Category Archives: social networks

Mom-Approved Tips: Keeping Social Media Clean and Safe

September 2, 2013 Suzanne Shaffer

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Social media—it’s a quandary. On the one hand it has become an excellent tool to communicate with family, friends and networking with businesses. On the other hand, it leaves a footprint of everything you do, share or say. Teens are especially vulnerable as they begin to think about college. And as their lives progress, the quantity and the quality of that footprint will affect future job prospects.

Are you friends with your teen on Facebook?

It may sound invasive but it’s a parenting effort that is becoming more and more popular. According to a recent survey, 46% of parents are friends with their kids on Facebook. Why would you do that? It allows you to monitor their friendships, see what they are talking about, and protect their privacy. One mother only allows her son to be friends with his “real life” friends. Whatever you decide about the boundaries, make them clear from the start. Explain to your teens why it’s necessary and remind them that just as you protect them in the world, it’s your responsibility to protect them online.

Does your teen understand “forever”?

Google never forgets. And I mean NEVER. Explain to your kids that whatever they post now will be in cyberspace forever. Even if they delete their pages or pictures, copies might still be accessible by search engines or from others who have saved copies to their computers.

Just the other day, I was looking at a job application for my husband and the company posted this in the ad. Think companies won’t care if you posted questionable content in the past? Think again:

In addition to other background checks the Company or its designees may perform, I also authorize the Company to research information publicly available on the internet, including without limitation social networking sites and blogs, for purposes of evaluating, in the Company’s discretion, my suitability for employment, promotion, retention, and/or reassignment. I recognize that the Company has legitimate business interests in reviewing this information that is available to the public, either now or in the future, and I have no expectation of privacy with respect to such information.

Is their social media “grandparent friendly”?

This is a no-brainer. Just ask them to ask themselves if their grandmother would approve of what they post. Most kids wouldn’t want to disappoint their grandparents. Parents maybe. Grandparents—never.

Who are they friends with?

Keep a close eye on who your teen has on their friend list. Are they people you know? If not, ask them who they are. Remind them to NEVER accept any friend request from someone they don’t know. You never know what an unknown friend will do with your posts or photos.

Have you set the privacy settings?

Facebook recently rolled out a graphing feature that can potentially be misused and abused, especially with children. If you haven’t heard of it, you can see what it does in this article: Facebook graph search gets personal. Your teens are at risk for all kinds of picture mining and it just underscores the fact that information is out there (especially pictures) and you need to safeguard your kids.

Here’s what you can do to protect yourself and your kids

The Online Mom is always my go-to resource for all things tech related that affects our children. On her site, they address the concern about privacy settings:

Understand your site’s privacy policies, and check out the safety tools they make available to parents, if any. Many sites prohibit children under 13. Don’t give your children permission to use these sites: those restrictions are there for a reason. (By the way, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires sites to get your permission before they collect, use, or share any information about your child. If a site lets your child register without notifying you, they’re violating a federal law.)

If you aren’t social media familiar, you best get cracking. Your teens are. They tweet. They post. They post upload photos to Instagram. They interact with everyone using social media tools. The tools are great for connecting but they can also be abused. As parents it’s our responsibility to stay on top of their activity.

Years ago, there was a public service announcement at 10pm every night (curfew time) and it said, “Do you know where your children are?” Parents have the same problem but the parameters are different. I’m asking you the same question, “Do you know where your children are (which sites your kids are active on and who they are talking to)?”

college guidance, college planning, organization, parenting, social networks, technology, test prep, tutoring

Tech resources for the college-bound

May 23, 2013 Suzanne Shaffer

Tonight’s #CollegeCash Chat was centered around available tech resources for the college-bound and their parents. Following is a short transcript of the questions and answers with all the links I provided. As a parent myself and a parent advocate I understand the frustration with the college admissions process. It’s my hope that you will find some tools here that will make the process easier.

Q. Is there a lot of technology out there that benefits students and parents when it comes to college?

We now have online sites for just about every part of the college admissions process and stay organized
Multiple apps are also available to help parents and students while they are on the go
Smartphones and portable devices like the iPad have made the college prep process easier

Q. Are SmartPhones necessary for our kids leaving for college?

Every college student needs a smartphone–here are some features you should look for: http://bit.ly/151BUJj
Smartphones help them communicate, socially interact, store and process information, and enable social networking in class
An added bonus to the smartphone is the ability to stay in touch with parents via facetime, texts, and location apps

Continue reading Tech resources for the college-bound →

organization, parenting, social networks, technology

5 Essential smartphone features for students

April 11, 2013 Suzanne Shaffer

These days it’s practically a given that you will send your students off to college not only with essentials like bedding and a computer, but also with a smartphone. For most parents, this is not only a way to ensure that they can get in touch with their kids at any time of day or night, but it’s also a way to put their minds at ease, knowing that kids will have a way to call for help should they find themselves in a sticky situation. However, not just any smartphone will do. And before your children are out the door with visions of frat parties dancing in their heads, you need to do a little research to figure out which smartphone options will best benefit them during their time on campus. Here are just a few essential smartphone features you might want to consider.

