I’ve never been a big one for resolutions, but when it comes to parenting and technology,I thought it might be a good idea to put together a rough list of goals for 2014. Here’s abrief list of my tech-based New Year’s resolutions:
Play more video games
As always, I will keep trying to learn new technology and that includes video games. Igave my 15-year-old son a second controller as a Christmas gift and he’s pretty excited toget me playing some of his games with him. I know I’ve said it before, but I’m going tostart finding time this year to start playing with him. While I’m not a big fan of some ofhis games – he also received as a Christmas gift – I think it’s importantto spend time with him on his turf.
Start using | , ; free
When I mentioned to my son over the holidays that one of my resolutions was to sign upfor a Snapchat account, he gave me a hard time, as 15-year-olds are known to do withtheir dads. He said that if I signed up, my contacts list would consist of him – implyingthat the technology is one used solely by teenagers. And, that seems to be one of thebigger themes out there. Part of the , an app that allows you to sendmessages and photos, is that whatever you send disappears almost immediately after it’sreceived – an attractive option for teens. This seems like a good solution to my preachingabout “don’t post stupid things on Facebook.” In fact, Snapchat seems to be propellingthe latest round of .
While the privacy nature of Snapchat is appealing, be careful. There are reports this weekof Snapchat being the . But Snapchat isn’t alone.
Teach my children – and parents – about cybersecurity
This is a pretty big resolution and will be part of a series of upcoming posts from me.Living and working in a technology-driven world, I find myself having to not only teachmy children about being responsible and smart when operating with information, butmy parents as well. My parents were recently the . Luckily,they weren’t hurt financially, but it took a while to change all their credit and bankinginformation.
And, they’re not alone. One report says that phishing scams touched more than last year. The impact of hacking scams was driven home over theholidays with the . My resolution for the coming year is to give mychildren – and parents – the tools and knowledge to try and protect themselves againstcyberattacks. It’s all about controlling the impulse to click and to questioning everythingyou receive. More on this to come, so stay tuned.
Interact with you, the audience
And, finally I resolve this year to find ways this year to interact with you, the audience!When I first started contributing to the ParentHackers blog in September, it was myhope that the blog would create a conversation. I want to know what you are thinking.Communication needs to be two-ways! I’m still hoping that will happen so please feelfree to weigh in on my blog posts’ comment section, or on Twitter, . Also, feel free to shoot me an e-mail atstevejfox@gmail.com. Hope to hear from you soon!
Happy New Year!
