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Parenting

YouthQuake! Marketers, brace yourselves.

Digital explorers, Parenting, Screen Time, Obsession & Focus, Teachers, Trends

by GenZ Expert Dean McCoubrey.

If you’ve ever watched a rally (no, not political), you’ll probably remember the wide-eyed unpredictability of every turn, the careful observation of the navigator to manage the terrain, and the damaging cost of reading the road incorrectly.

As someone who owns a marketing agency, and also an education company that focuses on social media and gaming education, that’s what I think marketers are having to deal with at the moment. Moreover, the road ahead will only experience more wind, rain, gravel, mud and snow, in the forms of ChatGPT 5 and 6, AR, VR, XR, and fierce social competition and innovation. Buckle up.

GenZ Expert Dean McCoubrey

Personally, teaching teens and pre-teens in schools on this very subject of platforms, apps, games and emerging technology, feels like being invited into an enclosure, sitting quietly, and watching a diversity of behaviours, in order to approach the pride and their cubs, having built knowledge and trust. It’s about asking and listening first; approaching second.

I’m not sure many brands quite get this.

In the explosive, dynamic landscape of modern marketing, the ground is shifting at breakneck speed. For marketers, keeping up with Generation Z (Gen Z) requires map reading where the contours and roads change in front of your eyes. The rules that have governed branding for decades are being challenged and rewritten on a weekly basis.

From Z to A

In true internet form, Google offers a wonderful lack of clarity on the date range of Gen Z. Mckinsey has it that it’s those born between 1996 and 2010. Gen Alpha, those born after 2010, are moving faster, especially when not monitored by their parents. What I see and hear is eye-opening, often sad, but still a privilege, as it provides me with a platform to mentor on media literacy, online safety, digital exploration and excellence. With each passing week, students redefine the norms of consumption, creativity, and self-expression. To truly grasp their essence, one must understand the seismic shifts catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s hideous to still use the pandemic in an article, it feels so long ago, and the most exhausting thread in journalism. But in the world I work in, that very weird phase in our lives acted as a catalyst for digital acceleration extended far beyond the surge in e-commerce. It blew up a new era of short-form video and redefined the meaning of authenticity and self-expression. It lowered the age of access and boosted screen time exposure. It widened the gap between most adults and kids, a gap that many aren’t even aware of, because parents wouldn’t know what to look for. Just like some brands and their marketing partners. We experienced a YouthQauke that split the road in two: Those who are willing to accept the change and listen and learn, and those who think things are still largely the same.

Brands are faced with a generation that knows few boundaries when it comes to creativity and innovation. They’ll try things, daily, while brands are planning slowly, meticulously, and with caution.

With so much at stake for these companies, I understand that completely, but it creates a lag between them and their Gen Z audience. Mike Sharman stands out as someone who has a good feel for reactive and responsive creative work, innovating with concepts and campaigns fast.

Intuitive, not fearless

Gen Z is characterized by its fearlessness of technology – personally, I think it’s more about an intuitive use of devices and platforms – a somewhat stubborn or confident sense of adolescent self, and a voracious appetite for content. Unlike previous generations, they were born into a world of social media and self-publishing. They have never known a time when their lives were not on display on timelines and newsfeeds; they’re the most tracked in history, enjoying the least privacy of any teens that came before them. They’re the children of the algorithm.

In their quest for self-expression, Gen Z has become a powerful creative force. But that algorithm has shaped that creative expression. Channels such as TikTok, Shein, and Instagram Reels have become their canvases, enabling them to showcase their creativity and individuality.

The Marketer’s Dilemma: Bridging the Gap

For marketers, understanding Gen Z is a daunting challenge. Traditional approaches to brand promotion, especially those typically pitching hooks to old Gen Xers, can feel forced and inauthentic to this new cohort. Often parents and marketers shrug their shoulders, insisting “kids are immature and don’t know what they’re doing online.” Yes, kids lack emotional maturity, their pre-frontal cortex is not developed, education hasn’t prepared them for critical thinking, cybersecurity and mental health online, but the reality is that they remain online, consuming, and shaping a narrative – irrespective of whether they should be. It won’t be changing, I can assure you.

If their current consumption will only get deeper and wider, guesswork will be the enemy of any marketer. The solution will lie in dynamic tracking and social listening. Brands will need to demonstrate humility and assume nothing. They must also seek out partners who have their ears to the ground and understand the Gen Z landscape intimately. And, in my view, they will need to be way, way more responsible in their marketing. That’s another article altogether.

Staying Ahead in the Gen Z Era

To succeed in the Gen Z era, brands must be agile and adaptable. Here are the key takeaways for staying at the forefront of brand marketing to youth:

1. Authenticity Over Assumption: Gen Z values authenticity above all else. Brands must tell genuine stories and craft real experiences.

2. Embrace Creativity: Encourage Gen Z to co-create content and contribute to brand narratives. Their creativity knows no bounds.

3. Stay Informed and Adaptive: The digital landscape evolves rapidly. Brands should invest in staying informed about the latest trends and shifts within Gen Z culture.

4. Engage in Meaningful Conversations: Create spaces for authentic conversations with Gen Z. Understand their concerns and interests, and respond accordingly if you dare.

5. Champion Causes: Brands should actively support causes and initiatives that resonate with their values.

6. Rewriting the Language: The lexicon of youth culture is ever-evolving. Brands must reimagine their language and messaging to stay relevant.

Navigating the road ahead

Gen Z’s impact on brand marketing is undeniable, unstoppable and rising faster with every click and download; every purchase, every game, and every chat. Most importantly, they’re shaping brand success with every rand they spend and persuade their parents to spend. The Gen Z wallet will make or break brands as each year passes. According to YDx Youth Dynamics research, it’s R303 billion that SA’s youth currently spend and influence. What will it be next year, and in 20230?

Tune in.

And good luck.

Article by Dean McCoubrey published on Business Live: Original here.
Dean is owner of storytelling agency MediaWeb Group, youth marketing consultancy, GenZA, and teen digital education company, MySociaLife.

For more information: www.mediawebgroup.co.za and www.mysocialife.com

2022 Recap: The most important conversations with your teens this year

Parenting

With 2022 finally coming to an end, it’s time to ask yourself and your kids — what the heck happened? From wars broadcasted online and trials filled with fake news to harmful figures banned on social media and massive milestones for the human population — there’s been a lot to process this year.

But how much of it did you discuss with your children? And how well are they processing and understanding the events of the past year? It’s time to find out.

So while your children are caught up in their Spotify Wrap-Up for the year, it might also be a good time for you to review the biggest events from this year and see if you’ve had the most important conversations with children for 2022.

Why these conversations with your children are essential

In the world today, teens and tweens are exposed to so much due to the online world. And as much as you can try, you’ll never be able to fully control what they are exposed to — whether they’re shown things online by their friends or they find a way around your controls. So what can you do? Well, you can’t stop them from seeing things, but you can help them process and understand them better so they can respond appropriately.

To do this, you need to have these important conversations, as well as, an open stream of communication so that they feel safe to come to you if they are struggling to understand something. This is the key to equipping your children with the tools they need to be safer and smarter online.

The most important conversations with your children for 2022

Here are some of the top stories for 2022 — stories that your children heard about and likely followed, stories that possibly even influenced or affected your children without you knowing about it.

