Sexting Not as Prevalent as Once Believed

As with much of the hue and cry related to kids and technology, it now appears from a new survey in the Pediatrics journal that sexting – the sending of images considered graphic enough to violate child pornography laws – is less prevalent than originally thought. In recent years, high-profile cases in which teenagers were arrested for forwarding nude pictures of other minors have attracted nationwide attention. Despite sexting’s reputation as a teenage pastime, surveys now suggest that it is actually more common among young adults than children. The report’s findings dovetail with the Pew Research Center study released in November. In that study, which involved 800 minors between 12 and 17, only 2 percent said they had sent nude or almost nude pictures to someone they knew. In contrast, the center found that 17 percent of adults between 18 and 29 had sent sexually suggestive pictures, and that 5 percent of 30- to 49-year-olds admitted sending them.

Amazon’s Price Check App

Amazon has announced a new app for iPhones and Android phones that lets consumers scan the barcode of an item in a brick and mortar store, then order it on Amazon and get up to $5 off. It’s a great idea for a number of reasons, not least of which is that it could help potential buyers get over one of Amazon’s biggest stumbling blocks: experiencing the product. Reading reviews and looking at pictures online is enough in certain instances, but it can be a poor substitute for actually touching and seeing a product in person. With their Price Check promotion, Amazon can actually help people make purchasing decisions and, at the same time, give them an incentive to buy from them.

The Spy in Your Phone

Software that tracks each key you press on your smartphone is installed on millions of mobile devices including Android, Nokia, Blackberry and older Apple Devices. The software, called Carrier IQ, records everything from keystrokes, web history and text messages then sends the information back to your carrier. It cannot be uninstalled and may very well be in violation of Federal wiretap laws. The information gathered is presumably anonymous and is used to determine when and where calls drop, when programs crash and how we use our phones. Carrier IQ is considered a diagnostic tool for companies to figure out how to make your phone better, but many consider it a breach of privacy.

Sounds pretty ominous. Is it? According to InformationWeek.com, Carrier IQ has responded to the accusations saying: “Our software is embedded by device manufacturers along with other diagnostic tools and software prior to shipment. While we look at many aspects of a device’s performance, we are counting and summarizing performance, not recording keystrokes or providing tracking tools.”

Contrary to Carrier IQ’s assertion, a video by IT systems administrator Trevor Eckhart shows how the software tracks your usage. It quickly made its way around the Internet, reigniting privacy concerns about Carrier IQ. 

So, it should be no surprise that the U.S. Senate is demanding answers from Carrier IQ. Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) has asked the company to explain exactly what they record, who they give the information to, and how consumers can stop it. When asked, Apple responded by saying that it has abandoned using Carrier IQ with the upgrade to the iOS 5 operating system. The company also plans on releasing a software update that will remove Carrier IQ from all of its mobile devices.

What’s the bottom line? Ultimately, Carrier IQ is diagnostic software used by many companies to track how their phones and networks perform. While customers don’t have many options to stop the data collection from happening, chances are that it isn’t being used perniciously. But, in our sensationalistic, sound bite, social mediated world … you’ll have to judge for yourself.

Kindle’s Fire: Kids Charge Up a Storm

Oops! It turns out that one of the things the new Kindle Fire Tablet didn’t learn from the Apple iPad is parental controls. While the iPad lets parents turn off or limit kid’s purchasing power from iTunes, it is almost ridiculously simple for kids to order from Amazon. That’s because once you register the device, it comes with your Amazon account information preloaded, along with "1-Click" ordering. That means anyone who is holding that device can place an order, whether it's their account or not. No prompts appear to confirm the purchase or ask for a password. So far, there have been various reports that even toddlers are able to able to make multiple purchases. Chat rooms are full of comments about a means to get around the glitch, but so far no luck. Amazon will probably make a software correction at some point, but until that happens, keep a lookout out for errant purchases.

How Comfortable Are You With What You Share on Facebook?

According to a new poll, 70% of Facebook users are comfortable with what they share. Women are more comfortable than men and, as expected, younger people are less anxious about it than their elders. Facebook’s privacy problems are long and numerous (the latest at this writing is a glitch that allows what were thought to be private photos to be viewed by anyone), but these results show that after the dust settles, the majority of its users are still comfortable with the service. Indeed, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg did once say that users eventually get over their privacy anxiety. If you read this blog, though, you know that that kind of trust may be misplaced as we weekly follow the trials and transgressions of Facebook.

