Smart Social Podcast: Keeping students safe so they can Shine Onlin‪e‬ Josh Ochs

Minecraft is a wildly popular online game that fosters creativity and problem-solving. Players dig (or mine) and build (or craft) different kinds of 3D blocks across varying environments and terrains. It’s often described as a virtual version of LEGOS, but with various modes and chat features, there are some dangers parents should be aware of.

In this episode of the SmartSocial.com Podcast, the SmartSocial team explains the basics of Minecraft and how to make the game safer for younger players.

In this episode of The Parent Compass on SmartSocial, Cindy Muchnick and Jenn Curtis interview Susan Borison and Stephanie Silverman, co-founders and editors of the Your Teen Media platform, who chat about the gap in support for parents of teens that led them to create their valuable platform. They dive into their thoughts on raising tweens and teens, offering wisdom gleaned from parenting a combined 8 of their own.

In this episode of The Parent Compass on SmartSocial, Cindy Muchnick and Jenn Curtis interview Bill Deresiewicz, New York Times Best-Selling Author of Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life, about the challenges students are facing on elite college campuses. The author chronicles conversations, statistics, and anecdotes from his boots-on-the-ground experience as a former Yale professor and Columbia instructor; he shares his observations of his own students and others he interviewed at dozens of other college campuses around the country. Bill discusses the theme of pursuing purpose and why liberal arts majors are relevant. The episode also explores “overbearing parents” and why many college students are unable to think for themselves and are depleted, exhausted, and unenthused about learning for learning’s sake.

With so many video games out there, it’s hard for parents to understand them all and regulate who kids are talking to and what they are seeing in these games. In this SmartSocial.com Podcast, Josh Ochs gives parents tips for parents to understand more about the video games their kids want to play and how to make family decisions about what’s right for their kids.

In this episode of The Parent Compass on SmartSocial, Cindy Muchnick and Jenn Curtis interview Lori Gottlieb, Author of the New York Times Best Selling book and memoir Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. A therapist, Lori shares her advice for parenting teens and navigating the tween and teen experience with empathy.

Snapchat is wildly popular and potentially dangerous. The app is among the most used apps by teens. The photo and video messaging features can be a ton of fun to connect with friends, but it also has the potential to be extremely risky. In this episode of the SmartSocial Podcast, host Josh Ochs gives parents an overview of how Snapchat can provide a false sense of internet security among young users and the examples of news headlines showing the dangers of predators, privacy, addiction, and bullying.