While each of these stories may seem irrelevant to your children’s lives, there are some really important lessons embedded in them that can help your child better navigate the online world.

Here are the top conversations of 2022 and why they’re important:

Ukraine War

What happened:

In February, Russia invade Ukraine leading to a violent war, mass destruction and civilian casualties — all of which were being broadcasted live on TikTok for everyone to see in real time.

Why it’s important to talk about:

  • Not only is social media a dangerous news source, but platforms like TikTok are riddled with both misinformation and disinformation
  • This is why critically discussing the news around the Ukraine War is vital so that teens learn how to question their news sources
  • Because children struggle to separate fact from fantasy, exposure to this extreme can affect the well-being of more sensitive children.

Johnny Depp trial

What happened:

The televised Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial was completely overwhelmed by the media, fake news, users on social platforms, and even opportunistic political groups who took advantage of the media coverage to spread misinformation.

Why it’s important to talk about:

  • It was interesting to see the rabid response of the media and our society to the personal lives of two actors  — what does this say about our society?
  • Enormous amounts of fake news circulated social media, confirmation bias was prevalent, and memes of clips taken out of context were used as weapons — it was so easy to be influenced by the fake news surrounding the case.
  • With the case concerning extremely sensitive and personal issues such as domestic violence and abuse, the media had a dehumanising effect, promoting a lack of empathy in users online and making people forget that the people involved were human beings too.

The Will Smith Oscar slap

What happened:

At the 94th Academy Awards, after presenter Chris Rock made a sensitive joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, husband Will Smith walked on stage and slapped Chris Rock live on air, resulting in a divided audience and a 10-year Oscars ban to Will Smith’s name.

Why it’s important to talk about:

  • After videos immediately circulated on social media and became an instant viral hit, destroying Will Smith’s career in a moment.
  • While a lot of people, especially boys, defended Smith by arguing that he was defending his wife’s honour and his own, there were more people who deemed his behaviour inappropriate, disrespectful and outrageous.
  • Whether you’re at the Oscars or on the school field, violence and acting on impulse is never the answer. There are always better ways to respond.
  • Smith’s consequences are enough to show why managing your emotions and maintaining respect is essential — one split decision can ruin your life.

It’s time to BeReal

What happened:

BeReal exploded onto the social media scene, becoming one of the most popular apps among teens and tweens. 

Why it’s important to talk about:

  • BeReal claims to be a ‘healthy’ social platform with the aim to create a space where people could foster genuine interactions online — is it successful?
  • Its popularity indicates that perhaps teens are finally looking for a new and authentic digital social experience and are tired of the sensationalized and toxic environment found in other social apps such as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.
  • But while BeReal claims to be a danger-free zone for teens and tweens, there are still some potential dangers that are worth investigating and discussing.

The banning of Andrew Tate and Kanye

What happened:

On two separate occasions, both Andrew Tate and Kayne were cancelled this year and banned from all social media platforms for spreading harmful messages and hate speech to their massive following.

Why it’s important to talk about:

  • After talking with some of the Grade 7 students we work with, it became very clear that they were very much exposed to the dangerous messages shared by the self-proclaimed misogynist, Andrew Tate, and the antisemitic hate speech spread by Kanye on social media.
  • Children seem to be divided about whether or not the messages they are sharing are actually harmful.
  • This is another important lesson about being very careful about what you share on social media, as well as the messages sent to you by the people you follow.

Elon Musk buys Twitter

What happened:

Recently, Elon Musk bought Twitter and immediately started changing the way Twitter works (and who works at Twitter) to focus more on making a profit.

Why it’s important to talk about:

  • A lot of notable figures left Twitter immediately or soon after Musk acquired it, knowing the parameters of the platform would change, and possibly not for the better.
  • With the focus shifting toward a money-making business, the platform will start serving the investors more than the users, removing structures that helped make it a safe and trusted space for teens and tweens.

Need help having these conversations with your teens?

Let’s be honest — having these conversations can be tricky. Especially with the technological and generational divide that makes it very difficult to understand what is happening in the lives of teens and tweens today. Plus, we all know how easily they switch off when they think you’ve gone into lecture mode. So now that you know which important conversations you need to have, how can you do it successfully?

That’s where MySociaLife comes in! With the help of our partnered experts and our GenZ team, we’re able to combine insight with experience of what it’s like to be a teen today. We go into schools and help parents and students have these tricky but important conversations, equipping the former with understanding and tools and the latter with the digital life skills they need to navigate these complex situations.

And we keep it extra relevant with our new program, OneLife — the world’s first social media current affairs video show in high schools. Stay up to date with the most important conversations of 2023 by signing up for OneLife today! Click here to find out more.

5 Digital Resources to Help Teens Navigate Puberty

Apps, Parenting

Let’s be honest — going through puberty is never fun. And for most parents and teachers, neither is trying to talk to teens about it.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. It can be a transformative and empowering stage for teens. They just need a little reminder that they’re not alone — and neither are you. We’re here to help!

Why teens need some extra help during puberty

A lot of things are happening in a teen’s body that they don’t understand and often don’t even think are normal. Our bodies are all different, so what happens to one teen, might not happen the same way or same time as another. But most teens only know about the happenings of puberty comparatively through their peers. So how are teens supposed to know that their changes are normal and can actually be pretty cool?

Puberty is filled with feelings of confusion, embarrassment, awkwardness, shame. The problem — no one is talking about it openly and transparently. If no one talks about it, teens then think that it’s something that they shouldn’t talk about, or even ask questions about.

What can adults do to help teens navigate puberty?

So how can we help teens to navigate this tricky period and ease feelings of confusion and shame? Simple — we talk about. But sometimes we don’t have the words or they’re not ready to talk about it. So we can at least give them the best resources they need to navigate it on their own until you’re both ready to open up. With the technology we have today, there are some incredible digital resources that equip teens with the information they need to get understand, manage, and conquer puberty.

We’ve rounded up some of the best digital resources out there that guide teens through puberty (I honestly wish I had these when I was a teenager). Check them out!

Top 5 digital resources to help teens navigate puberty

Oomla and the Puberty Portal

Oomla and Puberty Portal Resources for Teens

Oomla was launched in 2020 with the mission of flipping puberty into a positive experience for everyone, as well as making it extra comfy for teens. They aim to bridge the information gap and provide answers to the tricky and uncomfortable questions both adults and teens have.

Here are the useful and effective tools Oomla offers:

  • Puberty Portal

The go-to hotspot for teens to get answers about everything puberty related with the message, “Body changes are normal, we help make them understandable.” From skincare, periods, and hair everywhere to real stories, moods, and mental health — you’ll find educated, appropriate, and positive answers here.

  • Puberty Podcast (for Adults)

Oomla founders, Dr Cara Natterson and Vanessa Kroll Bennett, shine a light on all the messy and uncomfortable and necessary aspects of raising teens through puberty. By sharing scientific research, parenting strategies, and hilarious stories, parents, guardians, and teachers can gain actionable advice on how to guide teens through this interesting time.

  • Oombras and Oomshorts

This one is less a tool and more one more way to ease the uncomfortable times of puberty. After noticing the massive gap in the market for comfy, stylish, and practical training bras and sleeping shorts (for all genders), they decided to make their own, called Oombras and Oomshorts!

