Does your child show symptoms of the latest digital affliction? Does she experience anxiety, an increased heart rate, diminished attention span, and sporadic outbursts of crying or anger while she waits for her next text? Far from official, we’ve decided to call this highly annoying—albeit treatable— condition “great texpectations.” That’s right. It’s the feeling of Read more…
At least once a week I see an otherwise intelligent teenager posting online that he or she is “psyched” about getting some “me time” alone at home. Sometimes it’s a photo on Instagram or a seemingly harmless little tweet on Twitter that says: “me and my bestie are chillin’ at home alone. I love my Read more…
Summer is here and with it comes that foreboding stretch of empty highway parents call summer break. Sure, it’s peppered with sun and fun, snow cones, a vacation perhaps, but then—sometime into the third week—comes the notorious whine “I’m boooooored!” Relax, technology is on your side during those long days, parents. So fire up your Read more…
Kids call them “selfies” while parents (likely) call them “image overkill.” A “selfie” is simply a photo that teens (mostly girls) take of themselves while holding the mobile camera at arms length. They often come in floods online—sometimes dozens a day depending on a teen’s exuberance. Posting photos is nothing new, however, selfies are exploding Read more…
We sure didn’t see this one coming. Turns out, our teenage son’s password (and our bank account) recently got hacked—by a friend. Seems the theft was pretty simple to pull off. The culprit—a frequent visitor to our home—simply looked over my son’s shoulder as he typed in his iTunes password. Then, for the next six Read more…