One of my dear friends (Heather) told me a story about how an older man tried to abduct her daughter using social media.

Please share this episode with a friend and subscribe so we can help more parents. Thanks for all your support.

Read more here: https://smartsocial.com/blog/

Join our next webinar to learn the 27 worst apps your students should never use: https://smartsocial.com/#webinars

Join Parent University to get videos to watch with your kids so they can better understand WHY they need to be smart online.

View the top 50+ good and bad teen apps in our Popular App Guide page for Parents and Educators.

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Learn more at https://smartsocial.com

I try and call every Parent University customer and last week was no exception. I got on the phone today with Valley Hildebrand, a member of Parent University and a mom of kids ages 12, 10 and 1.5. She shares with us real struggles she has about phone safety, social media safety and how to keep her kids safe online.

Please share this episode with other parents so they can protect their kids also.

Read more here: https://smartsocial.com/blog/

Join our next webinar to learn the 27 worst apps your students should never use: https://smartsocial.com/#webinars

Join Parent University to get videos to watch with your kids so they can better understand WHY they need to be smart online.

View the top 50+ good and bad teen apps in our Popular App Guide page for Parents and Educators.

Join our newsletter to learn more about our safety tips.

Learn more at https://smartsocial.com

TBH stands for “to be honest”, and the tbh app is a social networking platform where users anonymously answer questions/polls about their classmates.

What is the tbh app?

TBH stands for “to be honest”, the tbh app is a social networking platform

Users anonymously answer questions/polls about their classmates

In addition to answering questions, users can submit new questions/polls

In order to use the app, users have to grant tbh access to their phone’s location and contacts

tbh uses the phone’s GPS to list schools in the area. Then, the user selects the school they attend

Questions/polls are created by the developer in an attempt to keep the app from becoming insulting or negative

When users create a poll, the poll must first be approved by the developer

Questions are multiple choice and a list of students friend’s names are the available choices

Users earn gems when their name is picked in a poll

Gems act like trophies and are color coded: pink if a girl picks you or blue if a boy picks you

Why should parents care?

Users cannot use the tbh app unless they allow the app to access their phone’s location and contacts

There is no verification process on the app so anyone can sign up and say they attend a school in their area, even if they are an adult

Even though the questions/polls are approved by the developers, tbh can still promote bullying and make it easier for students to become a target

Children can encounter inappropriate content if they spend time on the tbh app

This app encourages users to anonymously critique their classmates which can promote unhealthy student interactions

The gem system can become a form of cyberbullying since it is based around peer judgement

tbh app in the news

[tbh’s] ‘gamified’ structure still feeds the distraction and sense of disconnection that are causing epidemic levels of depression and isolation among today’s smartphone-addicted teens. –Fortune

What can parents do?

Check out our Parent App Guide page and encourage your student to use apps in our Green Zone

Discourage your teen from using anonymous apps or any apps that promote giving anonymous feedback

Challenge your child to find positive and new ways to connect with their peers on social media

Consistently work on having an open and healthy dialog with your children about social media

Ask your teen about their day at school and online

Read more here: https://smartsocial.com/blog/

Join our next webinar to learn the 27 worst apps your students should never use: https://smartsocial.com/#webinars

Join Parent University to get videos to watch with your kids so they can better understand WHY they need to be smart online.

View the top 50+ good and bad teen apps in our Popular App Guide page for Parents and Educators.

Join our newsletter to learn more about our safety tips.

Learn more at https://smartsocial.com

Do your kids have a cell phone? Do you know what's on it that can danger them? In this episode we catch up with an expert who will show you some great tips on how to talk with your kids about safe cell phone use (and what to watch out for).

Our guest is: Stacy Pendarvis

Read more here: https://smartsocial.com/blog/

Join our next webinar to learn the 27 worst apps your students should never use: https://smartsocial.com/#webinars

Join Parent University to get videos to watch with your kids so they can better understand WHY they need to be smart online.

View the top 50+ good and bad teen apps in our Popular App Guide page for Parents and Educators.

Join our newsletter to learn more about our safety tips.

Learn more at https://smartsocial.com

Do your kids know how detailed the background search might be for their dream career? We caught up with an expert that talks about how a student's online brand should look so they can keep their future opportunities open for everyone.

Our guest today is: Dennis Bonilla https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennisbonillait/

Read more here: https://smartsocial.com/blog/

Join our next webinar to learn the 27 worst apps your students should never use: https://smartsocial.com/#webinars

Join Parent University to get videos to watch with your kids so they can better understand WHY they need to be smart online.

