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Fri
Sep 9, '11
0
Android App Market can be like a Walmart Parking Lot
I think I am a typical Android phone owner. I love free apps. I check the Google Market at least once a week for something “fresh and exciting. I will randomly browse through the apps to see what I could add to my phone. I have no idea why I need 200 apps on my phone but I keep adding more all the time.
Most of the time when I am in the Google Market, I don’t have a specific need and I am not searching for a specific application. I suppose it would be fair to call me an Android Market window shopper.
As I have randomly browsed the Google Market, I have found many applications that I would not want my child or teenager exposed to. Things like “super sleazy wallpapers and “hide the porn. These were real applications, not made up names.
The point I am trying to make is that the Google Market is a little bit like hanging out in the parking lot at your local Walmart. There is definitely some time wasting going on there, but most of the people that come and go in the parking lot are normal/regular people that would not make me nervous in the least bit. The majority of the people coming and going are good upstanding everyday people, but there are occasionally some really scary folks, too.
The same concept applies to the Google Market. Most of the apps found in the Google Market are random apps that most people would not find offensive even if they are time wasters, but occasionally you will run across something that will make your jaw drop.
I am not talking about spyware or malware, (see one of my older blogs for this topic). I am talking about adult or X-rated content that I would not want my child, teen (or myself for that matter) exposed to while window shopping the Google Market.
Luckily Google has been actively addressing this topic. Google has actively started a rating system for the applications that are being posted on the Market. Google currently is attempting to categorize all applications into 4 categories.- Everyone
- Low Maturity
- Medium Maturity
- High Maturity
Google calls this feature “Content Filtering which in my opinion is a misnomer, but the feature is still useful. To use this feature open the Android Market on the device you wish to manage, then use the Menu button on your device and tap on Settings. Tap on “filtering level and select the level you wish to set.
You can also lock this feature by setting a PIN. This means you could lock the features on a phone and they cannot be changed without the PIN.
This is far from a full featured parental control set, look to Net Nanny Mobile for that solution in the very near future. But until then, this is a good start on filtering out those unwanted apps. -
Wed
Sep 7, '11
0
Pornography Can Change Your Mind
In 1981, researchers at the University of Montana asked male students to rate the attractiveness of a woman in a photograph. Half of the group was asked to rate the woman’s photo initially, and the other half of the men rated her attractiveness after watching "Charlie's Angels." By today's TV and video standards, Charlie's Angels might seem mild.
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Tue
Aug 30, '11
1
The Brain, Addicted
The human brain is programmed to motivate behaviors that contribute to survival. The brain rewards eating and sexuality with powerful pleasure incentives. It’s called the mesolimbic dopaminergic system.
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Fri
Aug 26, '11
0
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Wed
Aug 24, '11
0
Google+ Is A Good Thing
The latest big thing from Google is called Google+. It’s been out there for over a month but it’s still something you have to be invited to. Luckily, with millions of users, odds are you can get an invite if you really want one. Google+ is very much like Facebook- it’s a social network that lets you share with people you know.
You’re probably thinking “I’m already frustrated with keeping track of my kids on Facebook! Why would I want another social network?
Now I don’t think Google+ is going to kill Facebook. But I do think that Google+ is better than Facebook. Maybe it’s just me and the way I think, but aside from some other great features, Google+ is built on what they call Circles. Circles are separate lists of friends that you can share with, that are ridiculously simple to set up. With Circles, you can be connected with everyone you know without sharing the same things with all of them.
That’s all great, but what does that have to do with you as parents?
I think most of our kids in a conversation would be more careful about what they were saying if a stranger walked up and started listening in. If the phone rang and someone asked them for personal information, I hope our kids would hang up the phone.
Facebook has taught the current generation not to care about privacy. They share all kinds of things with everybody. It’s bad for when they’re searching for jobs and employers pull up bad things they’ve shared. It’s even worse when the things they’ve shared give predators and strangers information on when and how your kids can be contacted or approached.
Google+ lets your kids share with different people in different ways. I have my family in one Circle, coworkers in another, friends in another, and acquaintances in another. When I post something on Google+, I can share with one or more of these groups. So my family can hear about us being away on vacation, my coworkers can hear about what the status of that new project is, and acquaintances that I barely know are left with a few ramblings about the state of the economy. Each group gets to know the things I choose to share with them- nothing else. I can have as many Circles as I want. They’re extremely easy to set up. And I choose to share what I want with each. I know what each Circle gets because I decide who is in each Circle.
Google+ Circles makes it possible for your kids to learn to share wisely.
No matter what you think of Google+, Facebook will have to improve in response to Google’s challenge. I have no doubt that your kids’ privacy will improve as a result. -
Tue
Aug 16, '11
0
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Thu
Aug 11, '11
1
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Tue
Aug 9, '11
0
Your kids will have a story to tell
Here at ContentWatch we work to provide a product that fills an unusual need. With everything in Pop culture leading to a more sexualized society, we help people stand against the current of less clothes and more steam. I learn a lot in this industry. Maybe too much. Even so, I never fail to be surprised by headlines declaring another arrest for child pornography, of which there are many. I never fail to be fascinated by the research that suggests pornography is harmful. Once in a while, however, I come across a story that reminds me, on an emotional level, that there is a higher purpose for our company.
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Thu
Aug 4, '11
0
Encouraging Responsible Behavior on the Internet
As a mother of I what I consider “pretty good kids, I want to give them access to the latest technologies and allow them the freedom of surfing and playing games on the internet.
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Tue
Aug 2, '11
3
Keeping your Kids Socially Safe Online
Monitoring and Guiding Kids’ Use of Social Media
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