How to teach our kids (and ourselves) to behave online

While we do our best as parents to model and teach kids proper etiquette, social graces, and encourage overall good behavior, there seems to be some misconception among people today that once you are online, those rules no longer apply.  

If the word is in the dictionary, then it must be relevant and necessary, right?

Merriam-Webster defines Netiquette as:

rules about the proper and polite way to communicate with other people when you are using the Internet

One of the most valuable skills you can teach your kids today is how to handle themselves online. We spend plenty of time during their early childhood teaching and modeling basic proper behavior, ranging from table manners (“Don’t talk with your mouth full”) to rules on the playground (“Play nice," “Don’t hit," “Take turns”). We proudly and patiently nurture the development of these skills so eventually when they leave the house on their own, they can thrive knowing these basic tools of survival.  

The same applies to digital responsibility. As they grow up and venture online, our hope as parents is that social skills they've learned will carry over to their online behavior.

College administrators, future employers and even parents of potential boyfriends or girlfriends frequently use Google and snooping on social media profiles to check up on your little Johnny. So it’s important for Johnny, and all teens and tweens, to be cautious about what they are doing and what they share online.

Understanding the difference between “digital life” vs. “real life” is the key to appreciating the importance of Netiquette.   The screen on a phone or computer acts as a barrier in between these two worlds. It creates the ultimate force field for feelings and emotions. It’s often very easy to type something online that your teenager may not say in person.  Words can also be easily misconstrued when there isn’t a spoken voice heard behind it. Once words are written, they can’t be taken back. Even with deleting posts, what's read or seen sticks in people's minds and let's not forget about the ability to make screen captures.

Unfortunately, kids be judged by those written words and therein lies the problem. Learning the important skill of Netiquette, however, can help teens and tweens to avoid making embarrassing or troubling mistakes.

Here are some basic guidelines about Netiquette that are great to discuss with kids of all school levels.

• Don’t say or post anything online that you wouldn’t do or say in person

• Be cognizant of who is behind the screen on the other side. Exercise empathy.

• If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say it at all. Just because you are behind a screen doesn't take the feelings away from the person on the other side.
• Use proper grammar. People judge you by the way you write and speak. There’s no way around it.  
• Keep a sense of modesty. If you’re not allowed to wear THAT in school, then don’t post a picture of yourself wearing it online.
• Don’t perpetuate “bad news”. Words hurt. Share the good, not the bad.

How can parents monitor what their kids are doing online?

There are apps out there that help parents monitor anything from texts to emails, or even geolocating your child and knowing how fast they are driving. But to get a true pulse of whether your child exhibits good online behavior and decisions, you need to monitor their social media.

The DijiWise App is an all-in-one tool that captures a bird’s-eye view of what your child is posting on their social accounts. Monitoring the most popular social platforms among teens - Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, DijiWise allows you to view posts, likes, comments and more. See something that concerns you? Just save the post in-app  so you can discuss with your child or spouse later.  It’s that simple.

What do parents do when it's "too late?"

If your child is at the stage of getting ready to apply for college or future jobs, and you want to help them get a sense of how “clean” their social media record is, it's never fully too late to go back and "clean it up." There’s even an (online) app for that as well! The Social U is a platform that helps you connect, correct and continue to monitor online activity.

There are many perks of the World Wide Web. With the worries we carry day to day about our kids, their online behavior doesn't have to be one of them. With some guidance at home and engagement by parents online, it's never too late for our kids to put their best foot forward with a safe and mindful digital footprint.

10 Apps & Websites We’re Thankful For in 2016

Ever find that one app that's as good as your morning coffee or you can't live without when the battery on your phone dies?

Here at DijiWise headquarters, it's plain and simple. We love apps.

Especially the ones that save us time, make life easy, are inventive, or that our kids can't get enough of. We love that technology connects, entertains, teaches and protects.

Keeping the DijiWise holiday tradition going, here's our top 10 list of apps and websites we're thankful for.

Calm - The perfect app for when you just “need a moment.” Whether you need to pause, regroup, or clear your head, this simple mindfulness meditation app will help bring clarity and peace of mind into your life. Calm is the perfect gift for yourself if you want to add a little sanity to the holiday season.

Vivino - Touting themselves as the world’s largest wine app, Vivino is also the world’s largest online community of wine enthusiasts. Snap a photo of any wine label to save to your personal wine journal. Learn it’s rating, average price and get reviews from other wine-lovers, instantly. Scan any restaurant wine list and let Vivino pick the perfect pairing for your meal.

