The White Hatter - Parenting In An Online World

As social media safety experts, advocates, and coaches who present to thousands of parents throughout Canada and the United States, one question we are usually asked is, “What age do you think a child should be gifted a cell phone.”, - this is especially true during the Christmas season when youth are hoping for a phone as a gift under the tree. In this podcast, we are going to provide the information that parents and caregivers need to help you make an informed decision.Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listIs My Child Ready For Their First Cellphone Article: https://thewhitehatter.ca/smartphones/

When we speak with students, especially those in elementary schools and middle school, about what they want to do as a career when they grow up, the two most common answers we hear are #1 “I want to be an online professional e-gamer” or #2 “I want to be a social media influencer”. On this podcast, we are going to be talking about what is the likelihood of a teen becoming a professional e-gamer or social media influencer, and what do we as parents and caregivers say and do when our kids share with us that this is what they want to do as a full time job as they get older. Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listDfwchild.com article https://dfwchild.com/how-your-kid-can-become-a-social-media-influencer/

On this podcast we are going to be talking about vaping. Although vaping is not the internet, a social media platform, or app, it definitely plays a role in today’s teen social media culture. Given this fact, and the significant medical contraindications of vaping, we wanted to dedicate this podcast to shed some light on the vaping culture.  Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listTeens & Vaping Article https://thewhitehatter.ca/vaping/Vaping Interview: https://youtu.be/krg8A2r0clg

There will always be those who will want to harvest our personal information they locate and collect online that will then be weaponized and used to their advantage.  Once this information is gathered, it can be posted publicly as a form of public shaming, or as a weapon to commit a variety of different crimes such as identity theft, mischief, criminal harassment, extortion, and several other crimes. On this month’s podcast, we want to talk about how you and your kids can increase your privacy and make your personal information less visible while online Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listPrivacy & Security Article https://thewhitehatter.ca/digital-privacy-guide/

During our student presentations over the past year, we have noted an increase in the number of questions from both middle school and high school students about the “Dark Web”. Why is this happening? – we hypothesize that media, in all its forms, is shining a light on this part of the internet which may spark a teen’s curiosity to search it out online.  Given the mystique surrounding the Deep/Dark Web, and the fact that teens are curious about what they can find online, we thought this podcast would be important for parents to shed a light a light on the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the deep/dark web.Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listVideo: https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/dark-web-explained/

On this podcast episode, we are going to be talking about “cyberbullying” or what we like to call digital peer aggression.  This topic deserves so much attention that in episode #14 we talked about the who, what, where, when, how, and why of cyberbullying, and on this podcast episode we are going to look at what parents and schools can do to cope with this challenge.Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listInternational Journal Of Bullying Prevention:  https://link.springer.com/journal/42380/volumes-and-issues/2-4 

In this podcast episode, we are going to be talking about “cyberbullying” or what we like to call “digital peer aggression”.  This topic deserves so much attention that we are going to split it up into two podcasts, this week we are going to be talking about the who, what, where, when, how, and why of cyberbullying, and in next week’s podcast we are going to look at what parents and schools can do to cope with this challenge.Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listCanadian COVID bullying research https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ab.21986  https://healthydebate.ca/2022/07/topic/pandemic-bullying/USA COVID bullying research https://www.edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai21-436.pdfUniversity of Alberta research cyberbullying & mental health https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/dev-dev0001300.pdfCyberbullying Research Center “Digital Self Harm” https://cyberbullying.org/digital-self-harm-suicide

In this podcast episode, we are going to be talking about Teen Based Digital Relationship Abuse – what is it, and why parents, caregivers, and even teens should be alive to this ever-increasing youth online challenge.Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listCyberbullying Research Center Report https://cyberbullying.org/digital-dating-abuse.pdfPrevNet/University of Ottawa: https://bit.ly/3w2hVJMBC Society Of Transition Houses Resources https://bcsth.ca/teendigitaldatingviolence/

In this podcast episode, we are going to be talking about parental juvenoia, moral panic, and clickbait – what is it, and why parents and caregivers should be alive to how these topics can create false narratives specific to the emotional, psychological, physical, and social effects of social media and technology.Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-list

On this podcast we are going to talk about Discord – what are Discord servers, voice channels, Nitro, boosts, GDMs, and hubs – it’s easy to see how Discord can be overwhelming to parents and caregivers, so we are going to break it down for you, and share what we believe parents and caregivers need to know about this very popular social platform. Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listDiscord Safety Page - https://discord.com/safety

In this podcast episode, we are going to be talking about Social Comparison, Body Image, and Social Media. An important topic especially for teen girls, but also an issue for teen boys as well when it comes to our kid's emotional, psychological, physical, and social well-being.   Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listDOVE Videos - https://youtu.be/sF3iRZtkyAQ  https://youtu.be/iYhCn0jf46U Steve Aoki Music Video - https://youtu.be/FkZlBznlUew

Now that summer holidays are coming to an end, parents and caregivers need to start thinking about preparing our kids for their return back to school - a part of that preparation is their past, present, and future use of technology going into this new school year. Some of the ideas and recommendations that we are going to share are not necessarily tech centric, but they all play an important role in our kids digital well-being, especially now that they will be starting a new school year. Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listFamily Collective Agreement: https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/parentsBitDefender: https://www.bitdefender.comGryphon Router: https://youtu.be/tSZtO1Ydj9k  