1. Front- and rear-facing cameras.

While you can certainly communicate with your kids via phone and email, you might want to get a look at them once in a while. Front- and rear-facing cameras mean that you can use a service like Skype to video chat with your students even while they’re miles away on campus.

2. 4G service.

Let’s be honest: there’s nothing wrong with 3G service, per se. Well, there is the fact that everyone has it now, which means that it has gotten a lot slower over the past couple of years. If you want your students to have instant connectivity and fast download speeds, 4G is where it’s at nowadays. Although coverage is spotty in some areas, many networks are diligently expanding their 4G zones in order to ensure the best service for their customers.

3. Intelligent personal assistant.

You’ve no doubt heard of Siri, the intelligent personal assistant that can seek directions and make reservations, all with hands-free functionality and a computerized wit to go with it. This type of technology is essential for student smartphones for a couple of reasons. For one thing, the voice activation and recognition means that your kids need never use their hands, a great boon if they can’t seem to disengage from a phone, even when they’re driving. In addition, it can help them to find any information at the drop of a hat without stopping to type, a handy feature for busy college students.

4. Storage.

Most savvy students these days store data in the cloud, but with a wealth of educational apps at their disposal they should also have plenty of storage space available on their device with which to run their plethora of applications. They may want to take notes, use talk-to-text functionality, keep a schedule of classes and assignments, or even share project information with group members for a specific class. All of these applications may have to be present and accounted for on the device (rather than in the cloud) in order to be useful, so phones that feature extra GB for storage are probably preferable.

5. Insurance.

In case you didn’t know, your mobile service provider (i.e. Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile, for example) can offer you insurance in case your kids’ phones are lost or damaged. While it won’t cover issues arising from unlocked cell phones, and there may be restrictions on coverage due to negligence or abuse at the hands of users, it should pay out in cases where the phone is lost, stolen, vandalized, or even damaged by the user is some cases. You could rely on a protective case and a lost device locating program like the The Find My iPhone application. But only insurance will guarantee a replacement phone or parts.

The smartphone today is what the laptop was 10 years ago. Every student needs one to be productive in college. Not to mention, stay in touch with friends and family.

parenting, social networks

The benefits of blogging in college

April 9, 2013 Suzanne Shaffer

Most students have their hands full with attending class, completing homework, writing essays, and studying for tests. Some also have to contend with part-time jobs to support themselves, at least in part, during their time on campus, or they want to take on internships as a way to gain some experience and network with those in their industry of choice. And with any free time that’s left over, many want to pursue their social lives or get a few hours of much-needed rest.

But there is one other activity that students should consider adding to their roster if they want to do all they can during their time in college to prepare for a career–that task is writing a blog. As a parent you may wonder why you should encourage your students to tackle this seemingly non-essential undertaking, but there are a few reasons why spending a little time blogging in college is a great move for the future.

An online presence

Consider that in this day and age, hiring agents don’t stop at performing an interview and checking listed references before offering a job to an applicant (i.e. your student). Nearly everyone now goes online to see what they can find out about prospective candidates. This means they will review any public profiles on social networking sites like Facebook, Google+, and so on, not to mention running a Google search. What they’re looking for is an indication as to whether or not your student (or more likely, your recent grad) will make a good employee. For this reason you should warn your kids about the dangers of having public profiles (unless they are professional in nature). But you might also push them to create a blog related to the industry they’re interested in joining.

A virtual resume

A blog can become a virtual resume, one that demonstrates a student’s knowledge of and passion for the career they’re interested in. With careful planning it can serve to portray a student as an expert, exhibiting what they have learned and how they have applied that knowledge, showing their intuition and ability. It allows them to express insights and opinions in a constructive manner. And if they’re penning blog posts with the thought in the back of their mind that entries may one day be seen by prospective employers, they’re bound to put in their best effort and create something that showcases their writing skills, reason, and creativity. Of course, blogging can also help students to increase their knowledge base and solidify their own positions, both learning and teaching as they go. And it can show their skill with layout and design, as well as their ability to engage in optimization if they decide to use SEO for ranking purposes.

Beneficial for networking

However, a blog can also serve other useful purposes. It can help students to become part of an online community, and it doing so, to network with industry peers. This can offer not only the ability to seek advice in order to improve an online operation, but potentially the opportunity for collaborations and even employment down the line.

The average student is unlikely to hire a professional firm like FireBubble.co.uk to help them brand their blog and gain popularity, but any college kid can benefit from creating a basic blog and using it to demonstrate their talents. This is just one great way to prove to prospective employers that they have more to offer than other applicants.

college news, college planning, social networks

5 Useful mobile apps for college students

April 7, 2013 Suzanne Shaffer

Did you know that over 75 percent of the world’s population owns a cell phone? As a matter of fact, according to one recent article, there are more people across the globe who actually have access to a mobile service than to a toilet. So, being that over 90 percent of individuals between the ages of 18-24 have cell phones and also being that they, on average, talk on the phone close to 22 hours each month, if they’re in college, they might as well use some of that time to upload some great mobile apps.