The Trevor Project

The Trevor Project Resources for Teens

Quality information on puberty is scarce. Quality information for LGBTQ+ teens is almost non-existent — that’s where The Trevor Project comes in. The Trevor Project provides information and support to LGBTQ+ teens and young adults — 24/7, all year round. The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) young people.

This is not only an invaluable resource for teens but also an invaluable resource for parents who want to educate themselves and support their teens as best as they can.

The Trevor Project offers a range of tools for teens, parents, and teachers:

  • Resource Center

Find articles, handbooks, guides, and more on topics covering sexual orientation, mental health, gender identity, community, suicide prevention, and diversity catered for teens and young adults

  • Support

As one of their main efforts to prevent suicide, The Trevor Project offers trained counsellors who understand the challenges that LGBTQ+ young people face, providing 24-hour support. Whether it’s through text message, phone call, or chat — they are there to give teens immediate crisis support that’s 100% confidential and 100% free for any struggling teens needing help but not sure how to ask for it.

  • Community

For many LGBTQ+ teens, finding a community of people who understand and celebrate their identities. TrevorSpace is is an affirming, online community for LGBTQ young people between the ages of 13-24 years old. Teens can find an understanding community, to explore their identity, or a safe, secure, and supportive space to speak to someone who understands. There’s also a team of moderators and AI-technology to ensure it remains a safe space for all where teens can be themselves.

AMAZE

Amaze.org Puberty Resources for Teens

Looking to find resources that take the awkward out of sex ed? AMAZE is your answer! Here you’ll find honest and educational information in fun, animated videos that give teens all the answers they actually want to know about sex, their bodies, and relationships.

Most famous for its educational YouTube channel, AMAZE combines the expertise of master sexuality educators, the creativity of animation professionals, the input of young people, and the power of the internet to create:

  • FOR TEENS: Engaging, educational, age-appropriate and often humorous sex education videos
  • FOR PARENTS: Educational resources to guide parents and guardians on how to better communicate with their teens on sex and sexuality
  • FOR TEACHERS: Toolkits, lesson plans, and other resources to help educators and healthcare providers

AMAZE also offers, amaze jr. which is basically a parent’s go-to guide for when little kids have big questions.

Luna

Luna App for Teens

Luna is an app designed specifically for teenage girls where they can learn, read, and ask about all things teen health and wellbeing. It gives teen girls a safe space where they can safely explore topics around puberty that aren’t always taught or spoken about enough.

Built by a community of young medical professionals and teens across the UK, this is a resource you and your teens can trust. Using articles, videos, and experiences, teen girls can explore a variety of topics from mental health, female health, and sex & sexual health to periods & hormones, body positivity, and relationships. Teens also have the opportunity to ask luna anything and receive answers from one of luna’s medical community.

While the app isn’t available just yet, it’s coming soon. Until it’s released, you can join the waitlist, become a luminary for early access, or check out their Instagram for relevant info, news, advice, motivation, and updates. 

Big mouth & Sex Education

Big Mouth Puberty Resources for Teens

If you’re looking for some fun, yet insightful edutainment, Big Mouth and Sex Education are two TV shows that can be a surprisingly good educational tool for teens. We’d definitely recommend these TV for older teens, as there is mature content.

Big Mouth

Big Mouth follows a group of 7th graders as they navigate the uncomfortable and awkward struggles of puberty, guided by a group of Hormone Monsters and other fantasy characters. While it’s mainly a TV show, it’s still effective at passing along some insightful advice on puberty that’s enjoyable and engaging for older teens.

Sex Education

Sex Education is not afraid to bear it all. While it does present a very open and unfiltered view of sex, sexuality, and sex ed, it also does an incredible job at giving teens an honest and down-to-earth view of the changes teens experience during puberty. The show asks and answers the questions that no one dares to ask but teens want the answers to. It normalizes all bodies, showing teens that their bodies are normal and natural. The characters discuss important topics such as sexuality, gender, sexual assault, contraception, and more. It also shows gives teens a balanced view of sex — presenting the dangers but also the pleasures that are often ignored. On top of it all, you also witness normal teens going through everyday struggles that all teens can relate to.

All in all, even if you watch these shows with your teens, they can be a great opportunity to start conversations and open the door to trusted communication about these important topics.

Conclusion

Using these digital resources, parents and teachers can better equip teens with the tools, information, and skills they need to navigate puberty successfully. By lessening the discomfort, awkwardness, confusion, and shame that often come with puberty, we can rather focus on the exciting and transformational side of puberty where teens grow into themselves and form their own identities.

Teens need to know that puberty is weird, bodies are weird — but it’s all normal. And it’s our job to show them that.

At MySociaLife, we equip teens with the digital life skills they need to be safer and smarter online, also showing them how they explore and excel in the digital world. We tackle challenges such as mental health, cyberbullying, sexuality online, digital identity, privacy, and more! Check out our student programs to help teens navigate the online world!

How to Protect Your Children From Online Gaming Fraud

Online Safety, Parenting
online gaming fraud
online gaming fraud
online gaming fraud

Online gaming fraud is real — and children and teens are at the most risk!

MySociaLife founder, Dean McCoubrey, recently did an interview unpacking the recent increase in children falling victim to online gaming fraud and what parents can do about it. He details everything you need to know to protect your child and ensure their games stay a safe and fun space for them to explore.

You can read the complete interview here!

1. What are the dangers of letting your children game unsupervised?

Many adults (who don’t game) see it as child’s play, a space where teens and pre-teens spend their time. They also overlook that girls are increasingly keen gamers too. However, they fail to see the extent of adult players and the sheer size of the e-sports industry.

For this reason, children who game unsupervised are roaming these spaces among adults with various motivations — some gamers just want to game, while others want to make contact, ask for images, verbally abuse, or defraud.

When we understand the diversity of users on social media and games and consider why they might be on the platform, we can immediately be more security conscious. 

2. Why are more children falling victim to gaming fraud?

The pandemic saw more people stuck indoors or at home and an increase in screen time. This drew more people to online entertainment and escapism during a tough time around the world. In addition, younger children have been accessing games and social media — the barriers came down a little, to some degree.

These factors mean that, yes, more children (teens and pre-teens) are experiencing more online safety issues, not just fraud, than pre-pandemic. Education hasn’t caught up with the tools to inform learners of the wide array of risks and safety tools that need to be employed.

That’s what we do at MySociaLife — we teach 8 lessons in schools to kids aged 8-17 to be safer and smarter online. 

3. What are the most common ways in which children fall victim to online gaming fraud? 

Gamers are attracted to mods, skins, weapons, and tokens to improve their gameplay. It’s more interesting, it’s cooler, and it’s more powerful for the gamer which makes it an attractive proposition.

Fraudsters use the clickbait of an amazing offer to get you to click and buy something, leaving the game and sharing your bank card details. Or adding a username and password to a website that looks slick but is really just a ‘front’ to trick you into revealing your valuable password — one that might also open your other accounts like social media. 

If the fraudster takes over your gaming or social accounts, you can then be bribed to get them back, or they can damage your reputation by using the account to post negative content while still in your name. 