Source: giftameal.com

GiftAMeal -  Ever post a pic of food? Then this is the app for you. GiftAMeal is a fast-growing startup that helps fight hunger and feeds others when you dine out. It’s as simple as that - and at zero cost to you. We discovered this app on a table tent at Applebee’s. In fact, we downloaded it and helped make a meal possible for another person before leaving our table. Each time you eat at a partner restaurant and share a pic of your meal through the app, GiftAMeal helps provide a meal to a person in need through local food pantries. You can also recommend the partner restaurant and discover other “socially conscious” restaurants for when you go out to eat. As of May 2016, GiftAMeal has donated 3,000 meals in participating cities. When good food with good company helps a good cause - it’s hard not to use this app. Watch for it in your city.

Houzz - To create the home you’ve always wanted, look no further than Houzz. Discover design ideas, find local contractors to do the work, and shop for home accessories right from the convenience of the app or website. Save ideas you search for to reference later.  Get advice, connect with designers, and hear stories about home improvement projects similar to your own.

Waze -  The world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app. More than just a GPS, Waze allows you to connect with other drivers to get up to the minute, real-time traffic reports to help you save time on your daily commute or while on a holiday road-trip.

MyFitnessPal -  Counting calories and logging fitness activities during the holidays may not be your #1 priority, but if you want to stay on track, MyFitnessPal can help you do it. It’s Under Armour’s “ConnectedFitness” app, and connects to fitness wearables like FitBit or Garmin to help you achieve your personal health and fitness goals.

DijiWise - Having peace of mind and knowing your kids are showing responsibility when using social media doesn’t get any easier than with the DijiWise app. For full disclosure, it’s an app we brought to market. It helps parents stay connected to their kids by delivering social media activity in one, simple app, while encouraging conversations about digital responsibility. A few things make it stand out. DijiWise is reliable and real-time, and is one of the few apps out there that makes this possible for parents. It saves them an enormous amount of time that would be otherwise spent hopping site to site to see their kids’ social media activity. The app encourages families to start a conversation about everyday things as schedules get busier and tech changes how - and how often - we communicate. We’re thankful for how the app has sparked valuable and interesting conversations between parents, friends, teens, parenting groups, experts and more. You can follow DijiWise on social media for its popular conversation starter series, DijiTalk, which provides parents with weekly topics about social media, digital responsibility, everyday life, interests and more to chat about with their kids.

ABCYa - If there’s ever been an educational app to be thankful for, this is it. ABCYa isn’t for you, it’s for your kids (who may already be using the website or app at school). It comes highly recommended by teachers. In just one day in our house, ABCYa quickly surpassed Subway Surfer, YouTube and others as the app of choice by kids (second only to Netflix). ABCYa features learning games for kids Pre-K to 5th grade and has 6 free games each week that are great for the computer, smartphones or tablets. You can also subscribe to unlock more than 100 games categorized by grade level. Once you introduce it to a kid, you’ll find that even you bend the rules when it comes screen time.

6pm - Two words: Shopping deals. The 6pm website and crisp, clean app offer sale prices on brand name apparel that are hard to pass up. Having the app on your phone makes it easy to do a quick price or style comparison when you’re shopping in-store or online. 6pm offers free shipping when you order two or more items, and makes it easy to find fashion for less for men, women and kids. The deals change often, so don’t wait too long to complete your purchase if you find something you’re looking for.

Musical.ly - This instant music video app is currently one of the most popular apps with teens, to the tune of more than 70 million users. This app makes our top 10 list not for its features, but for the creativity and fun it brings out in its users. We’ve witnessed the app bring out a love for music in the shyest of kids, laughter and collaboration between cousins and friends, and hours of fun at get togethers. Muscial.ly brings out music, movement and creativity in everyone, and is easy to use. Users create 15-second videos lip syncing (and often dancing) to clips of songs across genres, or they can produce videos with original audio. Friends on Musical.ly can do duets while in different locations, and “produce” videos with a handful of editing features - including splicing, speed, reverse play, and popular sticker filters. For parents, the privacy settings on the app are appealing - accounts can be public or set to private so only friends can see the videos. You can also install the app on your phone and log in with your child’s account to stay aware of their “Musical.lys.” A word of caution, the app has a “live” feature that lets users to live broadcast - a feature for parents to be aware of and discuss with their kids, if needed. Some say music makes the world go round, and Musical.ly may prove that to be true.

