iRespectOnline

Geelong Social Media | Digital Marketing

By

Snapchat – making sexting a snap?

Snapchat and your teen

Is your child using Snapchat?   If your child has a android phone, iphone or ipad/tablet, I highly recommend that you check to see if they are using this app, it’s been around for a few months now.

If they are, read this post and then have a chat to your child about what they are doing with the app, and what they are seeing.    There have already been over 1 billion photographs taken with this app – that’s quite a terrifying amount.

 

Is your content really gone?

Snapchat allows the user to take a photograph and add a message and share it.. but it’s gone in up to 10 seconds and (supposedly) deleted from the servers immediately afterwards.   If someone tries to take a screen shot then the user gets sent a message – but all that means is they know someone tried to take a screenshot (and possibly has).

There are two schools of thought here.    On one hand, if a user is going to take naked or semi naked photos or other unsavoury pictures, then at least they don’t hang around for the rest of their lives or end up on some random porn site or in the hands of pedophiles;  but on the other hand is this encouraging children to take racy shots or engage in sexual conversations.   Just who are they sharing them with?   In my opinion the whole 10 second thing would make this even more exciting for the user and  encourage such shots.  Further photos may be off all types of other behaviour such as drug taking or violence.    What stops someone from using another device to copy the photo?

Is snapchat suitable for your child?

My questions are endless!   How can we be sure that the database will not be corrupted and the photographs accessed by hackers?   Are we suddenly deciding that sexting is mainstream?  What ages are using the app and just what are they seeing in 10 seconds?    Childhood should be allowed to be a time of innocence, yet we seem to move more and more towards a very free society in regards to sexuality.   It saddens me because the years of our lives that we have to  just enjoy the beauty of the world and share innocent play  are so short and getting shorter.  The excitement of discovering sexuality as children grow through their teens seems to be gone and so much information is forced upon our children at a younger and younger age.

The App itself is rated as 12+ saying it has infrequent  mild sexual content/ nudity/drug use  – but how do they know what is being shown in 10 seconds?    What of the predators who may be posing behind some pseudonym and may send photos which could be quite distressing?

I was speaking to a Mum today who had a 14 year old daughter who happily showed her Mum the app she was using, but she also didn’t show what the photos were.    The innocents may just be taking “selfies” but what other risks do apps like this expose our children to?

As parents we make our own choices about what our children are exposed to and at what age.  Parenting in these digital times is fraught with challenges, but if we have open dialogue and encourage our children to consider their choices, then we are at the very least sowing a seed which just might protect them in the future.

Fiona Lucas

www.fionalucas.com.au

By

Livestrong – Strong enough?

Will we see backlash against a major charitable organisation, one that does so much good in the world in regards to supporting those with cancer, following the naming of Lance Armstrong as a drug cheat.

Scanning through the comments on the Livestrong site there are both supporters , the trolls who can’t resist a good party and those who are disgusted that the head of such a wonderful organisation, promoting health, should be deemed to have used performance enhancing drugs.    This does not align with the mission of Livestrong which immediately poses  problems in regards to authenticity.

As an avid lover of the Tour de France and a recreational cyclist  myself, it brings me great sadness to consider that doping has occurred in this great challenge.   There is another whole blog I could write about the need to win overriding the need to do it without the assistance of drugs, but today I am concerned with reputation.

The Tour is about endurance, how long will this taint on Lance’s reputation endure?

Lance himself claims he is innocent, but does not want to fight the charges.  With evidence from 26 people including 11 of his own teammates, it is not a good situation to be in and Lance is sure to find that his reputation will suffer from this.   Why he doesn’t want to fight it – that is his business, perhaps living strong now, having survived cancer means more to him than dredging up the past.  Hopefully the good he has done in inspiring other cancer sufferers to fight on will be enough to carry him forward.

However it is not just Lance’s personal reputation at stake.  These accusations reflect badly upon the Livestrong foundation itself and all those who support him and work closely with him.   There will have to be considerations and deliberations made with any organisation with links to him – analysis of any potential backlash vs positive benefits.    Unfortunately negative fallout from this will “live strong” on the web forever and work will need to be done to gain the forgiveness of the public.  The pride surrounding the Tour is such that many may never forgive.

Some might say that he has well and truly made up for indiscretions through the creation of  Livestrong and the positive legacy concerning his fight against cancer; and I am certain fellow cancer suffers will rally behind him (and it appears so, as has his sponsor Nike) ; but no one likes a cheat and that is mud that sticks.

Ethically can one then say that we can excuse cheating because of the other good which has been done?  However has the organisation in a way been built around a lie? If we excuse a cheat once, then how can  we not excuse cheats forever?    It is indeed a difficult situation.  It would have been best to have a definitive response.  Fight for innocence or admit to having taken performance enhancing drugs and then allow all to move forward.    What feels wrong is that once Lance stated that all he needed to beat cancer and return to cycling better than ever  was will, moxie and hard work – but for those who put so much belief into him, did he also omit another ingredient which may have been essential to him winning?   We may never know.

Perhaps we really are up to the stage when we just shrug our shoulders and say “whatever” because here is a man who was an inspiration to so many that we really can say “its in the past”.   Perhaps we also could say that his indiscretions related to his career, but his survival of cancer was the next chapter and we read the story only from there.