4. Tips to prevent children from falling victim to online gaming fraud

  1. Don’t click on links in emails that get sent to you. Spam has become very good at looking real. It’s hard to detect so exercise hyper caution as a standard. 
  2. Whatever you download could have malware (updates, games, etc.), so be sure you know the source. This will require a number of tests and checks. Not just looking at how the email looks or who it’s from. Only use official websites and not third-party websites when buying or downloading. 
  3. If the offer looks too good to be true, it likely isn’t! It’s clickbait! 
  4. Use a robust password of at least 12 characters with numbers and punctuation, but don’t make it easy. 
  5. Use Two Factor Authentication (2FA) to protect your account. No one should get into your account unless they go through secure gateways — one on a console and one on your phone, for example. 
  6. You mostly don’t know who you’re playing with despite what name they use or the avatar on screen. You need to see if the player is indeed someone who is a child on screen, matched to a voice, and then consistently check that the person aligns with your expectations as a gaming partner for your child (swearing, kindness, etc). In addition, persuading kids to share details or passwords while playing games with them, having built their trust, is a tactic to gain access to gamer accounts. 
  7. Use the safety settings offered by the game and work through them slowly. Google the settings if you don’t know how to find them or set them up. Someone will have prepared a settings guide already. 
  8. For young kids, chat is not a good option. They should only play the game and enjoy it on those merits ideally, as they are not equipped to recognize the online safety risks. 

Conclusion

Beyond fraud, issues like cyberbullying are real and can be just as harmful, although not financially. Privacy and how much data or info you are sharing are equally important — or you can be targeted with content or offers that may be inappropriate, or accounts are created which impersonate you based on how much info you share in public. 

[Article written by Havana Dauncey]

Social Media Filters: A Cause of Body Dysmorphia or Just A Form of Creative Expression?

Critical Thinking, Mental Health, Parenting

Have you taken a selfie lately and been compelled to swipe through the filters to find the perfect one that gives you that extra glow?

Well, it’s safe to say that filters have revolutionalized the selfie game. In fact, 87% of teens aged 13-21 use a filter on social media. 

So what’s drawing teens so strongly to alter their images online? What does this mean for teens of today and their mental health? And are all filters bad, or is there another side that we’re not seeing?

Let’s break down everything you need to know about social media filters.

What is a social media filter?

Social media filter (n.): An in-camera photo editing effect that can be applied to images before or after the photo is shot, found on each social media app and sometimes referred to as augmented reality (AR).

Filters began long before social media. Remember the front camera mirror and distorting effect that captivated young teens back in 2012? Well, these harmless editing effects have evolved into something a lot bigger, and potentially dangerous, thanks to the birth of social media.

Selfie filters, the social media filters we’re referring to, first came to light on Snapchat in 2015 as one of the main unique features drawing users to the platform. But what started as innocent doggy ears and stuck-out tongues has now evolved into a sophisticated AI that’s made it impossible to discern what’s real and what’s not — in the form of the infamous ‘beauty filters’.

Nearly 1 in 5 teens use a beauty filter on every post. Beauty filters are specifically designed to add make-up, remove blemishes, and change facial features to make you look more ‘beautiful,’ often appealing more to girls than boys. 

Social media filters
Social media filters
Social media filters

Why are teens drawn to use social media filters?

Phones have become the new mirrors. We no longer reach into purses to pull out a compact to check our faces or touch up some make-up. We now go straight for the selfie camera on our phones. But selfies have become more than just a convenient mirror in our pockets. They’ve become a figurative mirror that teens use as a representation of who they are, both externally and internally, attaching their identity to the frozen image of themselves on a screen.

Teens are at the stage in their development where they’re searching for their place in society, trying on different identities to see which one fits best and which one gets the best response. Taking and posting selfies online has become the new way for teens to share their identity with the world and measure the response they get from their peers.

Thus, teens are drawn to selfies with the hopes of gaining reassurance of who they are in the form of positive attention from others. This is where filters come in. Like trying on different identities, teens try on different filters to see which ones receive the best response.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say a young teen posts an unfiltered selfie on her Instagram story and doesn’t get the enthusiastic response of likes and DMs from her peers that she was hoping for. She swipes right to the story feature and starts curiously scrolling through the wide range of filters. She stops on one that softens her pores, hides her acne, flushes her cheeks and lips, and slightly enlarges her eyes with a touch of mascara. Now, it looks so real, and she looks almost like the famous models she follows on Instagram. So she posts the new selfie. Suddenly, her Instagram blows up with likes, heart emojis, and comments like “hot,” and “gorgeous,” from girls and boys alike. Her heart flutters from the attention, instantly deleting the old one, and staring at the new version of herself with a proud smile.

This is a simplified story of the spark that ignites teens’ drive towards using filters. When their self-esteem is low and they need a bit of reassurance, they learn that they get the best response and the most attention from altering their appearance to match society’s standards of beauty. And beauty filters conveniently give them the power to do it.

So while AR is just a nickname these filters have picked up, there’s a bit more truth in it than you may think. It’s not just the reality of the screen these filters are augmenting, but the reality for the teens outside the screen as well.

What do filters mean to the teens of today?

You might be wondering, “Editing photos isn’t anything new. The media has been altering bodies with photoshop to match unrealistic beauty standards for decades. What makes this so different?”

Well, thanks to social media filters, we no longer only compare ourselves to a doctored image of a stranger in a magazine but to doctored images of ourselves. Teens look at these filtered images of themselves and see a superior version, reinforced by the approval of their peers and society.

So in an effort to find their identities and get closer to their real selves, social media filters have the completely opposite effect — teens dissociate from their identities by idealizing a version of themselves that isn’t real.

The big question to ask here in terms of beauty filters is:

Who is setting these ideal beauty standards?

Well, the honest truth is that beauty standards have always been modelled after the white, western, and eurocentric aesthetic. And this is no different for the parameters of the beauty filters. While you may think that the AI used to define these filters is objective and unbiased, it’s simply not true. The biases and preferences of the people who programmed them are inevitably going to creep in, including racism, sexism, and implicit biases.

So what does this mean for diversity? It means that most filters automatically lighten the skin, eyes, and hair, distorting their facial features into something foreign. It means that teenagers that don’t match this narrow, hegemonic idea of beauty are subconsciously told they’re not beautiful based purely on their ethnicity.

Additionally, the ways in which these filters distort the face, positioning it into the ‘golden ratio,’ enlarging the eyes, shrinking the nose, and removing every blemish and freckle, are physically impossible. It sets a standard so high that no one can reach it no matter how hard they try, and some die trying.

61% of teens say that using beauty filters make them feel worse about their appearance in real life, stating that there’s a correlation between these filter and power body image. So it’s clear that social media beauty filters not only tell teenagers that they aren’t beautiful enough, but they also give them a biased, unrealistic, and impossible version of themselves — a constant comparison and reminder that they aren’t enough the way that they are.

Social media filters
Social media filters
social media filters

The impact on teens’ mental health

Mix the teenage desire for public approval of their appearance with insanely real ‘beauty’ filters that turn your face into the golden ratio, and you get the perfect storm for body image issues and body dysmorphia to brew.

Body dysmorphia disorder (n.): characterized by the constant worrying about one’s physical appearance, often fixating on physical flaws or perceived defects.

These social media filters not only distort the image on the screen but the teenager’s body image of themselves. They notice how different they are from the filtered version of themselves and start to fixate on those differences, perceiving themselves as inferior.