Want to discover a few more great apps and websites out there? Check out our list from 2015 of apps we're thankful for.

Cover Image: Adobe

Movie Review: Screenagers - Growing Up in the Digital Age

screenagersmovie.com 

“Why don’t you get off your (device) and go outside and play?”

“If you don’t get (chore) done, then you can’t play on your (device).”

“But Mom, I need my (device) to get my homework done.”

"I'm tired of competing with your devices."

"These video games are ruining your brain".

Can you relate?

This is part of the daily struggle in many homes with teens and tweens. Technology has given us the ability to connect, multitask, be productive, be entertained, gain knowledge and more. But how much is too much?

Screen time and the effects of digital media are at the forefront of many people’s minds in today’s culture, and a new film takes the topic head on.

We had the opportunity to screen “Screenagers,” a film produced by Dr. Delaney Ruston that explores how excessive screen time is affecting our kids and today’s families.

A medical doctor from Seattle, WA, and a parent navigating her own journey with her children in the constant struggle over the balance between screen time and real life, Dr. Ruston decided to make Screenagers because “she believes deeply in the importance of helping kids find balance in our tech-filled world.” Her film has been featured at film festivals across the country.

The fact that she’s still figuring out the screen/life balance herself as a parent immediately creates a connection between the film’s parent audience and her “character,” the narrator. In the film, college professors, bloggers, researchers and others weigh in on how overuse is truly damaging this generation. Studies show excessive screen time stunts brain development, creates an inability to focus, and reduces cognitive and communication skills.  

We get a glimpse into the filmmaker’s own life and the lives of everyday people who share personal stories about the impact of technology and screen usage within their homes, and the turbulence it creates. From one girl’s experience of her “bra selfie” gone viral to another boy’s excessive video game playing that landed him in rehab for his “addiction,” something hits home to all of us: this is real. It is what is happening in families, at school, after school and in societies across the world today. The question is, what are we going to do about it?

Experts showcased in the film offer constructive advice to parents about the action that needs to take place within our communities, our classrooms, and most importantly, in our homes. They advise it starts by examining ourselves as parents and our own screen addictions. To shift screen usage to a healthy place and minimize its harmful impact on our personalities and habits, we must realize it truly takes a village, but the first step is at home, empowering our kids.

Our overall takeaway from the movie is the message it drives home about the importance of families establishing rules and boundaries on tech usage in and away from the house. The most significant tip all parents can tackle is teaching children from the start how to self-regulate their screen time.

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Here are some other suggestions from Screenagers:

1. Set up a tech contract for EVERYONE in the family, parents included! Have your kids help set the rules.

2. Make “screen-free” time. One day a week, certain hours of the day, or even better, set up a tech-free vacation.

3. Set time limits - give the brain a chance to rest

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In an interview with the NY Times, director Dr. Delaney Ruston stated, “I want to spark a movement to get everyone, from parents to policymakers, to watch the movie, then have a “town hall” style conversation afterward about how we can best help kids lead more balanced lives.”

Screenagers is a must see for parents and kids. It offers the right combination of relatable characters and light-hearted humor to captivate the audience and allow us to do some silent self-evaluating of our own screen habits. A bit ironic to encourage more screen time, we know, but the film is eye-opening for parents who’ll discover they are not alone in the challenge of raising the first all-digital generation.  

Check out the Screenagers website to see if there’s a screening near you or to inquire about bringing it to your community or school.  

Start the Conversation: Back to School Social Media Tips for Parents

“Back to School” time can be a crazy and chaotic experience for parents and kids. We spend the better part of two weeks with lists in hand, getting prepared for the Big Day. From shopping for school clothes and making sure skirts and shorts are “finger-tip” length, to trekking to several stores to find the mysterious yellow binder that’s needed for History class, there is no better way to spend the last glorious days of summer than getting ready to go back to school.

ADOBE STOCK

Reflecting on the experience and what it means for families, the first word that comes to mind is NEW. With new clothes, new supplies, new teachers and new school year come new friends, new connections -- and exposure to new mobile apps, new websites and new situations.

