Trading Problems

An article released yesterday in the U.S. News & World Report, states that cigarette use has seen the largest decline among teens in the history of the study.  However, the use of e-cigarettes or vaping has tripled in one year according to the same study.

In essence, we have traded one problem for another.  Nicotine is nicotine no matter the mechanism you are using. Adolescence is a crucial time in brain development and nicotine exposure during this period can lead to harmful brain development issues, addiction issues, and sustained tobacco use.
You can read more on brain development here.

The report also states that vaping is becoming more prevalent in middle schools. Marketing for these products is targeted to the younger students and it is working.  It is attracting them younger and younger to begin nicotine use.

You can view this video for more information regarding the study.

YouNow

This new app on the market is all the craze with kids and teens.  YouNow is a live streaming app. That means your child can show the world what they are doing in real time.
For connecting with others around the world in a common space, that can be cool.  For example, if you are interested in writing music, you could live stream with others in that category and collaborate. If you were interested in dance, you could choreograph with others in real time around the world.
Or let's say you like watching teenagers sleep....yes, there is a group #sleepingsquad who keeps their live stream on while they sleep.  Who watches other people sleep? This guy does:
"Lately, I've been enjoying a deeply creepy yet technically totally innocent new activity: lying in bed at night and watching random teens sleep. I've been doing it on YouNow, a mobile app and web live-streaming app that’s a hit with teens. On its popular #sleepingsquad hashtag, I can see about 20 sleeping teens at any given time. (It usually seems around 50-plus people are broadcasting in the hashtag, but a lot of them are in complete darkness, so you can’t actually see anything. Because, you know, they’re sleeping.)"
Others say, teens are so addicted to the internet that they want to be "connected" while they sleep.

The other part of YouNow that is worrisome is the points system.  Instagram has "likes" and YouNow has a tipping system where you buy points (in app purchases) and then use them to "thumbs up" or get your comment to the top of a live stream feed.

There are as many categories as you can imagine and can create new ones.  The current trending tags are:

     

• #musicians
• #dance
• #dandanhestheman
• #guys
• #girls
• #bored
• #lgbt
• #alternative
• #singing
• #random

A recent #truthordare interaction yielded this conversation: 

Me: Let your mom pick all your clothes for a month or read all your texts for a week?
Teen girl: My mom actually has good style so I’d let her dress me.
Me: If you could have no homework for a year but you have to let your parent see all your texts for a month, would you do it?
Different teen girl: No, because I get some really weird texts from people on this thing.

As you can see, this could lead to more problematic behaviors and inappropriate scenarios. Predators love YouNow because in a live stream situation, you can see all sorts of clues that would give them a better idea of where your child lives, attends church or school, or when they are/are not at home.

You can read more on YouNow here and here.

As always, stay informed and be aware of what apps your children have on their devices.  Understand the potential dangers that are associated with each app.