So when teens look in the mirror, or their selfie cameras, they no longer see what they are but rather what they are not. Teens become susceptible to body dysmorphia and other body image issues. This pushes teens towards trying to change their real appearance to match the one on the screen, leading to unhealthy ‘beauty hacks,’ dieting, and even cosmetic surgery.

Are all filters that bad?

Filters come in all shapes and sizes, and maybe not all of them have to be a concern for your teens’ mental health. In fact, most filters out there don’t care about making you look beautiful, they aim to make you look silly, funny, and ridiculous in the best way. These reignite that innocent fun and creativity that filters were originally designed for.

Some examples of creative filters include baby filters, beard filters, gender swaps, character-based filters, and an infinite amount more. There’s even a filter that distorts your facial features to make them look unappealing, shrinking your eyes and changing your proportions so that when you turn the filter off, you feel better about your actual appearance.

Just take a look at TikTok — many TikTok trends, aimed to earn some laughs from viewers, are centred around bizarre and goofy filters paired with some really clever jokes.

These filters often encourage teens to stop seeing their selfies as a reflection of their identity, as the filters are often so ridiculous, it’s impossible to connect the selfies to themselves in any meaningful way. It helps them take themselves less seriously and be okay with looking silly.

With the advanced technology and AI of today, you can pretty much do anything you want with filters, giving teens unlimited creative power that shouldn’t be tainted by the negative effects of beauty filters.

So what’s the final verdict on social media filters?

Social media filters — on or off?

Social media filters cover a wide range of editing effects, making it difficult to put them all in one box. Most filters can be used as a form of creative expression and for fits of laughter between friend groups, encouraging teens to not take themselves and their external appearance too seriously.

However, we can’t say the same for beauty filters. Beauty filters aren’t inherently bad; it’s all in the intention with which they’re used. However, most of the time, they attract vulnerable teens looking to bolster their self-esteem with a filtered facade, damaging their mental health by making them susceptible to body image issues and body dysmorphia. So it’s best to make sure these filters stay turned off.

What we can do moving forward

Knowing the harm these beauty filters can cause, it’s our responsibility as parents, teachers, and guardians to take the power out of the beauty filters and put it back into the hands of our children.

You can do this by:

  • Being aware of the filters teens are using and why.
  • Talking to them about the effects of the filters, the importance of establishing their identity separate from selfies, and the reality and relativity of ideal beauty standards.
  • Encouraging your children, as well as influencers, to go unfiltered, highlighting the beauty of authenticity.
  • Looking out for the signs of a struggling mental health and body image, ready to give them all the help if needed.
  • Showing your children how to be active consumers by telling the social media platforms what they need to do to help minimize the negative effects of their filters.

If we teach our children how to use filters responsibly, filters can once again be those fun and harmless effects that compel teens to spend hours laughing at their faces wave up and down the screen. So let’s turn off our filters and sit down with our children to have those unfiltered, authentic, and crucial conversations to help our children be safer and excel online.

Click here to find out more about how to learn more about the digital world and how to empower your children online.

[Written by Havana Dauncey]

The Ukraine War on TikTok: What We and Our Children Can Learn From It

Apps, Education, Mental Health, Parenting

– Article written by Havana Dauncey

TikTok is becoming the most popular app in our teens’ and pre-teens’ lives. Despite the 13+ age limit, children aged 4-15 are spending an average of 75 minutes on TikTok per day. As a parent or teacher, you can’t help but wonder what they’re watching on there for that long, especially when a war is currently being broadcasted live uncensored on social media apps including TikTok.

So many questions arise for a lot of adults — What is TikTok? Where do teens and pre-teens get their news on the Ukraine war? What effect does exposure to the Ukraine war have on teens and pre-teens? Can adolescents tell the difference between fact and fallacy? Are there any benefits from TikTok? What can parents do to help their children rise above it, block it or understand the motivations of those posting about it — critical thinking is essential!

Let’s deep dive into the Ukraine war on TikTok and explore the effects it may have on adolescents.

Ukraine war on TikTok

Where do kids get their news?

Let’s start with the basics — to find out what type of news teens are getting, you have to first figure out where they’re getting it from. Most teens, over 50%, get their news from social media apps, particularly TikTok.

Anyone across the world can post content on TikTok in real-time and uncensored, so it’s no surprise children and teens are accessing loads of content regarding the Ukraine war. It’s also easier for them to digest news from their favourite influencer speaking their ‘teen talk’ (or kid talk) than a monotonous news anchor they hear in the background.

Adolescents, willingly or not, are becoming curious about the world and its affairs.  Some are even taking on the role of social justice warrior. For example, child and teen TikTok users spammed Vladimir Putin’s fan accounts with #vladdydaddy as an act of protest, pleading “Vladdy Daddy please no war…” This may seem like a small act, but it represents teens becoming active citizens in the world they belong to, standing up for what they believe in.

TikTok as a news source is highly complex. Here’s why:

  • TikTok’s short-form-content formula rewards hooks to grab users’ attention and gives little time for viewers to decide who’s the hero and who’s the villain.
  • TikTok uses an algorithm to filter content for its users. To be honest, no one really knows how it works how the algorithm works. All we know is that its main goal is to keep users watching, focusing on watch time and presenting it on the For You Page (FYP). We get fed more of what we click on, so clicking on fake news and violence ensures we get more of it, driving adolescents deeper into a rabbit hole of falsehoods or hideous imagery.
  • Because our brains are predisposed to focus on movement and novelty, adolescents are drawn to videos that are scary and shocking.
  • Our brains process video much faster than text, especially with the help of music. Teens and pre-teens are then presented with an unsettling reality where a horrific scene is paired with their favourite pop song.
  • More disillusion is created by teens and pre-teens watching their favourite influencers living life one day and then hiding in a bomb shelter the next.
  • The war-torn scenes are juxtaposed with TikTok’s creative, humorous and light-hearted tone.

How does this influence news on the Ukraine war?

Interestingly, it’s TikTok’s use of pop music and humorous tone that allows us to contextualise what we’re seeing, process it and distance ourselves from the hard and unfathomable reality in Ukraine.

It’s a classic pop-culture approach, but this generation misses the motivation of publishers in whatever they post, seeking likes, followers, celebrity at a high cost. Different from generations before that may have employed their own ways of visualising or voicing their views, this stick of dynamite has the added fuse of virality and global attention for publishing something. The rewards are different, making the motivation different.

Thus, TikTok constructs a complex environment for adolescents to receive their news.

Ukraine war on TikTok
Ukraine war on TikTok

Could this exposure to violence lead to desensitization?

What makes adolescents’ exposure to the Ukraine war so troubling is teens’ and pre-teens’ inability to separate fact from fantasy. Some may think it’s all a joke while others may believe they’re entering World War 3.

What about desensitization? For years, this topic has circled the effects of violent video games. But according to the research, there isn’t any long-term desensitization from these video games. However, while the varied research makes it difficult to draw a conclusion, we’re finding that this exposure to violence can still affect more vulnerable individuals.

Secondary trauma also plays a role on TikTok — this is when you hear about trauma and it sticks with you. This triggers negative emotions and can be triggered again later on. So for adolescents that are more vulnerable to violence, this secondary trauma becomes very real.

What does exposure to violence on TikTok mean for adolescents and parents?

