Tag Archive for ‘video games’
Which App is the Mole?
If you’re one of the estimated 73.3 million people in the United States that owns a smartphone, then you’ve probably downloaded a few apps onto your device. Maybe you’ve accessed The Weather Channel to check the local forecast, or played one of your customized music stations on Pandora. What about a little Angry Birds action? [...]
Parenting: Removing Digital Technology Serves as New Punishment for Kids
“GO TO YOUR ROOM!” “THAT’S IT, NO TV FOR A WEEK!” “YOUR CURFEW IS NOW 5 O’CLOCK!” Sound familiar? Well, those were the days before digital technology. This past weekend, The Washington Post featured a story about parents who now exercise their right to take away digital privileges from their children as a form of [...]
Virtual Addiction: Teens Obsessed With Internet May Experience Depression
A new study conducted by two researchers in China found that children between the ages of 13 and 18 who are “free of mental health problems” could develop depression as a result of prolonged Internet usage. The study, which is published in this month’s Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, also suggested that students who [...]
Video Games: Online Game Safety Tips
Online games are wildly popular, deeply immersive, and a whole lot of fun. Players are encouraged to abandon their realities and explore a virtual world on their own, or among a group of online friends. Parents, however, need to be alert. Online games launch children into a world with hundreds, maybe thousands, of other real [...]
Text Messages: Protecting Kids with Cell Phones
Colorado mother Sharon Hamilton caught her 15-year-old anxiously deleting text messages on his cell phone. She took the phone and saw a text message from an out-of-state number that she did not recognize. It read: “Good night Babe.” Her son eventually admitted that the sender was a 30-year-old female friend he met while playing the [...]
Internet Safety: In-App Purchases Could Wreak Havoc
In a recent post on GigaOM, technology writer Kevin C. Tofel blogged about his latest iTunes-related misfortune after he discovered that his step-daughter had spent $375 on virtual goods. How? Well, as it turns out… many free games available on the iPhone and iPod offer a pretty extensive amount of virtual items, or “add-ons,” which [...]
Social Networks: Teens Have “Facebook Fatigue”
The online gaming site, Rioworld, conducted a study in April about how teens between the ages of 13-17 spend their time and money online. On average, researchers found that teens spend 2 hours online each day with 80% of that time spent on some type of social network. Although Facebook is still the preferred social [...]
Privacy: Popular GPS–based Sites Pose Security Risks
Location-based websites that use a combination of GPS technology, gameplay, and marketing have become one of the hottest trends in social media today. Members of one such website, called Foursquare, earn virtual badges and rankings after they visit specific locations throughout their city and “check-in” via a cell phone app. Foursquare boasts over 1 million [...]
Parenting: Children Connect via Video Playdates
Parents, get ready. The next big thing your child may want is a video playdate. Although not widely accepted yet, video playdates (using video-conferencing software like Skype) are becoming more and more popular among young children. Once parents set up the computer, their children are able to interact remotely and play games with friends who [...]
Virtual Addiction: A Global Epidemic
The New York Times recently reported the arrest of a South Korean couple who were so busy playing an online video game in an Internet café that they starved their real 3-month-old baby to death. This story is just one of dozens of crimes that have occurred in South Korea due to Internet addiction, as [...]
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