transfer money, and control where their kids spend their money.[7] Kids using the app are able to “Level Up”, a game that teaches kids financial literacy and allows them to learn skills from budgeting to investing.[8] The games provided are full of minigames, videos, and questions that allow for learning to occur.[8]

Benefits

Financial literacy is the ability to comprehend and use various financial skills like budgeting and investing.[9] By creating strong financial literacy skills early in life, children can learn valuable life skills that will benefit them in the future. These skills include knowing how to save for retirement, purchase a home, select insurance, create budgets, invest, buy a car, save for big expenses, use credit cards, and reduce unnecessary expenses.[10]

Financial literacy empowers children and equips them with the knowledge needed to navigate unique financial situations they will undoubtedly encounter in the future. According to a national survey, of 1203 college undergraduate participants, 46.1% of respondents have credit card debt with 27% exceeding $2000.[11] More than 79% of respondents also did not know that a credit score measures your risk to banks and can have a negative impact on future financial endeavors.[11] Through financial literacy, your children can avoid these mistakes and understand how to properly manage their funds which will allow them to avoid getting into debt at a young age.

Risks & How to Mitigate Them

As with any online financial transaction, there are always risks to placing your money in the hands of a virtual bank. However, according to the Greenlight website their debit cards are federally insured for up to $250,000 and come with Mastercard’s Zero Liability Protection.[12]

Allowing your child financial freedom can be worrisome for some parents who are unsure where their child may be spending their savings. Luckily, the parental controls in the app also allow parents to know where their child is spending their money and what they are spending it on. Communicating with your child beforehand about where they can use their money helps to avoid being caught off guard if their card gets declined for a certain purchase. We can help facilitate this healthy conversation with your child through our GKIS Connected Family Screen Agreement.

Like what you read? Check out our GKIS articles “The GKIS Sensible Parent’s Guide to Venmo” and “The GKIS Sensible Parent’s Guide to Facebook Messenger Kids”.

Thanks to CSUCI intern, Katherine Carroll for researching Greenlight debit cards for kids.

I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.

Onward to More Awesome Parenting,

Tracy S. Bennett, Ph.D.
Mom, Clinical Psychologist, CSUCI Adjunct Faculty
GetKidsInternetSafe.com

Works Cited

[1] Greenlight: Our Mission. (2023). Greenlight. https://greenlight.com/mission

[2] Greenlight, the Debit Card and Money App for Families. (2023). Morgan Stanley. https://www.morganstanley.com/what-we-do/wealth-management/cashplus/greenlight

[3] Best Debit Cards for Kids and Teens in March 2023: GoHenry, BusyKid and More. (2023). CNET. https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/debit-cards-for-kids-and-teens/

[4] Greenlight: In the News. (2023). Greenlight. https://greenlight.com/press

[5] Greenlight: Financial Literacy for Kids and Teens. (2023). Greenlight. https://greenlight.com/financial-literacy-for-kids-and-teens

[6] Greenlight: Greenlight Plans. (2023). Greenlight. https://greenlight.com/plans

[7] Greenlight: The Debit Card That Has Their Back And Yours. (2023). Greenlight. https://greenlight.com/debit-card

[8] Greenlight: The Game-Changing Money Game. (2023). Greenlight. https://greenlight.com/level-up-financial-literacy-game

[9] Fernando, J. (2022) Financial Literacy: What It Is, and Why It Is So Important. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/financial-literacy.asp#:~:text=A%20strong%20foundation%20of%20financial,debt%2C%20and%20track%20personal%20spending.

[10] Rose, S. (2021) What Are the Benefits of Financial Literacy? OppU. https://www.opploans.com/oppu/articles/what-are-the-benefits-of-being-financially-literate/

[11] Harzog, B. (2022) Survey: 46% of College Students With Credit Cards Have Debt. U.S. News & World Report. https://money.usnews.com/credit-cards/articles/survey-46-of-students-with-credit-cards-have-debt

[12] Greenlight: Question We’d Ask If We Were Parents (We Are). (2023). Greenlight. https://greenlight.com/faq

Photo Credits

Photo by Sasun Bughdaryan (https://unsplash.com/photos/EmGF98ckNSU)

Photo by Giovanni Gagliardi (https://unsplash.com/photos/b1omwFGldMU)

Photo by Tred Earth (https://unsplash.com/photos/PG78hq3Gzq8)

Photo by Alexander Mils (https://unsplash.com/photos/lCPhGxs7pww)

The GKIS Sensible Parent’s Guide to Among Us

May 19, 2021 by Dakota Byrne

Among Us is an app/video game that has seen a rising fan base since its release. It is popular with gamers of all ages. Its cutesy characters and simple gameplay make it appealing to even the youngest children. To get your home set up for cooperation and screen safety, check out Dr. Bennett’s Screen Safety Essentials Course which features weekly parent and family coaching videos in addition to several other valuable resources for promoting family connectedness and preventing digital injury! In today’s GKIS Sensible Guide, you will be learning all the information you need to make an informed decision on if this game is appropriate for your child.