  • This highlights the importance of the 13+ age restriction, as teens are a lot more capable of differentiating between fact and fantasy.
  • It’s also important to protect our children by promoting critical thinking so that they question fantasy and try to uncover the facts.
  • Parents should aim to prepare their children so that they know what to expect and know that they have a choice in what they see.
  • There should be a focus on building resilience in them to give them the strength on their own to be able to turn off a video when it’s not serving them.

Misinformation vs disinformation — what’s the difference?

The question is not only can teens and pre-teens understand the difference between fact and fantasy, but also between fact and fallacy. Most social media apps, especially TikTok, have little to no fact-checking tool. As adults, we know that we can’t take anything on social media at face value — more often than not, adults can tell the truth from the lies and are able to check their sources. But adolescents have not yet acquired this skill, making them vulnerable to both misinformation and disinformation.

Misinformation and disinformation are often used interchangeably, but there’s a distinct difference between the two:

  • Misinformation: Incorrect information presented either intentionally or unintentionally.
  • Disinformation: False information that’s deliberately spread with the intention to deceive.

Which one is worse?

While both are harmful, disinformation is often even more dangerous because of its direct intention to propagate lies. Both forms are very prevalent on TikTok. People spread misinformation for the sake of views and virality.

For example, in some content, visuals are matched with the wrong audio to create a dramatic and shocking effect and portray something that isn’t real. Footage from video games has even been used and believed to be real footage from Ukraine. Teens and pre-teens are constantly exposed to this ‘fake news’, believing it and letting it influence their perception of the world.

How can we protect our children from the constant waves of mis-/dis-information? We educate them. MySociaLife’s very first module, of its total 8 lessons of 60 minutes each, teaches children not only how to fact-check, but why it’s important. We can also teach them to report any misinformation they find. Just like everyone else, children don’t want to be tricked or duped — reporting gives them the power over the people trying to deceive them. 

Ukraine war in TikTok
Fake news

Is TikTok all bad? What are the upsides?

Like everything, TikTok has both light and dark corners. And its light side offers our children limitless opportunities to learn, grow and excel — they just have to know how to find it.

Here are some upsides of TikTok worth celebrating:

  • Increased awareness of the global environment: Adolescents are becoming interested and aware of what’s happening in the world and current events, all by themselves — some are even now pushing their parents to get involved and become active citizens themselves.
  • Promotion of empathy and compassion: By receiving first-person accounts, often in real-time, adolescents gain a perceptive they never would have been exposed to otherwise, forcing them to consider what the world is like outside of their own perception and promoting a deep sense of empathy in the new generation.
  • An exciting new world for creativity: TikTok has become an outlet of creativity for a lot of users, expressing their extraordinary skills, talents and hard work, creating masterpieces of a whole new art form. 
  • Entrepreneurial potential: TikTok holds incredible power for businesses where they can gain wide exposure, build loyal communities and drive sales — teens’ exposure to this can inspire them to create a business of their own, utilizing TikTok as a key to success.

How to guide your children to the light side of TikTok

Every child is different. Some will suffer from the influence of TikTok, others may be more indifferent. The trick is to know which category your child may sit in and to pay careful attention to their behaviour to see if there are any effects — lethargic, fearful, and self-conscious are often normal teen responses, but are you seeing anything that’s concerning and noticeable? Don’t ignore the signs. 

And for every TikTok user, take a look at what they’re watching, be interested, ask questions (as opposed to telling) and use the opportunity to educate yourself without becoming too lofty and forging distance between you and adolescents. Connection and trust are key. Without it, they’re on an island alone, and you’ll find it hard to support them. 

Top Tips — how can parents help their children learn from this?

The final question to ask is — with everything that’s been discussed, how can parents and teachers help their children learn, grow and excel on TikTok despite the potential dangers of violence and misinformation circulating on social media apps?

We give them the most powerful tool in the world — education.

Parents guiding children online
Parents guiding children online

Here are ways to educate your children so that they are aware, protected and equipped to deal with both the light and the dark sides of TikTok:

  • Talk often, talk always: Start the conversation on technology, news, war and how it relates to social media — this establishes trust between you and your child.
  • Focus on preparation and resilience: Teens and pre-teens who are prepared and have resilience are much less easily affected by what they might see on TikTok, plus these are essential tools that determine their success in life, not just in surviving TikTok.
  • Educate yourself on TikTok: If you haven’t already, it’s about time you get to know the place your child spends so much time in — this will give you a much wider understanding of how it works and the content your children are exposed to so that you can make educated decisions on how to help them.
  • Teach your children how to curate their content: Teaching adolescents how to curate their content so that they have the ultimate say in what enters their lives puts the power back in their hands and encourages them to think critically about which content they want to see.
  • Explore the parental controls: While their effectiveness is undecided, TikTok does have parental controls worth taking a look at and discussing with your child. You can even teach your child how to become a productive client of TikTok by letting TikTok know what parental controls you want and what they should improve.

Conclusion

TikTok doesn’t have to be all that scary if we teach our children how to use and consume it productively, responsibly and with lots of awareness. If we guide our children towards the light of TikTok, a whole new world of possibilities and opportunities await, leaving them empowered as active citizens of the world with their future in their own hands.

MySociaLife’s REAL DEAL: A Parent’s Guide to Snapchat.

Apps, Parenting

What exactly is Snapchat, its age rating, and what’s the big deal here?

Snapchat is an incredibly popular social media platform for teens and pre-teens. Despite the age rating being 13, it attracts users of all ages due to its quirky exploration of visual expression, using avatars and filters, among other things. Simply put, it’s real fun. And they’re smart in how they put it all together. The user experience has kids coming back repeatedly as they trade messages, videos and photos (Snaps) and are rewarded with an increasing SnapScore for their engagement.

Snap launched in 2011 and released its Stories function in 2013, originally gaining hype due to its promise of a Snap disappearing which would protect your privacy, as the platform deletes content after the recipient has viewed the Snap. However kids screenshot so this largely negates the promise.

What do parents need to know?

Why is it popular with teens (and pre-teens)?

Bitmojis

Before we start, we need to understand that we gave the device to our kids, or the school did, and this issue will not relent. We need to be accountable for the role we played, and we need to spend more time educating them. True story. Kids look competent online, but they’re lacking emotional skills to manage. Furthermore, for some kids (emphasise ‘some’), being social online with a tight group of friends (actual close or trusted friends, and not strangers) can be a safe space depending on the child. Not all children are the same. But all children need help.

Bitmojis

Firstly, this is a social network and highly visual one, it’s clever and quirky. You create your own Bitmoji, which is essentially a little illustrated icon that represents you. And you can actually build this specifically inside the app, which kids love to do.

Snapchat Cameos

These are these very cool little gifs of your bitmoji with different emotions and different reactions, which flash around and act as an expression of your digital Snap identity and how you might be feeling at the time.

Stories

These are published photos or videos, available for your friends to see on the feed for up to 24 hours.

Filters

It became increasingly well known for some of the innovations in the way in which it transforms photos and videos – the core currency of social media and adolescents – by using creative, zany and humorous filters. Social media filters have been found to have harmful effects on teens’ mental health.

SnapMaps

That innovation stems further to locating friends dynamically, getting a pinpoint location of where your friend might be in the world. Great – as long as they’re not strangers, which means extra vigilance needs to be employed for young users, particularly those who cannot recognise predator behaviour. One additional minor challenge here is the FOMO struggle of seeing who is where at the weekend and realising you didn’t make the social cut. NFI.