View the top 50+ good and bad teen apps in our Popular App Guide page for Parents and Educators.

Join our newsletter to learn more about our safety tips.

Learn more at https://smartsocial.com

It's never too early to start talking with your kids about their future online footprint (especially when you tie it in with their college admissions). In this episode we interview a college admissions expert to get some online social media tips you can use to supliment a college application.

Our guest is Sonja Montiel https://www.collegeconfidence.net/

Read more here: https://smartsocial.com/blog/

Join our next webinar to learn the 27 worst apps your students should never use: https://smartsocial.com/#webinars

Join Parent University to get videos to watch with your kids so they can better understand WHY they need to be smart online.

View the top 50+ good and bad teen apps in our Popular App Guide page for Parents and Educators.

Join our newsletter to learn more about our safety tips.

Learn more at https://smartsocial.com

We caught up with CBS2 LA on camera personality Jill Simonian to ask her a few screen time tips for younger kids.

Our guest is Jill Simonian http://thefabmom.com/

Read more here: https://smartsocial.com/blog/

Join our next webinar to learn the 27 worst apps your students should never use: https://smartsocial.com/#webinars

Join Parent University to get videos to watch with your kids so they can better understand WHY they need to be smart online.

View the top 50+ good and bad teen apps in our Popular App Guide page for Parents and Educators.

Join our newsletter to learn more about our safety tips.

Learn more at https://smartsocial.com

It seems like someone is being hacked (or a company is leaking info) every day in the news. In this episode our guest expert teaches you how to avoid unprotected wifi (and why it's bad), why messaging on social media isn't the same as texting, why you need to do a sweep on privacy settings, be selective about who you follow, how fake Instagram accounts can be set up by others, how 2 step authentication works and a WHOLE lot more.

Our guest is Kirsten Hoyt, program dean at University of Phoenix College of information Systems and Technology

Read more here: https://smartsocial.com/blog/

Join our next webinar to learn the 27 worst apps your students should never use: https://smartsocial.com/#webinars

Join Parent University to get videos to watch with your kids so they can better understand WHY they need to be smart online.

View the top 50+ good and bad teen apps in our Popular App Guide page for Parents and Educators.

Join our newsletter to learn more about our safety tips.

Learn more at https://smartsocial.com

If you tell your kids what NOT to do all the time, they seem to want to not listen. That's why we caught up with two experts and asked them how to keep kids safe on Snapchat. What they shared is so much bigger. Learn how to motivate your kids to set their own goals (and achieve them), how to get them thinking about college (and how social media can then help them get accepted) and how to dialog about their posts.

Read more here: https://smartsocial.com/blog/

Join our next webinar to learn the 27 worst apps your students should never use: https://smartsocial.com/#webinars

Join Parent University to get videos to watch with your kids so they can better understand WHY they need to be smart online.

View the top 50+ good and bad teen apps in our Popular App Guide page for Parents and Educators.

Join our newsletter to learn more about our safety tips.

Learn more at https://smartsocial.com

Subscribe to our podcast on: iTunes – Google Play – Stitcher Radio – Spotify – Web Player

RSPH and the Young Health Movement (YHM) have published a new report, #StatusOfMind, examining the positive and negative effects of social media on young people’s health, including a list of social media platforms according to their impact on young people’s mental health
Read more here: https://smartsocial.com/blog/

Teen social media statistics
91% of 16-24 year olds use the internet for social networking
Social media use is linked with increased rates of anxiety, depression and poor sleep
Social media has been described as more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol

Negative effects of social media
Anxiety & depression:
Research suggests that young people who spend more than 2 hours per day on social media are more likely to report poor mental health, including psychological distress (symptoms of anxiety and depression).

Sleep:
Numerous studies have shown that increased social media use has a significant association with poor sleep quality in young people. Using phones, laptops, and tablets at night before bed is also linked with poor quality sleep.

Body image:
Body image is an issue for many young people, both male and female. Studies have shown that when women in their teens and early twenties view Facebook for only a short period of time, body image concerns are higher compared to non-users.

Cyberbullying:
Bullying during childhood is a major risk factor for a number of issues including mental health, education and social relationships, with long-lasting effects often carried right through to adulthood.

Join the Smart Social Membership  to get videos to watch with your kids so they can better understand WHY they need to be smart online.

View the top 100+ good and bad teen apps in our Popular App Guide page for Parents and Educators.

Join our newsletter to learn more about our safety tips.

Learn more at https://smartsocial.com