In this episode, we are going to be talking about how to report a cybercrime to police and what to initially expect from the attending uniform officer. Not only are we going to discuss what to do and what to say, but we are also going to provide you with some strategies if police show little interest in proceeding with your complaint.Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-list

This episode is all about shining a light on what the research shows, and what we have seen to be the "best practices" when it comes to parental monitoring. We are going to be discussing what parental monitoring is, privacy law myths surrounding parental monitoring software, the difference between “spying” and parental “monitoring”, strengths and weaknesses of using parental monitoring software, types of monitoring options available to parents that we recommend, and lastly asking the question, “should parents be using monitoring software?” Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listFamily Collective Agreement: https://files.thewhitehatter.ca/owncloud/index.php/s/AjjifwXzZevgG2iGryphon Router and HomeBound App: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QARebpaBZcBoomerang Parental Monitoring App https://useboomerang.comBark Apphttps://www.bark.us/?ref=ZKX6VDJKinZoo Messaging Apphttps://kinzoo.com 

This episode is not about telling you how to parent your child, because you are the parent, not us. This episode is all about shining a light on what the research shows, and what we have seen to be the "best practices" when it comes to parenting in the onlife world. We are going to be discussing the 3 types of parenting online strategies, the 5 steps that parents can take to increase digital literacy and social media safety with their kids, what to do when your child wants to download an app, how to set up family tech boundaries, why parents need to be a good tech role model to their kids, and the concerns surrounding “sharenting” plus much, much more.Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listFamily Dinner Project:  https://bit.ly/37bAJMoCommon Sense Media: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviewsBook “Growing Up Shared” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listFamily Collective Agreement: https://files.thewhitehatter.ca/owncloud/index.php/s/AjjifwXzZevgG2i

In this episode we are going to be talking about the who, what, where, when, how, and why of Cellphones. We will be discussing age appropriateness, cellphone recommendations, setting cellphone boundaries, consequences to boundary breaches, problematic youth usage of cellphones, and third part monitoring and filtering software options.Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listFamily Collective Agreement: https://bit.ly/36VVhbiSonic Bomb Alarm Clock https://www.sonicalert.com/alarm-clocksPinWheel Phone: https://pinwheel.com iPhone Parent Settings: : https://apple.co/3NviSD0 and  https://bit.ly/2IV2FLzAndroid Parent Settings: https://bit.ly/3Pyfqto and https://bit.ly/35RO50sBoomerang Parenting App: https://bit.ly/3foYHXH Gryphon Router: https://youtu.be/tSZtO1Ydj9kKinZoo: . https://bit.ly/3fpNVjP 

In this episode, we are going to be talking about online pornography, hypersexualization, and our kids. We will be speaking to how the porn industry is capturing our kids, and the less than desirable outcomes that pornography can have on healthy human sexual development.  We will also speak to how media in all its forms is hypersexualizing youth for financial gain, and what we parents and caregivers can do to protect our kids from both online pornography and hypersexualization.Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listRaised On Porn Documentary  https://youtu.be/hzPylqS01qU Cultured Framed online education https://www.culturereframed.orgDr Jillian Roberts book “Kids, Sex, & Screens: Raising Strong Resilient Children in the Sexualized Digital Age” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-list  Gryphon Router https://gryphonconnect.comSpin Browser https://spinsafebrowser.com

In this episode, we are going to be talking about why sleep is important to our kids,  how technology can affect sleep, and what parents and caregivers can do to reduce the challenges when it comes to technology and sleep deprivation in our kids based on the good evidence-based research, and why getting all technology out of the bedroom is so important! Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/whitehatterteam

In this podcast, we are going to be discussing the crime of sextortion and youth vulnerability to this real online threat – Not only are we going to define what sextortion is, we are also going to discuss the two major types of sextortion that youth will likely face online, what parents can do to educate their kids on this topic from a prevention standpoint, and best practices as to what to do next if your child does fall victim to this online threat. Resources mentioned:Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.caOur FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-listHow to request the removal of an intimate image/video from popular social networks https://ln5.sync.com/dl/d501b6eb0#jb2gyj5r-9p8yyu4d-vkd5j56s-n7bvc5ky

In this podcast, we are going to be talking about screen activity and what parents can do to create a balanced and blended use of technology not only during the summer break, but also all year round. There is a lot of moral based panic surrounding this topic being pushed by what we like to call “special interest groups” In this podcast, we are going to look at this important topic from a researched evidence-based perspective. Our goal – specific to this podcast, let’s enlighten and not frighten through facts and not fear! Resources mentioned: Our Website: www.thewhitehatter.ca Our FREE webbook “Parenting In An Online World” https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/book-list Reducing Screen Time May In Fact Increase Risk Behaviour https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/post/reducing-screen-time-may-in-fact-increase-risk-behaviour Creating A Digital Onlife Balance: https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/post/creating-a-digital-onlife-balance-during-summer-break-2021