Romance, Weight Loss, Intrigue—Science Books?

Looking for a way to engage a teen who is struggling with a science or math course? It may be time to go Manga. These illustrated comic books teach by creating a story where science is needed to solve problems. In Biochemistry, for example, the problem is a high school girl’s weight loss. Topics covered include:  what happens inside the body, photosynthesis and respiration, biochemistry in everyday lives, enzymes as key to chemical reaction, and molecular biology and nucleic acids. In addition to biochemistry, Manga offers guides to calculus, electricity, relativity, the universe, molecular biology, databases, linear algebra, physics, and statistics. Prices range from $19.95-$24.95. Digital downloads are available if printed copies are purchased. It’s worth taking a look at these books because they are unique and interesting. Although I’m not a teenager, I thought I would like to spend some time learning from them as well. Scientific Computing, calls the Manga Guides, “Stimulus for the next generation of scientists” and an article in the American Journal of Physics recommends the physics guide for all teachers of introductory physics.

iPad Tops the List of What Kids Want Most

Among kids age 6 to 12, the iPad is the most-wanted holiday gift for the second year in a row, according to Nielsen Co. And why not? Kids just get it. They are intuitive devices and no one is more intuitive than a kid. A popular YouTube video shows a toddler frustrated with a magazine because she can’t zoom in on the pictures. Of course the other side of the coin is that parents are using these devices as digital babysitters. A new book called “Goodnight iPad,”is a parody of the popular children’s book “Goodnight Moon,” and reminds parents to unplug by poking fun at how much time is spent in front of computer and television screens each day.

Free Speech, Students and Tweets

A high school student in Kansas was ordered to write letters of apology by her school after she made derogatory remarks in a tweet to her 60 followers about Kansas Governor Brownback and her disagreement over his cuts to funding for the arts. A member of the governor’s staff, whose job it is to monitor appearances of the governor’s name in social media, reported the student to her school and this led to the school’s action. After some public outcry and the student refusing to give in, the Governor has now apologized for the actions of his staff. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. There is no way that schools are going to want to, or should, become involved in what students do or say publicly online, but it is something that you as a parent need to be aware of. There are also some lessons to be learned here for parents and schools. Teens are using social media to engage politically. Social media also seems to be a more effective way to reach politicians than traditional means. Politicians, companies, brands, and even teachers need to take note that they need to treat teens like adults even if they don’t always behave like them because they do know how to use the media very effectively to gain attention.

Software to Detect PhotoShopping

Photos of celebrities are regularly touched up using Adobe’s Photoshop software, the photo retoucher’s magic wand. What happens to those photographs and how unrealistic they become –“Barbie like,” some say - is prompting feminist legislators in France, Britain, and Norway to demand that digitally altered photos be labeled. In June, the American Medical Association adopted a policy on body image and advertising that urged advertisers and others to “discourage the altering of photographs in a manner that could promote unrealistic expectations of appropriate body image.”

Now researchers at Dartmouth are proposing a software tool for measuring how much fashion and beauty photos have been altered, a 1-to-5 scale that distinguishes the infinitesimal from the fantastic. Their work is intended as a technological step to address concerns about the prevalence of highly idealized and digitally edited images in advertising and fashion magazines. Such images, research suggests, contribute to eating disorders and anxiety about body types, especially among young women.

Facebook Agrees to Settlement with US Government on Privacy

A strongly worded order by the Federal Trade Commission compels Facebook to obtain its users’ consent before making changes to privacy settings, and to subject itself to an independent audit on consumer privacy for the next 20 years. While no financial fines were issued, the government said the company would be liable to pay $16,000 a day for each violation of the settlement in the future. Much of this stems from Facebook’s practice of making changes to its privacy settings and not telling users how it affects them and with whom their information would now be shared unless they changed their privacy settings yet again to prevent it. Perhaps this will end a long series of blog posts where we have advised you to monitor your Facebook settings yet again… but somehow I think it is still good advice.