We feel the exact same way. That’s why we’ve provided you with a list of what we feel are the five most useful mobile apps for college students:

Cheap Textbooks Price Search. It’s amazing how much a new textbook can run you. Depending on the amount of hours (and the kinds of courses) that you are taking, you can easily spend $500-1,000 each semester on books. However, if you have the Cheap Textbooks Price Search app, you can easily search where you can find the best deals for both new and used textbooks.
BugMe! Notes and Alarms. Between classes and study sessions, games and parties, it can definitely be challenging to keep up with all that you have going on every day. Thanks to the Bug Me! app, you don’t have to totally rely on memory or scrap pieces of paper in your book bag to do your scheduling. You can program the app to send you messages about things you need to do and when you need to do them.
CalorieSmart Calorie Tracker. When you’re not eating home-cooked meals all of the time and you find yourself relying on the campus cafeteria or the fast food restaurants around the area, it’s easy to pack on more pounds than you would like. But, with the CalorieSmart Calorie Tracker, you can keep record of how many calories you consume and burn. It also has an option for you to input your personal calorie and weight loss goals.
Coupons for Shopping – MobiQpons. Being in college brings a whole new meaning to “penny pinching” and when you’re trying to stay on budget, the Coupons for Shopping app comes in very handy. Once you have downloaded this app, all you have to do is put in your location and you’ll receive all kinds of coupons in your area from grocery stores and restaurants to office supply stores and even things like Protect Your Bubble Insurance . It’s a convenient way to make your dollar stretch further.
CollegeTracker. College is fun, but it’s also pretty expensive. Therefore, you want to make the absolute most of the time that you have there, especially when it comes to your classes. CollegeTracker is an app that gives you the ability to store everything from your courses and professors’ names to the grades that you get in each subject. The app is so exact that it even helps you to tabulate all of your scores at the end of the semester so that you can figure out your Grade Point Average (GPA) even before your grades are sent out to you. It definitely helps you to keep focused on being a responsible college student.

These are only a few of the apps out there for college students. If you have a favorite that’s not listed, please leave a comment.

college guidance, hooking up, parenting, social networks

The hooking up culture

March 21, 2013 Suzanne Shaffer

Is dating gone? What about courtship? According to a recent NY Times article and most college students it’s a dinosaur. They have random “hook ups” with people they meet–which can include anything from making out to oral sex to intercourse. Parents need to know and understand this new culture in order to prepare their students for college. As I’ve said before, preparation is much more than academics.

According to the article in the Times hooking up is destroying today’s young adults:

Blame the much-documented rise of the “hookup culture” among young people, characterized by spontaneous, commitment-free (and often, alcohol-fueled) romantic flings. Many students today have never been on a traditional date, said Donna Freitas, who has taught religion and gender studies at Boston University and Hofstra and is the author of the forthcoming book, “The End of Sex: How Hookup Culture is Leaving a Generation Unhappy, Sexually Unfulfilled, and Confused About Intimacy.”

Parents MUST be aware of the current “hook up” culture and have some serious talks with their teens. Steer them away from one night stands, make out sessions, and sexting. Inform them of the changes that have occurred (if they don’t already know) in how people meet and get to know one another. Consider this story in The Atlantic:

This was a routine she repeated for months. Every weekend night, and on some weekday nights, she would drink so heavily that she could remember only patches of what happened the night before and then would have sex with the same fraternity brother. One night, she was talking with someone else at the frat when the brother interrupted her and led her upstairs to have sex. On another occasion, they had sex at the frat, but Nicole was too drunk to find her clothes afterward, so she started walking around the house naked, to the amusement of all of the other brothers. She was too drunk to care. Eventually, everything went dark. Next weekend, she returned to the frat.

When I asked Nicole if she was still hooking up with the same frat boy, she shook her head. She explained that the entire time she was having sex with him he never once spoke to her or acknowledged her outside of his fraternity’s basement. Not in the library, not in the dining hall, not at the bookstore.

I later told Nicole’s story to a close guy friend. “What a jerk, right?” My friend, also a frat brother, objected: “After the first time, it starts becoming the girl’s fault, too.” Nicole and the frat brother were just hooking up, after all—what didn’t I get?

Make your girls (and boys) understand that “hooking up” is NOT the road to a lasting relationship. Help them know how to stand up to peer pressure and encourage them to seek out relationships, even if it’s not the norm and it takes time.

This Friday night on 20/20, Denice Ann Evans, producer of the award-winning feature documentary: Spitting Game: The College Hook Up Culture, will talk about hooking up, the use of social media, texting and sexting on college campuses. It’s an interview you don’t want to miss. Record it if you have to but watch it with your teen. Education is much more than academics. Parenting your college-bound teen requires that you invest your time to understand the obstacles that your teen will face as they enter college.

Are you friends with your teen on Facebook?

Does your teen understand “forever”?

Is their social media “grandparent friendly”?

Who are they friends with?

Have you set the privacy settings?

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1. Front- and rear-facing cameras.

2. 4G service.

3. Intelligent personal assistant.

4. Storage.

5. Insurance.

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An online presence

A virtual resume

Beneficial for networking

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Helping parents navigate the college maze