Now that the mountains of back to school paperwork are filled out, morning routines are established, and last-minute trips for supplies are complete, take time to start the conversation with your child about digital responsibility. Establish your family rules and develop your game plan. Use these tips as a guideline:

1. Check privacy settings on apps and websites they use. Do it together! As parents, we are always learning, too!

2. Chat about connections. Life is not a popularity contest. Encourage your kids to keep connections to people they know IRL (in real life) and discuss new contacts you see on their “friends” lists you haven't met yet.

3. Discuss being careful about what you share and when you share it. Aside from never sharing personal information like phone number, address or password, cover why it's important they don't don’t share their location. A good rule of thumb is posting “after the fact” - after the party, or as you are leaving a location rather than while you are there.

4. Have a two-way conversation about cyberbullying. These are conversations, not lectures, and we can empower our teens and pre-teens by finding out what they have to say. Ask them what they think about cyberbullying, and discuss how to recognize it, handle it, and not contribute to it. This will let them know it's okay to talk about it at home, and feel more comfortable speaking up to you or a trusted adult or teacher if the see someone harassing another person.

5. Avoid digital drama. Not to be confused with cyberbullying, digital drama is like a tiff or dispute that could happen in real life, that occurs online on often spirals out control in comments, with shares, etc. Common Sense Media has some great tips on how to avoid the drama online. 

6. Remember the Golden Rule. Help them understand digital responsibility applies to all of us - kids and adults. Remind them of the importance and benefit of treating others as they expect to be treated. Be kind online!

technologyrocksseriously.com 

PRESS RELEASE: PARENT ENTREPRENEURS CREATE DIJIWISE APP TO PROMOTE DIGITAL RESPONSIBILITY

DIJIWISE APP GIVES PARENTS NEW WAY TO START CONVERSATIONS WITH TWEENS AND TEENS

DETROIT & ST. LOUIS -- Social media is a mainstay in the life of many 5th grade to high school-age kids, and with that comes the importance of understanding digital responsibility. That’s why a group of parents with technology, digital and media backgrounds have created DijiWise, an easy-to-use mobile app that keeps parents connected with their kids’ social media activity in real-time to inspire conversations about the moments they share online.

While most parents want to be aware of their child’s online world, 40 percent don’t check their child’s social media, and 1/3 know the password to at least one of their child’s social accounts (Pew Research). With social media usage starting as young as pre-teen years, the importance of education about digital responsibility is critical, no matter the age.

“DijiWise is a company with a cause. Digital parenting and helping our kids understand the benefits and challenges of online behavior and social media is a new responsibility parents have,” states the founding team at DijiWise. “Conversations can become a lost art with busy schedules and technology. Our goal in creating this app is to remove the complexity for parents and encourage conversations.”

DijiWise is available for download for iOS and Android. It features a low-cost subscription via In-App purchase for $4.99 per month - peace of mind and parental engagement for the cost of a cup of coffee.

App features:

●      Dashboard view with real-time updates on social media activity that helps parents interpret actions or inactions, stay familiar with kids’ peer groups, and save time by eliminating the need to hop website to website

●      Ability to monitor up to 4 profiles across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, with more to come

●      Save feature that enables parents to save an activity as a prompt to discuss later

●      Ability to personalize notification settings and activity you’d like to receive notifications for

●      Tips and trends on digital parenting, social media and teens

The company is led by women who have spent their careers in media and technology, including Stacy Kania, Director of Platform & Product Development, and Cindy Kerber Spellman, the company’s VP of Strategy & Community Development. Both moms whose intersecting career and parenting experiences have heightened their awareness of the importance of digital responsibility as their children grow.

“What digital responsibility and social media usage mean family to family may be different, and that’s ok. If we can empower parents and teens to be comfortable with the subject and become more aware of our digital footprints, then we’re making huge strides in responsibly enjoying the great things social media makes possible,” noted Kerber Spellman.

A DijiWise Community

Beyond the app, through outreach and partnerships, DijiWise is committed to encouraging a community of DijiWise families who practice online responsibility. The Parent Central section on the DijiWise website gives parents access to content about digital parenting, tech and digital trends among teens, online safety and more. Parents can also share and read DijiWise Moments.

ABOUT DIJIWISE

DijiWise is an app with a cause. Made for parents, by parents, we’ve created a new way for parents to stay connected to their children and encourage digital responsibility. By providing a real-time view of a child’s social media activity in one simple place, we make it easier to have conversations about the moments kids share. DijiWise is a women-led startup proud to call Detroit and St. Louis home.