Tag Archives: Text Messaging

Messenger Kids Facebook App Creeps Technology Into Family Life

On December 4, the New York Times ran an article about how Facebook just introduced a new app called Messenger Kids. According to Facebook, this app makes it easier for kids to safely video chat and message family and friends. Per their privacy policy, the app collects registration details from parents such as a child’s full name. It also collects the texts, audio and videos children send, as well as information about whom the child interacts with on the service, what features they use and how long the children use them. In launching this new app, Facebook has ignited a fierce debate about how young is too young for children to use mobile apps and how do parents deal with the creep of technology into family life.

One mother has stepped into the debate with an alternative. Janice Taylor created a website and application called Mazu, which teaches children and families how to use digital media responsibly and become positive digital citizens. She cautions parents and says they need to ask themselves, “do you trust Facebook as a medium to protect your children?”

Bing search engine results for “Facebook messenger kids”

“Facebook’s only goal is to monetize a new user base and beat SnapChat at it. Children should never be used as ammunition in the Social Media war for dominance.” Taylor explains.

Based on the concept that “It takes a village to raise a child,” Taylor takes the position that every adult has a role to play in the well-being of the child and society. Taylor created Mazu to build a healthy digital village for families that is founded in love and core values. “Traditional social media preys on our desires to be liked, to be validated, and to be rewarded. That’s why the ‘Like’ button is so addicting and why we at Mazu don’t have one.”

Since its inception in 2010, Mazu, with over 250,000 users and growing, has evolved and now, through partnerships with professional sports teams, has brought the ‘it takes a village’ mentality online. With a suite of family friendly apps, Mazu connects kids to their family, friends, and teams/ brands they love in a way that is safe, healthy and fun. To date they have raised more than $6 million from non-Silicon Valley companies.

A recent Reuters Facebook post about Facebook Messenger Kids

“We believe that parents matter in the digital lives of their children, that’s why our COPPA-certified apps are created with parents in mind. We believe in the power of family and staying connected,” says Taylor. “By building our products around a set of values and using the community to build each other up, we believe we can create better digital citizens.”

Janice Taylor is a social entrepreneur, mother, inspirational speaker, author, and online safety advocate. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with an Honors thesis that focused on self-esteem and self-efficacy among women. It was from this research that she sought to create a solution to the issue of social media addiction and how it was affecting women, children, and families. For the Silo, Trina Kaye.  Have something to say about this article? Leave us a video comment by clicking record below or use the comment section at the bottom of this page to type us a response. 

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COOPY handheld Smart Device launches Kickstarter Campaign

COOPY is a small, hand-held tool which provides users with a solution to complete multiple functions by simply clicking a button.

With the simple action of clicking one of three buttons included on this smart device, COOPY uses its own application to complete designated functions as set by the user. This includes, but is not limited to, sending predefined texts, alerting someone of your geographic location in the case of an emergency, locating objects and turning on home or office appliances, etc.

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Aleksander Preglej, Chief Technology Officer of Pentasens:  “COOPY is perfect for any type of user: a business professional, athlete, parent, young adult or even a child. We also designed this device to include time and location awareness, so the functions automatically change based on where you are and when. This is one of the major features that sets us apart from our competition.

With the ever-growing demands of our day-to-day schedules and the potential danger of multi-tasking at inopportune times, our company wanted to create COOPY as an easy-to-handle gadget that allows you to be as productive as possible without jeopardizing your safety or the safety of those around you. We know that everyone’s time is valuable and sometimes it could pose as a risk when you’re trying to do too much at one time.”

Pentasens rolled out its first product, SensMesh, a wireless sensor system (www.sensmesh.com) in 2014, which evolved into a smart modular solution for boats, BoatEye (boateye.io). Keeping up with the latest trends in technology, Pentasens strives to provide consumers with state-of-the-art products, safe to use and modern and sleek in design.

Kickstarter Pledge Kickstarter campaign for COOPY runs until July3rd and can be accessed here.

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