How long has Among Us been around, and how popular is it?

Among Us was released by a small development company called InnerSloth LLC in June 2018. According to Steam, the number of users began to rise when COVID lockdowns started. This peaked around October 2020 with an average number of 170,000 players.[1] It should be noted that this does not include players on Apple or Android devices. The true player count is likely much higher.

Among Us is available for purchase on Steam for under $5. On mobile devices, Among Us is a free download. However, users on mobile devices will be shown ads between games and will have their data collected. To stop this, the user is allowed to purchase an ad-free version of the app. This prevents any ads from playing and their data from being collected by the app.

Getting Started on Among Us

To play Among Us, the player must confirm their age is over 13. This is done with a simple birthdate selection and can be easily bypassed by children younger than 13. Among Us can be downloaded on Steam, along with the Apple app store and the Google Play store.

Before letting your child play Among Us or games like it, we recommend the Connected Family Course to help inform you and your child about the dangers of screen use. It also provides a large number of tips to help your child stay safe online.

Features of Among Us

Basic Gameplay
- During the game, groups of 4 to 10 play together. One to three of those players are selected as the imposters, the rest of the players are crewmates.
  - Crewmates will have a certain number of tasks to complete as a group around the map. These tasks are usually simply mini-games such as connecting wires or swiping a keycard. This group wins when either all of the imposters have been eliminated through voting, or all of the tasks are completed.
  - Imposters have a much simpler task. They want to eliminate the crewmembers until the number of imposters is equal to the number of crewmembers. If this happens the imposters win. Imposters have extra abilities such as using vents to teleport around the map. Imposters always know who the other imposters are.
- When a dead body is reported or the emergency button is pressed a meeting is called. During this meeting, all players discuss who they think the imposters are. This discussion may be over a text chat or a voice chat. At the end of the meeting, they have the option to vote off a player. They may skip voting if they aren’t confident. Once a player is voted off, it is revealed if they were a crewmember or an imposter.
Cosmetics
- A various number of cosmetics are available for direct purchase for Among Us. They can range in price from one dollar to up to five dollars. While not a loot box, some people do worry that microtransactions like this can lead your child to develop a gambling addiction. For more information on this, please visit our article on gambling in gaming.

Benefits of Among Us

There are numerous benefits of playing Among Us. It is a fun way for friends to interact or to meet new friends online. Its simple gameplay allows for everyone to enjoy it, not just dedicated gamers. Plus, the game is easily accessible because it’s extremely inexpensive or even free. Finally, it teaches players to detect deception from other people. This can be considered a good life skill.

Risks of Among Us

There are a few big risks that come with children playing Among Us. The first is that it does expose the child to violence. While it is cartoon-like, there are some graphic deaths including stabbing, snapping necks, and eating heads off. It also teaches children to lie. To be a successful imposter, one has to lie and plant deception in the crewmates’ heads. This might lead the child to lie in other aspects of their life, particularly younger children. Another risk for anyone playing the game is they may be exposed to cyberbullying by others. Other players may be muted to prevent this, but it is still a risk of playing an online game. Another big risk is talking and interacting with strangers. Though it hasn’t been reported, predators could potentially use Among Us to find victims and groom them into talking outside of the game or offline.

Due to the risk potential for child players, GKIS rates Among Us as a yellow-light app due to the cartoon violence and potential exposure to cyberbullying. This means that children under the age of 13 are not recommended to play this game.

If your child wants to play Among Us, GKIS recommends that you:

Add it to your free GKIS Connected Family Agreement (Available if you enter your email on our GKIS home page.)
Discuss the risks of chatting with strangers with your child. For tips and advice on how to do this, check out our Connected Family Course.
Consider joining our Screen Safety Essentials Course to gain access to weekly parenting and family coaching videos that provide information, extra support, and exclusive tips for helping your child stay internet safe.

Thanks to CSUCI intern Dakota Byrne for researching Among Us and co-authoring this article.

I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.

Onward to More Awesome Parenting,
Tracy S. Bennett, Ph.D.
Mom, Clinical Psychologist, CSUCI Adjunct Faculty

GetKidsInternetSafe.com

Works Cited

[1] https://steamcharts.com/app/945360

Photo Credits

Photo by Kelly Sikkema (https://unsplash.com/photos/PgToaHfQjq0)

Photo by Luis Villasmil (https://unsplash.com/photos/ITFwHdPEED0)

The GKIS Sensible Parent’s Guide to Discord

May 19, 2021 by Dakota Byrne

Discord is an app that allows groups of people to communicate with each other at any time. It has branded itself as being a messaging app built for gamers. If you would like to teach your gamer the brain hacks and marketing ploys built into games, check out our GKIS Screen Safety Essentials Course. This program offers powerful teaching tools through weekly coaching videos designed for parents and the entire family. The Screen Safety Essentials Course encompasses a variety of valuable resources for keeping families informed about the various pitfalls of the digital world in addition to providing tools for fostering open communication and family connectedness.