Streaks

What has been perhaps equally popular is Snap Streaks – the trading of Snaps daily, to receive a little reward in the form of acknowledging how long your streak is lasting. The reward that is most important to mention is dopamine, which keeps kids coming back for more to trade snaps with each other in order to continue their daily streak. However, these streaks often come to represent the state of the friendship, sending teens to great lengths to protect their Snap Streaks out of fear of damaging friendships.

Lenses

As we move into a world of AR, now we have ‘lenses’ – transforming what’s on-screen into an augmented reality experience, adding 3d special effects, objects, or characters, essentially almost holographic images around them. What’s not to love there at this age.

Games

They can play snap games, which is a series of games in which they can play with either a random stranger or one of their friends.

Privacy and data

These ‘sticky’ gimmicks, all come together in one glorious win for Snapchat, time spent on the app, the harvesting of data, and the targeted use of ads based upon that data. And Snapchat has been well-known to make good use of that data, as reported by the media on many occasions.

Photo ‘storage’ and memory tagging

There are other aspects like the ability to save their ‘Memories’ specifically under a private pin code. Again, these can be of course largely harmless, depending on the child.

The Invisible Risks

The first invisible risk is to apply broad brush strokes to every child using Snapchat. They aren’t all the same, they don’t all use the app the same, and they don’t all take the same risks. Assess your child based on what’s going on in your home (are they feeling settled given what’s happening for them at the time), what’s happening in their friend group, and what are their evolving behaviours with regard to noticing any big changes. Those can be indicators that something is worryingly up.

In the right hands and parenting, most of this is not particularly harmful. But without the education of parents, schools and children, they won’t know what they can stumble into. Failure to educate is the biggest risk. Blind use of an app that reaches out into the world comes with hazards. Start there, get a program into your school so that gets everyone on the same page.

This is important because, if learners or teens and preteens don’t have private accounts, if they don’t exercise any of the useful functions that sit inside the privacy settings of the app, then they are exposed. In addition, if they allow certain behaviours – bullying or predator approaches – and not tell you about it, this can spin into real physical or emotional harm.

Snapchat settings guide

The Well-Known Risks

  • Obsessive use
  • Change in behaviour, due to withdrawal from the app
  • Over-exposure to inappropriate content
  • Unwanted approaches from strangers
  • Sextual content and sexting
  • The associated mental health influence of comparing yourself to others

Solutions

  • Be involved
  • Self-educate on the app (like you’re doing right now!)
  • Talk with your kids at dinner
  • Express an interest
  • Share your own personal stories you have heard with them
  • No phones in rooms at night (before the age of 16 at least)

How do you get to the settings on the app? 

Click on the cog icon which will take you to settings, and in this section, you can find a selection of settings for you to monitor and adjust to protect your child online

What settings are the most important?

Snapchat settings guide
  • Add Two Factor Authentication
  • Change the settings for:
    • Who can contact your child
    • Who can view your child’s story
    • See your location
    • Who can see you in ‘Quick Add’ – basically a directory of everyone on Snapchat – turn this off
    • In this overall settings section, you will see (sadly way too tucked away) the Snapchat Safety Centre
    • In terms of location, you can select Ghost mode, which means your location cannot be seen.
    • In terms of stopping abusive Snaps, kids need to report them, by pressing on the Snap and selecting Report, or they can select to Block the user.
  • You can also:
    • Report a safety concern
    • Pose a privacy question
    • Request help from Snapchat
    • Or clear previously stored data across history, cameos, conversations, and more

What if you cannot change the settings on your child’s device because the ship has sailed and now it’s too late and there will be a serious battle about this issue?

  • Use a monitoring solution like Bark, which may also be met with equal resistance.

For the real deal in educating teens and pre-teens relatably, there is only one choice. Student data reveals that. Check out MySociaLife for current necessary programs that every teen and tween needs to see to be safer and smarter online.

Omegle: Setting up Kids With Strangers ???

Apps, Parenting

With the slogan ”Talk to Strangers!” splashed across their homepage, one should already feel dubious about the popular video-chatting website. A closer look and it only gets worse – the page offers tens of thousands of users private chatrooms with strangers worldwide, at just a click of a finger. Omegle is a website that links people up at random for virtual video and text chats. They claim to be moderated but have an ill-famed reputation for foul and unpredictable content. The site is swarming with predators, who use it to groom children and gather sexual abuse material, and it is almost guaranteed that your child will encounter sexual content.

How does Omegle work?

Omegle users do not have to register or enter data, and there are no usernames or photos. Your name is ”you”, and the person you are speaking to is ”stranger”. Users open the site on a web browser, from a computer, Ipad, or phone. Users can add topics to help find strangers with common interests. There are clickable options for text, video, or college student chat. The website is simple and pairs users at random with people accessing the site.

There are no privacy or security settings on the website, and it is not uncommon for strangers to send users their IP addresses while using the site. With 10.4 billion views of #omegle on TikTok, trends of famous app users meeting their fans have gone viral and encouraged an Omegle revival. Children go on Omegle in groups and alone, looking for excitement, but it is not harmless entertainment and presents many threats that could have severe outcomes.

What does this mean for our children?

The pandemic has caused people worldwide to feel isolated and seek interaction. Omegle grew from 34 million visits per month in January 2020 to 65 million in January 2021. Although the site says one must be 18+ or 13+ with parental permission and supervision to use Omegle, there is no age verification. Users can simply open the site and start chatting. With no better way to gather research than experiencing Omegle, I opened the site and was paired anonymously with someone in seconds. He jumped into overwhelming flattery over text and then removed his hand from the camera to reveal himself masturbating.

Besides the obvious concerns about this, the flattery stands out, as children who suffer from low self-esteem are at a higher risk of being roped into something they otherwise would not do. Some may find innocent conversations on Omegle, but the likelihood of both parties looking for that is extremely rare. Curiously in children is only natural so telling them not to use the app is insufficient. Talk to your children about the dangers of conversing online with strangers and remind them that what happens online is never truly anonymous. Click here to see a guide on how to block Omegle.

Our ratings of Omegle:

Trending factor 7/10
Online risk factor 10/10
Safety settings availability 0/10

Article written by Ruby Koter, Cape Town, South Africa.

Yik Yak Is Back: What You Need To Know

Apps, Parenting, Trends

The infamous Yik Yak has resurfaced on the apple app store after a four-year hiatus. The once-popular app took its tumble after being blamed for cyberbullying, hate speech, and threats of violence. This time, Yik Yak has pledged to keep its users safe.

What is Yik Yak?

Yik Yak is a location-based anonymous social media app. The app was founded in 2013 by Furman University students Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington. It soared to popularity among colleges, universities, and schools. Users could view threads within a five-mile radius of their location. These posts were upvoted or downvoted, with the most popular rising to the top. The app reached its peak in 2014, racking up around 1.8 million downloads, but met a plummeting decline and ignoble end by 2017 after being delisted from Google Play Charts.

A change for the better?

Both the users and the business itself were the cause of the decline. The users utilized the anonymity of the app – bullying and hate speech were rife. At a point, Yik Yak was compelled to block middle and high school users when in-app harrying poured into real life. Menaces of bombing and gun violence caused some schools to go into lockdown in 2014. Yik Yak shared details of students who posted these threats with the police, some of whom faced criminal charges and arrests.

