Here's why parents shouldn't text.
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Here's why parents shouldn't text.
Showing posts with label parents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parents. Show all posts
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Apple Needs To Do More For Parents
I’m getting complaints about a new kind of app purchase on Apple devices: kids hitting “buy.”
GigaOM and other press have already covered this with regards to purchases (parents are seeing big bills from kids who bought stuff in app, or even from app store since that remains active 15 minutes after a parent puts a password in), but Apple really needs to do more. Why? My kids, who are one and three years old are already very adept at getting around.
Already my sons have:
1. Deleted all my apps.
2. Deleted all my photos.
3. Downloaded new apps (turns out if they get the phone right after I’ve installed new updates, or new apps, they don’t need to put my password in).
4. Sent a tweet.
5. Called a friend.
6. Sent a video (it actually was pretty good, of me sleeping).
In some of these instances it took less than a minute. Kids are VERY fast at playing with these devices and it only takes you turning your head for a minute or two for lots of bad things to happen to your mobile devices (I’ve since locked my iPhone with a code so my kid can’t pick up my iPhone and start playing around).
And don’t give me the hooey about watching my kids closer. These are their favorite toys and contain their favorite games and entertainment. We even turn on Thomas the Tank Engine on Netflix for them to watch.
Yeah, there are some parental locks already, but it’s clear that we need both education of parents (I’ve gotten religious about backups) but also we need the parental control features to be easier to find.
I just tried to turn them on for the first time. When I go to the Settings on my iPhone I don’t see “parental controls.” Someone who doesn’t know might not even know they are there, under “Settings/General/Restrictions.” You can turn off the ability to Delete Apps and In-App Purchases, for instance, but the wording is confusing.
First of all, if you want to keep your kids from doing In-App Purchases, you have to turn “off” restrictions and it isn’t clear exactly what this does (there isn’t help for each item to explain what the consequences are).
Many parents will discover this feature on their iPhones and iPads too late. Probably only after something really bad has happened. You also can’t keep kids from deleting all your photos and videos, for instance. Since that’s already happened to me I bet it’s happened to other parents as well.
Anyway, if you have young kids and iPhones or iPads, be warned. Your kids probably will figure out how to delete apps or make in-game purchases before you do!
This post originally appeared at Scobleizer.
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Apple Needs To Do More For Parents
Monday, December 13, 2010
Google Offers To Help Your Parents Use Their Computer
Google has a condescending new Web site that lets users create a canned e-mail message for their parents with links to 30 instructional videos on how to perform simple computing tasks like copying and pasting, sharing photos, and changing the clock.
The videos are not bad: they're all under one minute long, and they're not too shameless about plugging Google products--the video on how to create a blog mentions Wordpress alongside Blogger, and the video on browser updates includes a demonstration of Firefox as well as Chrome. Other videos, like changing the wallpaper on the PC, don't have any Google links at all.
Unfortunately, the site asks you to send the links within a email that explains how "shocked" or "impressed" you are that your parents are using their computer. A word to the wise: even if your parents seem like total idiots when it comes to the computer, nobody wants to be treated like an idiot--it's probably better to create a personal email message and embed the links yourself.
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See Also:
- I'm Living The Google Lifestyle
- 10 Things We Love And Hate About Google's Chrome Notebook
- Watch Out, Teens! 10% Of Your Parents Are Hacking In To Your Facebook Accounts
Google Offers To Help Your Parents Use Their Computer
Monday, November 22, 2010
Kinect Video: Parents Can Finally Win at Xbox Games!
Already selling 1 million units in 10 days, Microsoft's Xbox Kinect controller is a hit. I can see why; it's intuitive, fun, and it finally gives parents like me a chance to beat the kids in a video game, even if I look stupid doing it.
Kinect Video: Parents Can Finally Win at Xbox Games!
Backlink: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OmMalik/~3/aYCZM8pMqZo/
Monday, October 18, 2010
Watch Out, Teens! 10% Of Your Parents Are Hacking In To Your Facebook Accounts
Attention, teenagers: your parents may be logging in to your Facebook account without your knowledge.
TRUSTe just released a report on privacy issues related to teens, their parents, and social networks. The most surprising result:
40% of parents said their teens had given them login access to their accounts, and another 10% said they had obtained access without their teens knowing about it.
Really? 1 in 10 parents think it's OK to spy on their kids without their knowledge? That's pretty disturbing.
See all the other survey results here →
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See Also:
- Parents Aren't Worried About Facebook Privacy, Partly Because They Don't Understand It
- CHART OF THE DAY: Teens Text 3,339 Times Per Month!
Post originale: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/SuIHMDaL9FQ/watch-out-teens-10-of-your-parents-are-hacking-in-to-your-facebook-accounts-2010-10
Parents Aren't Worried About Facebook Privacy, Partly Because They Don't Understand It
Facebook is in the news yet again over privacy concerns today. These issues are a constant topic of discussion in the tech media, but it's less clear how much of the uproar ever filters down to the average user.
So it's great timing for TRUSTe to drop the results of a recent survey (PDF) on how teens and their parents use social networks, and what they think about privacy issues related to them.
The main takeaways from the survey:
- The vast majority of teens and their parents are comfortable with privacy on social networks, and nearly all parents think their teens use social networks responsibly.
- On the other hand, parents feel pretty strongly that it should be impossible for their teens to share as much information as they can as broadly as they can. So it looks like parents don't understand Facebook privacy as well as they think they do.
- Most parents monitor their teens' online behavior closely, and want full control over what their teens share. A full 10% even admitted to secretly obtaining login access to their teens' accounts.
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See Also:
- Who Uses Social Media? You Ask, Charts Answer!
- BUSTED: Wall Street Journal Catches Facebook, Zynga Giving Your Info To Advertisers
Post originale: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/fAUWJXJ2wtg/teens-and-social-networking-2010-10
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