How long has Discord been around, and how popular is it?

Discord was launched in May of 2015 by Jason Citron and Stanislav Vishnevskiy. In 2020, Discord earned $130 million, with over 100 million active monthly users. Most of the revenue comes from a service called Nitro, which allows users to pay for upgrades to their servers. About 850 million messages are sent every day on Discord.[1]

Getting Started with Discord

Discord requires users to be over the age of 13 before they are allowed to create an account. This is a simple birthdate check and can be easily faked by children under the age of 13. Discord can be downloaded on the App or Google Play stores on mobile or by going to the Discord website and installing the application on a computer. Discord can also be used on any internet browser.

Before letting your child use any sort of messaging app, we recommend our Connected Family Course to help teach your child about the potential dangers of the internet and how to avoid falling victim to them.

Features of Discord

Basics
- When a new user opens Discord, they won’t have a lot of options. To get connected with peers, Discord servers have a link that can be sent out that works as an invite. When an individual clicks that link, Discord will open, and they will be prompted to join the server.
- In each server, there can be multiple text and voice channels. These different channels can be used to keep larger servers on topic. For example, creating a specific voice channel for gaming is a common occurrence.
- Users often have screen names instead of their actual names displayed. This can make it hard to keep track of who you are talking to, especially if other users change their display names frequently.
Nitro
- Discord allows users to ‘boost’ a server with Nitro. This gives various benefits to the server and its members, including higher quality audio chat, exclusive and customizable emojis, and higher quality video sharing.
- This costs a user $9.99 a month to boost a server. Servers may be boosted by multiple users for improved benefits.
Private Servers vs Public servers
- Private servers require users to be approved by a moderator or be given a password to access the server.
- Public servers are joinable by anyone.
- Many game companies, such as Sims, Call of Duty, Among Us, and Fortnite have public Discord servers for their fans to join.
Private Chats
- Discord allows users to individually message others based on their privacy settings. Explicit content can be filtered out at the user’s discretion.
- Messages from complete strangers can be prevented completely by changing one’s privacy settings.

Controversies

During its relatively short lifespan, Discord has found itself at the center of several different controversies. Most recently and famously, it was discovered that several members of the 2021 Washington D.C. occupation used Discord to discuss and organize the Capitol Hill incident. Their server was subsequently deleted.[2]

In addition, numerous Discord servers are solely dedicated to the sharing of various types of pornography. Those servers are often easy to find and join, with little age verification required. So long as the user’s account says they are over 18, they are able to join these servers with no issue.

Benefits of Discord

Discord allows individuals to communicate with their friends easily. Discord does not inherently cost anything, so it is appealing to those with a limited budget. It helps the individual feel connected to their friends and gives them a place to chat how and when they desire. If you like a certain game, joining a public discord to talk with similar-minded people can be exciting and fun. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of servers dedicated to discussing video games, movies, books, or even mythology. Discord provides a broad range of groups.

Discord also offers features to protect privacy. Specifically, it provides settings to prevent instances of bullying, spam, or harassment from strangers. Users just need to know to turn them on.

Risks of Discord

Discord presents some apparent risks. The anonymity of users allows for cyberbullying to be very easy to get away with. Children are often targeted by older members of gaming communities. Users may block other users once they feel threatened, but this does little to prevent cyberbullying from happening. It simply prevents it from happening again.

In addition, the ease of access to pornographic content is a big issue. If a child wanted to look up pornography but didn’t want it to show up on their internet history, Discord can provide it discretely. If you are worried about what websites your child is visiting, consider browsing our article on red-light websites.

GKIS rates Discord as a red-light app. This means that children under the age of 18 are not recommended to use this app. We came to this conclusion based almost solely on the ease of access to explicit content. Perhaps with careful parent supervision, it could be considered a yellow-light app. So long as parents are able to monitor what servers their children are in and who they are talking to, Discord has no more risk than texting or Facebook messaging. GKIS encourages parents to talk to their children and make an informed decision on whether or not Discord is appropriate. For help choosing and programming parental controls and management programs, our Screen Safety Toolkit is a comprehensive research guide with GKIS recommendations and special offers and discounts.

Thanks to CSUCI intern Dakota Byrne for researching Among Us and co-authoring this article.

I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.

Onward to More Awesome Parenting,

Tracy S. Bennett, Ph.D.
Mom, Clinical Psychologist, CSUCI Adjunct Faculty
GetKidsInternetSafe.com

Works Cited

[1] https://www.businessofapps.com/data/discord-statistics/

[2]https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/8/22221579/discord-bans-the-donald-server-reddit-subreddit

Photo Credit

Photo by Florian Olivo (https://unsplash.com/photos/Mf23RF8xArY)

Photo by Mark Decile (https://unsplash.com/photos/WA84FtTi7NU)

Photo by KrakenImages (https://unsplash.com/photos/8RXmc8pLX_I)