Smart Social Podcast: Keeping students safe so they can Shine Online

Read SmartSocial.com's blog for 11 expert tips to help teens avoid doomscrolling : https://smartsocial.com/doomscrolling/ Learn social media safety from Smart Social's resources:  Join our free newsletter for parents and educators: https://smartsocial.com/newsletter/ Register for a free online Parent Night to learn the hidden safety features on popular apps: https://smartsocial.com/social-media-we...

With refreshing honesty and candidness, co-authors Eric Furda and Jacques Steinberg urge families to approach the college admission process with an open mind. They espouse the value of open lines of communication among family members during the stressful process of applying to college, and their 5 conversations give families the roadmap to approach it with intention, setting appropriate boundaries...

In this SmartSocial.com Podcast episode, Jonathan Cristall explains the legal aspects of sending nudes, which can include the crime of possessing child pornography. He also explains how sending illicit photos can also lead to cyberbullying, social consequences, revenge porn, and sextortion.  Cristall says sextortion, a form of online blackmail, occurs more often than we think. According to The Dep...

Read SmartSocial.com's Among Us App Guide . What is the Among Us app? It’s a social deduction game, like Clue and Werewolf, where players attempt to uncover each other’s hidden role or team allegiance Among Us is played online with 4-10 friends or strangers It became extremely popular during the pandemic when TikTok influencers and YouTube gamers posting videos of themselves playing The Among Us a...

What is the Walkie Talkie app? The app lets people communicate from any location, in the same style as a walkie talkie or two-way radio It only works using cellular data or a Wi-Fi connection This is a voice-only app. Images and videos cannot be shared Learn more by reading our app guide: https://smartsocial.com/walkie-talkie-app/ How does the app work? Users can invite friends to chat on a specif...

The Age of Distraction, in which increased technology use is significantly impacting teen depression and anxiety, necessitates a shift in the way parents parent their teens. Drugs and alcohol are a critical piece to the conversation, which is a different conversation than it was even just a few years ago. Parents must understand the changing landscape and the consequences, and they need to learn h...

Read 10 expert tips to help students combat FOMO: https://smartsocial.com/fear-of-missing-out/ Learn social media safety from Smart Social's resources:  Join our free newsletter for parents and educators: https://smartsocial.com/newsletter/ Register for a free online Parent Night to learn the hidden safety features on popular apps: https://smartsocial.com/social-media-webinar/ Become a Smart Socia...

Learn advice from parents and safety experts on our blog : https://smartsocial.com/teen-driving-safety/   Learn from Smart Social's resources:  Join our free newsletter for parents and educators: https://smartsocial.com/newsletter/ Register for a free online Parent Night to learn the hidden safety features on popular apps: https://smartsocial.com/social-media-webinar/ Become a Smart Social VIP (Ve...

Learn from Smart Social's resources:  Join our free newsletter for parents and educators: https://smartsocial.com/newsletter/ Register for a free online Parent Night to learn the hidden safety features on popular apps: https://smartsocial.com/social-media-webinar/ Become a Smart Social VIP (Very Informed Parents) Member and unlock 30+ workshops (learn online safety and how to Shine Online™): https...

Read SmartSocial.com's Sadfishing blog to learn 8 Ways to Talk With Tweens and Teens About Sadfishing Learn from Smart Social's resources:  Join our free newsletter for parents and educators: https://smartsocial.com/newsletter/ Register for a free online Parent Night to learn the hidden safety features on popular apps: https://smartsocial.com/social-media-webinar/ Become a Smart Social VIP (Very I...

Whether your kids are in preschool or high school (and beyond!) they have something to learn from How to Be a Person . Hilariously written and superbly illustrated, this book teaches us all how to be more self-reliant while also reminding us to help others along the way. About our guest: Catherine Newman is also the author of the memoir Waiting For Birdy . She is the etiquette columnist for Real S...

Selepak's Tips for Cleaning Up Social Media Profiles: The best way for students to clean up and protect their online presence is to do a regular social media audit. Students should reexamine their Instagram posts, go back through their Twitter posts with Advanced Search, check their TikTok videos, and review their daily Facebook Memories notifications for posts that no longer accurately reflect th...

