Updates

We usually refrain from drawing attention to risky behaviour on apps. However it has come to our attention that use of Bigo Live deserves to be highlighted for parents' and educators' awareness, so that we can take preventive or remedial actions to limit the spread of compromising content.       Overview Bigo Live is a video streaming app that allows one to broadcast themselves via live video feed to other app users, for the purpose of earning attention & "beans" - which can be exchange for real currency. Viewers purchase "beans" with real currency to reward "broadcasters". The app Continue Reading

WhatsApp, Data-Sharing & Advertising: What Should Users Do?       The writing was on the wall. 2 years ago, Facebook acquired WhatsApp in a huge deal. A long wait followed to see when and how Facebook will begin to monetise the huge amount of user data that it acquired along with WhatsApp.   Yesterday 2 new stories were reported: (1) WhatsApp data will be used by Facebook to send advertisements (source: theverge.com) (2) WhatsApp will begin to send advertisements to users (source: BBC)   Implication for Privacy All the private messages, pictures, videos (that users send on WhatsApp) are now likely analysed for advertising trends Continue Reading

Pokemon Go: What Parents Can Learn About Their Children (and Cyber Wellness) Pokemon Go has taken the world by storm. In countries around the world, both young & old have been hunting pokemons. Pokemon craze in Taiwan Pokemon craze in Singapore (Hougang)   While this drives some parents (and spouses) crazy, it is actually an excellent opportunity for parents to understand why their children plays games. This understanding will help parents to design meaningful alternative ways to engage their children for cyber wellness.   One of the best motivation theories used to analyse video gamers is the Self-Determination Theory. It identifies three basic Continue Reading

Pokemon Go has taken the world by storm. Hordes of users, young and old, have taken to catching pokemons using augmented reality - a virtual world superimposed on the real one that we eat, live & breathe in. Yet the signs often show that virtual is sometimes greater than reality: Pedestrians crossing roads oblivious about traffic Young & old watching their mobiles for entire time awake Parents catching pokemons while children compete for their attention Crowds camping around Gyms & Pokestops waiting for appearance of epic pokemons   "How to learn from this amazing, unprecedented & ground-breaking game/app?" "How does cyber wellness Continue Reading

Strengths-based Approach to Academics "Knowledge consists of the facts and lessons learned. Skills are the steps of an activity. These three- talents, knowledge, and skills- combine to create your strengths." -Donald O. Clifton, father of Strengths-based Psychology as well as the developer of the eponymous Clifton StrengthsFinder- Gallup's online psychological assessment. DO WHAT YOU DO BEST EVERY DAY And that for a 15 year old secondary school youth would mean excelling in school. The power of leveraging on one's strengths to achieve his goals is that not only is he more engaged in his work, but more likely to be productive Continue Reading

Strengths-Based-Approach to Cyber Wellness In 2015, Kingmaker Consultancy Pte. Ltd. trained five 15-year old students with StrengthsTransform™ Personal Mastery programme for 4 sessions. They completed their StrengthsFinder profile, explored how their talent themes showed up in what they do on the Internet, and explored ways to diversify for cyber-wellness. During the 1st ASEAN Strengths Education Summit (2016), the candidates were profiled for how the programme has transformed their lives. Deficit Model of Psychology & Intervention The five youths would have been classified as Problematic or Pathological Internet Users using existing instruments based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V). They were spending Continue Reading

"Holiday time is YouTube time!" In a survey of 460 upper primary students, it was found that the screen time spent on YouTube exceeded those for video games and social media. Videos are definitely the preferred content for both boys and girls in primary school! A quick check with any child quickly reveals some recurring interests: Korean Dramas, Running Man Video Game Guides “Watch what your children are watching over YouTube!” While these are mostly healthy, many parents are also concerned because it is so easy to find other inappropriate and harmful content. Harmful content may give children certain ideas Continue Reading