YouTube Alternatives

YouTube is the largest video streaming site out there, but is it the best? Kids are obsessed with watching videos, but with all of YouTube's user-generated content, it's hard to know if they're watching the good stuff or the not-so-good stuff.

Read more: 
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/youtube-alternatives

New Tools and Resources for Parents and Teens in VR and on Instagram

"We now have meaningful progress with today's release of some Meta Quest supervision tools. Parents can now disapprove downloads, block certain VR apps, view their child's Friends list & headset screentime, and disable PC content access." Meta

Read more: 
https://about.fb.com/news/2022/06/tools-for-parents-teens-vr-and-instagram/

PBS FREE KIDS Summer Checklist

Summer is nearly here and it's a great time to explore new things! You and your kids can use this free checklist to think of all the things you want to do this summer as a family.

PBS KIDS Summer Checklist | Kids Coloring Pages | PBS KIDS for Parents https://www.pbs.org/parents/printables/pbs-kids-summer-bucket-list

The Uvalde Shooter Posted Threats on Yubo. What to Know About the App and Others Like It

Until last month, many adults who work in schools had probably never heard of an app nicknamed “Tinder for teens.”

But chilling interactions on that social networking platform—called Yubo—have surfaced between kids around the world and the 18-year-old who killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, last week.

Read more:

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/the-uvalde-shooter-posted-threats-on-yubo-what-to-know-about-the-app-and-others-like-it/2022/06

Learn more about the app at Common Sense Media
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/yubo

An AI companion?

How might these technologies be helpful to humans, especially kids? How might they be hurtful? And, like current social networks, will we ignore any harmful affects (e.g., anger, depression, and anxiety) even when we know they exist?

https://replika.ai/

Taking a One-Week Break from Social Media Improves Well-Being, Depression, and Anxiety

Taking a One-Week Break from Social Media Improves Well-Being, Depression, and Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial | Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/cyber.2021.0324

The Metaverse: Opportunities, Risks, and Harms by Dr. Sameer Hinduja

We have all been hearing about the metaverse much more frequently over the last few years, and consideration of its promises and perils has picked up tremendous pace in recent months. It is being designed by multiple companies to further connect us to each other and to the experiences we love. And it’s doing so by providing unique, interactive environments for us to explore as avatars or other embodiments of one’s identity online. In truth, it feels like a natural iteration, building on Web 2.0’s flat and largely asynchronous interfaces and combining our favorite features from the history of social media platforms, gaming worlds, extended reality (Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), or a combination thereof), and online transactions.

Read more: https://cyberbullying.org/metaverse