The issues are more complex than this blog.   Perhaps the case for Livestrong is unique given it’s charitable work, many a fine organisation would not withstand this kind of media attention.  Consider  it was the Chair of another  major charity  accused of wrong doing, one who was not an athlete, would a different type of cheating be forgiven?.  Will the charity now perhaps come under closer scrutiny?

Generally would you trust someone who cheated? Does the good always conquer the bad?

We would love to know your thoughts.

 

 

 

 

By

innocent or fodder for predators?

Innocent sounding sites masking fodder for predators

Back around March (2012)  Facebook closed down a page which was in the form of  a competition .. the “most beautiful teen in the world” page.  It was closed down, amongst other reasons for being in breach of Facebook regulations due to the bullying taking place, in the form of derogatory comments about some of the teens pictures.  There of course was the concern that the site might be fodder for predators.

There are many such sites online and it is so important that we teach our teens to check the “about” a page to get a sense of whether something is legitimate and what benefit participating on the page is for them, and to look at the discussions taking place and decide if they really want to part of that.

Recently a friend posted a photo which was supposedly a Puberty Blues meme… the link to the site was actually ‘Hottest Teenagers” – do a search on that term and you might be rather shocked at the content you find on Facebook.

This is the page  (there are many with similar names), happy pretty teens on the timeline – but once you look at the page the poses and the comments start to become a concern.

 

I’m no prude, and I know teens love to share stories and pictures and that is a huge part of  the attraction of  platforms like Instagram and Tumblr in particular, but what concerns me is WHO set up the page, and what is happening to the photographs being posted on the page?     How many are genuine, and how many are plants, set to attract the teens in the first place, so that predators of the world can take this photos and use them elsewhere, or start to interact with the teens and befriend them?     Perhaps it is a teen?  But more than likely not.      I don’t like to paint everything with the “evil” brush, but unfortunately being an open platform, not everyone on Facebook has good intent.

Reporting to Facebook

What is frustrating is that you can report a page to Facebook because you feel that the content is of dubious nature, and if you do get a reply from Facebook, more often that not they say that they don’t find a problem.   Now of course there is free speech and we all have different values, but when it comes to our teens, and the need to nurture them, I think we have to step up.  A site which encourages our youth to promote themselves in a sexualised fashion and then leaves them open to criticism and possible bullying  is a risk.   Is the teen resilient enough to withstand negative comments.  Often teens who place their pictures on such sites actually are suffering from low self esteem, so the risks for them are even greater.  Many such  pages do exist and it’s unlikely Facebook will close them all down, so if we can’t close them all down, perhaps we need to somehow find a way to use these sites to help educate our children in a positive way.

Keep up the conversations

Talk to your teens about what they see.  Ask them questions, do they look to see who created a page?  Do they even care –  most likely not!  So talk to them about why it might be worth caring?   Would they want their image to appear in a magazine, one that might not be to their liking at all, but in which they get no say?   How do they feel about possible predators having their photograph?    Encourage your children to let you know if they come across sites such as this, and then have the conversation about it.  If you both feel uncomfortable about the site, report it to facebook.  (Just click on the down arrow  beside the Message button and press report).     I would not encourage messaging the page to ask about its legitimacy simply because you then might open dialogue with a possible predator.   A legitimate site will have more information in the about, should talk about the owner of the page.

Of  course an even bigger concern is that there are so many children on Facebook who are not even teenagers yet, so guidance from parents is even more important.

On the other hand, perhaps your child has started a page and built quite a large community.  They are probably very proud of  what they are created, so don’t come down hard on them, ask them about it, look for the positives and then discuss the negatives.   Are they prepared to take responsibility for the community and make sure they have ground rules for engagement and prepared to block people who breach those rules?   If not, then they are not ready to manage such a community?   It is a something they really need to consider.

Take action, sit down at the computer with your teen tonight and ask them to show you what they are looking at, then have a conversation with them.

This post is not about censorship, it’s about educating our teens to make careful choices and to help minimise risk.

What’s your opinion?

 

 

Fiona Lucas

www.fionalucas.com.au

By

Mobile devices and your child’s safety Infograph

As parents we do what we can to try and protect our children; but when it comes to the internet and mobile devices, it really comes down to diligent parenting.  The only way to be 100% sure of what your child is doing on mobile devices is to actually observe them, but I know this is not practical.  How do we keep them safe when they can access the web and various appplications and online games from anywhere on their mobile device.  Here are my top tips to help ease your mind and keep your children safer when they are using mobile phones and tablet devices.

 

 

 

learn more about the author at www.fionalucas.com.au

By

5 Reasons that your business should develop a Social Media policy

How your business is percieved online is so important.   This is not just about setting ground rules for use of social media in the workplace , your Social Media Policy should complement your Social Media strategy (you have one right?), and define how you engage online with customers, clients and prospects, so that you deliver your messages with consistency and brand flavour.    But it goes even deeper.   As social media becomes more and more a part of our normal lives, according to a article from Smartcompany, the Hays Tomorrow Workforce survey (read more here) showed that more and more job seekers expect access to social media platforms, and more and more employers grant that access, but it must be done to ensure that time is used effectively.  Your policy is the guiding document for all this and more.

So my top 5 reasons for you to have a workplace Social Media policy are.. drumroll

So there you go.  If you haven’t got one.. you should!  It is important that you bring the team onboard when developing policy.

At iRespectOnline we can draft policies for your business to make it as pain free as possible.   Call us now!

1300 855 237

 

website security Badge200