Clubhouse is a social audio app – not social media, even though it’s classified with the other, mainstream social media apps like Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Discord. The key difference between Clubhouse and other social media apps is its combination of ephemerality (nothing is recorded and the app prevents you from recording) and …
What is the Robinhood app? Robinhood is a simple investing app. You can dabble in stocks, (mutual) funds, options, gold, crypto(currency). It has a smooth interface and was literally made for the average person to quickly get into trading. Its marketing says, “Investing for everyone,” and …
Virtual School is Here to Stay I’m afraid that COVID-19 has changed education for at least the next school year. The prospect of a vaccine carries hope for all of us. But my own family is planning on being nimble for at least the fall semester. …
#saferhomes – An Internet Safety Framework for Schools and Families Read More
What is Instagram Reels? Reels is “Instagram’s attempt to keep you away from TikTok.” You add music and effects to videos – it’s almost that simple. Here’s Instagram’s own announcements: Introducing Instagram Reels Here are various articles talking about the Reels release: The Verge: Instagram Launches …
Instagram Releases Reels Everywhere (Move over TikTok) Read More
Updated November 19, 2020 Netflix has been a parental control problem For years, Netflix has confounded parents. The app stores have only recently aligned their ratings to be 12+ (Apple) and Teen (Google Play), instead of 4+ (which made zero sense). It took a global pandemic …
Netflix Updates Parental Controls – Finally, Locking Profiles! Read More
Family Link now allows some Chrome extensions! This week, we’ve been inundated with the following question: Does Family Link allow the Zoom extension? And the answer has always been, “no.” But that changed today! For over a year the PYE team has been active in Chromebook …
Breaking News! Family Link Now Allows Some Chrome Extensions! Read More
Netflix Party lets teens stay connected while social distancing. These are crazy days. Most of the world is on high alert, school is cancelled, and we’re all stuck at home. And with perfect timing, a group of smart people have created Netflix Party as a way …
**Updated December 2, 2020 Really, Mom, I’m STILL Doing Homework! Many kids are going to be “stuck” at home in front of screens a bit more than usual as a result of COVID-19. Michigan schools will be canceled starting on Monday, March 16. Here are a …
COVID-19 & Digital Safety: 5 Reminders While Your Kids are Stuck at Home Read More
Protect Young Eyes (PYE) has issued the following letter of support to Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal for their legislation, the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act of 2020 (EARN IT Act of 2020). **Note – there are very graphic themes discussed …
Updated February 27, 2021 I’m often asked how I feel about smartphones in schools. It happened again. Another internet safety presentation where I was put on the spot to answer a question about kids having personal devices in school. This time, it came from the principal …
#phonefreeschools – How to Talk to Your School District about Removing Smartphones Read More