The company lacked action and responsiveness in resisting these behaviors, failing to implement proactive steps to remove harmful content and improve user experience. The eventual destructive in-app changes removed anonymity by creating usernames and handles, which led people to stop posting almost overnight.

An MIT media lab study compared Yik Yak to Twitter. Its findings showed that posts on the anonymous platform were only somewhat more likely to include vulgar words, with a difference of less than 1%. So what was it about Yik Yak that made the harassment so disturbing? Many have noticed the app’s hyper locality, knowing that the hateful content was not from a stranger in a basement somewhere but instead, from the same classrooms and dining halls where the students were.

Has Yik Yak changed?

The newly vamped company says it is taking a strong stance against hate speech and bullying, with a new one-strike policy set up. “If someone bullies another person, uses hate speech, makes a threat, or in any way seriously violates the Community Guardrails or Terms of Service, they can be immediately banned from Yik Yak. One strike, and you’re out.” They have also created mental health and stay-safe resources.

The development rights for the app were purchased from Square in February 2021 by new owners, who are currently unidentified. “We’re bringing Yik Yak back because we believe the global community deserves a place to be authentic, a place to be equal, and a place to connect with people nearby,” stated the website.

The new app is exclusively available to American IOS users for download, but the company says it soon intends to extend to more devices and countries. Students seek to express themselves where they feel heard. The anonymity of Yik Yak allows students to feel “safe” and free of judgment. The encouragement to be “authentic and anonymous” in an online space could prompt people to say or do things they usually would not.

Is Yik Yak still dangerous?

The promise of anonymity is misleading – personal information may spill via another person, which could be enough for a waiting predator. Upholding the guidelines is dependent on the users, meaning that banned topics could easily be seen by many before being removed. It’s important to remember that nothing posted online is truly anonymous, and threats of violence are a legal offensive in most places.

Yik Yak’s anonymous structure and interaction with nearby strangers may impose danger, specifically towards children. So the revival of the app has us wondering: Will Yik Yak be safer the second time around?

It’s unlikely. Do your due diligence before allowing this and similar anonymous chat apps into the suite of socializing channels that make their way onto your child’s phone or tablet…

– Article by Ruby Koter

TODAY, World Youth Skills Day: Unemployment driving unrest in South Africa

Critical Thinking, Mental Health, Parenting, Trends

Is there a way we can reverse youth unemployment in this country? 

In the midst of South Africa’s deep unrest, 15th July is World Youth Skills Day. Tragically, the country’s youth unemployment rate reached a new record of 32.6%, the highest since the quarterly labour force survey began in 2008, totalling 7.242 million people out of work.
Employment lies at the centre of many socio-economic ills, given its capacity to fill time, provide purpose, generate income and drive greater equality. But employment can only be driven by skills training.  

Africa is burdened with an additional challenge: many struggle with literacy, due to the poor delivery of basic education. So, where might hope and inspiration be found in the next decade? In our pockets.

Smart device costs continue to come down, and new manufacturers are bringing in devices at lower costs, as well as data prices slowly dropping, meaning increasing access as we move through this decade, and more opportunity to upskill via online learning on a phone, with a growing resource of training platforms which offers free training programs like Coursera, Udemy, Udacity and Khan Academy.
But, explains Dean McCoubrey, Founder of MySociaLife, South Africa’s leading digital education and media literacy program, “There are many promises various governments have made about their promise of leadership in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), but how many understand the foundational digital skills required? You can’t just jump into robotics or coding, you need to understand what it is to be a digital citizen to embrace the free resources of the internet. Without it, you are driving a vehicle without a licence, or a map. How do you explore and grow safely?”

McCoubrey explains that the foundation is required in the same way previous generations were taught at length to hold a pencil and use those words they create more wisely. By contrast, increasingly, the internet is seeing spikes of misinformation and cyberbullying.

“With the basics in place of media literacy – understanding media, its power and influences, and fake news – as well as digital literacy such as privacy, cybersecurity and handling technology carefully, we can shift gear into exploration and expansion. We can find avenues of income. MySociaLife shows teens where they can learn photography for free, for example, and then show them where to sell their photos or videos,” adds McCoubrey.

Teens and pre-teens use the apps and devices so intuitively, and it’s a huge advantage. Some children are poor in school but brilliant online, which means there could be an alternative for young South Africans that could transcend the lack of quality basic education.

“We stand at a doorway to vault over other African countries, but we need guidance to know which keys will open it and prepare Generation Z for a 4IR future. We need to focus on basic digital education as well before it’s too late and we miss a glaring opportunity.”

Looking at TikTok and other social media and gaming platforms, popular culture has youth fascinated and motivated, with approximately 60% of its 1bn users globally found in the GenZ age range. We already sing, dance, shoot videos and photos, why not build on this, and start to use these skills? What if we taught them how to do it safely, intelligently and with purpose. Minecraft For Education, for example, is a way to game and code at the same time, learning a new “language”.

MySociaLife approaches the challenge by not only teaching kids foundational digital skills but also their teachers and parents on how to direct youth to opportunities and realise potential, while at the same time ensuring online safety too – “two sides of the same coin.” A South African EdTech training platform, it allows schools to simply log in and learn using eight hours of video training for learners aged 8 to 18 including subjects such as online safety, privacy, cybersecurity, digital footprint, bullying and intimidation, fake news, and ways to build skills and generate income online.

The World Economic Forum listed its top 10 skills for “The Future of Work in 2025” and these included technology monitoring, use and control, and also technology design and programming, critical thinking, social influence, reasoning and stress tolerance. “We teach many of these skills to kids in schools and they respond with such energy and enthusiasm. It’s something that ignites them.”“On World Youth Skills Day, this is a call to the government to understand both the challenges and the opportunities of media and digital literacy – and to accept how much they need to quickly grasp with regard to evolving popular culture, pre-teen and teen usage of devices simply because of the generational divide and technology divide. It could deliver a huge shift in employment, direction and momentum over time. We are completely missing this right now,” says McCoubrey.


“Even kids that are literate and have unlimited access are not fully utilising their devices and media platforms to their full potential. The outcome of digital citizenship is a more aware and responsible society because it reduces the negativity and polarity online, increases people’s ability to choose their next action, embracing the net for what it can offer – to share, to inform, to educate, to deliver income, to support, and much more. It’s apparent we would greatly benefit from this right now,” he concludes.

About MySociaLife

  • Schools can purchase the course and “login and learn” – using lesson plans, tips and tools and an assessment, with over 8 hours of training
  • Parents can access a 90-minute training to navigate their child’s online landscape
  • Teachers can access a 75-minute training to guide their students

Delivering an 8-module ‘Digital Citizenship Curriculum’, via webinar or Learning Management System, to Grade 4 to 11 learners in South African Schools, MySociaLife is the leading Digital Life Skills Program in the country. The Program has unmatched efficacy (data) with regards to student impact and behavioural change from the extensive modules which include: critical thinking, cyberbullying and empathy, sexuality online, a digital values system, privacy and security, mental health and resilience, and screen time addiction. End goal? Safer, smarter kids online – who will be able to explore and excel way beyond their peers as we slipstream into the highly competitive and demanding Fourth Industrial Revolution.