Archive for July, 2011
One Network for Adults and Children: A Recipe for Disaster
Over 7 million kids are lying about their age to join Facebook. by guest columnist, Luke Gilkerson, from Covenant Eyes – It’s called “Smash or Pass.” Boys and girls alike can submit a photo of themselves or someone else to any number of smash-or-pass pages on Facebook. Others then stop by and say whether they [...]
How to Deal With Cyberbullies and Online Creeps
It can be a scary thing when you notice a change in your child’s behavior and you come to find out that something happened, or is happening, to them online. That’s what happened to a friend of mine who recently reached out to me. The details are private, but she said her daughter was dealing [...]
The Social Media Background Check
Yes. You read that right. A social media background check is now possible thanks to a ruling by the Federal Trade Commission. It also provides us parents with further reinforcement that it’s incredibly important to teach our children how to “safely and responsibility network online.” The FTC ruling authorizes companies to provide reports on an [...]
Giving In to Tweens Who Want to Join Facebook – Is It Too Much Pressure for a Parent to Bear?
From firsthand experience, I can tell you that it’s very difficult not to simply succumb to the pressures of letting your tween have an account on an adult-intended social network like Facebook. Most of their friends probably have one—in fact, their friends’ younger siblings probably have one. But does that justify giving in? That’s the [...]
Jeff Sutphen Joins Yoursphere!
Rising TV Game Show Star Jeff Sutphen Brings His Unique Brand of Loony Fun to Yoursphere.com Now hosting shows on two TV networks, Sutphen teams with kids-only social media site Yoursphere to advocate for online safety and connect with ‘tween & teen fans via his new “Jeff’s Madness” sphere DAVIS, CA – July 13, 2011 [...]
How to Form Good Technology Habits Early
As soon as your children start tapping on the keyboard, that’s the time you should begin your online parenting. You’ll be happy to know that parenting online isn’t much different than parenting your child when they aren’t in front of a keyboard. Much like the food pyramid that helps guide our knowledge of a healthy [...]
14% of Children Have Chosen to Meet a Stranger They Met Online
14% of children 9 – 14 years old, and 12% of high school students 15 – 18 years old purposefully chose to meet with a stranger (in real life) they had chatted with online according to research published in the July issue of the American Journal of Nursing. In addition, half of the children and [...]
Mary Kay is a nationally-recognized Internet safety expert and the founder of 