Noble's first tip? Don’t shotgun your proposal.   Start by finding the top 100 grants you may be interested in. From there, narrow it down to the top 20 worth spending time looking at and then hone in on 2-5 grants you’ll apply for.  Be strategic with your time and with your proposal to make something worth reading.   Find out in this episode what question to ask the funder so you know whether or...

The College Admissions Scandal highlights poor parenting behavior at its worst. Interviews with the families involved in the scandal reveal the fractured parent-child relationships that resulted from parents who acted out of their own greed. All parents have an opportunity to learn from the fallout of the scandal, namely to accept and embrace their children for who they are. About our guests: Meli...

These 3 tips can help your child see ads through a critical lens: 1. Explain advertising, in general, using examples your child encounters the most, whether that’s TV commercials or pop-up ads in their favorite app. Advertisers want us to buy their stuff, so they try different methods to make us want what they’re selling. Advertisers track the digital places we visit online to show us things they...

The Wink app connects users with strangers. Users find new “friends” by swiping through profiles, like the popular adult dating app, Tinder. Once on a profile, they can swipe right to connect with the person or swipe left to move on to the next profile. Users can click a button to add new Wink friends to their Snapchat, or can they chat directly on Wink. Users must be at least 13 with parental per...

Read our complete guide to TikTok for Parents, Students, and Educators: https://smartsocial.com/tiktok-app-guide-parents/ Learn from Smart Social's resources:  Join our free newsletter for parents and educators: https://smartsocial.com/newsletter/ Register for a free online Parent Night to learn the hidden safety features on popular apps: https://smartsocial.com/social-media-webinar/ Become a Smar...

It can be very scary as a parent to see your neurodiverse child go online where there are plenty of dangers to worry about. As a parent, Uram shares your concern. As a therapist, he can tell you that there are plenty more reasons to help your child navigate the online environment in a healthy way rather than restrict them from doing so. He has blended his different roles together with the latest r...

The Triller app, first released in 2015, is a social media network where users make and share short videos. Anyone can view videos, but users must sign up for a free account to “like” videos, follow other users, read/make comments, and send direct messages. Users can create professional-looking music videos and vlogs in minutes with the app’s auto-editing algorithm. The app has 100+ filters and vi...

In this episode of Parent Compass on the SmartSocial.com Podcast Jenn and Cindy share their thoughts on tutoring (or rather the trend of "over tutoring") and how it relates to self-advocacy. They also discuss the necessity for parents to practice self-examination--to take a good, hard look at why they parent the way that they parent and how their own upbringing might affect their desires for their...

The Culture Reframed Program for Parents of Tweens and Program for Parents of Teens build young people’s resilience and resistance to hypersexualized media and porn while promoting their healthy development. Get free step-by-step modules to help parents understand the impacts of hypersexualized culture and how to support your tween/teen here . Learn from Smart Social's resources:  2020 Ultimate Gu...

Brittany Cufaude’s tips for educators who are navigating virtual learning: Make sure all instruction that’s occurring live with the teacher is actually interactive instead of just talking at the children for long periods of time. Use tool’s, like Pear Deck, to make your Google Slides more interactive. Utilize split screen features. Teachers should make sure they can see their students at all times...

Read Melissa's tips on our blog Melissa suggests setting up a designated homework/homeschool space in your home to prevent distractions during online classes and homework time. Things to keep in mind: Try to choose a quiet space in a less busy part of the house , an environment that will naturally minimize distractions. It’s important to choose this area and stick with it Choose functional furnitu...

With easy access to the internet from any mobile device , it’s not a question of if our kids will be exposed to pornography; it’s a matter of when. That’s why one of the most valuable gifts we can give our children is an internal filter–one they can take with them wherever they go. Read Jenson's guest blog on SmartSocial.com, 5 Tips for Talking to Kids About Pornography . Learn more about Protect...

SmartSocial.com's Ultimate Guide To Child Sex Trafficking, Human Trafficking, Sextortion, & Online Enticement Joe Laramie is a retired police Lt. with more than three decades of law enforcement experience, including serving as the Commander of the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Laramie Top 3 Tips to Protect Children Online: Stop focusing on the tech : While it’s impossible t...