US teens prefer remote chats to face-to-face meeting: study

NEW YORK - American teenagers are starting to prefer communicating via text instead of meeting face-to-face, according to a study published Monday by the independent organization Common Sense Media.

Some 35 percent of kids aged 13 to 17 years old said they would rather send a text than meet up with people, which received 32 percent.

The last time the media and technology-focused nonprofit conducted such a survey in 2012, meeting face-to-face hit 49 percent, far ahead of texting's 33 percent.

More than two-thirds of American teens choose remote communication -- including texting, social media, video conversation and phone conversation -- when they can, according to the study.

In 2012 less than half of them marked a similar preference.

Notably, in the six-year span between the two studies the proportion of 13 to 17-year-olds with their own smartphone increased from 41 to 89 percent.

As for social networks, 81 percent of respondents said online exchange is part of their lives, with 32 percent calling it "extremely" or "very" important.

The most-used platform for this age group is Snapchat (63 percent), followed by Instagram (61 percent) and Facebook (43 percent).

Some 54 percent of the teens who use social networks said it steals attention away from those in their physical presence.

Two-fifths of them said time spent on social media prevents them from spending more time with friends in person.

The study was conducted online with a sample of 1,141 young people ages 13 to 17, from March 22 to April 10.

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source: news.abs-cbn.com

Facebook to launch chat app for kids, with parental controls

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Facebook on Monday unveiled a version of its Messenger application for children, aimed at enabling kids under 12 to connect with others under parental supervision.

Messenger Kids is being rolled out for Apple iOS mobile devices in the United States on a test basis as a standalone video chat and messaging app.

Product manager Loren Cheng said the social network leader is offering Messenger Kids because "there's a need for a messaging app that lets kids connect with people they love but also has the level of control parents want."

Facebook said that the new app, with no ads or in-app purchases, is aimed at 6- to 12-year-olds. It enables parents to control the contact list and does not allow children to connect with anyone their parent does not approve.

The social media giant added it designed the app because many children are going online without safeguards.

"Many of us at Facebook are parents ourselves, and it seems we weren't alone when we realized that our kids were getting online earlier and earlier," a Facebook statement said.

It cited a study showing that 93 percent of 6- to 12-year-olds in the US have access to tablets or smartphones, and two-thirds have a smartphone or tablet of their own.

"We want to help ensure the experiences our kids have when using technology are positive, safer, and age-appropriate, and we believe teaching kids how to use technology in positive ways will bring better experiences later as they grow," the company said.

Facebook's rules require that children be at least 13 to create an account, but many are believed to get around the restrictions.

Cheng said Facebook conducted its own research and worked with "over a dozen expert advisors" in building the app.

She added that data from children would not be used for ad profiles and that the application would be compliant with the Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA).

"We've worked extensively with parents and families to shape Messenger Kids and we're looking forward to learning and listening as more children and families start to use the iOS preview," Cheng said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Google's Social Networking Project callled Google+

Internet Giant company Google has come up with a whole new project and launched its much awaited Social Networking site Tuesday- June 28. it is expected to take on Facebook in the fast-growing social networking market and to keep up its dominance on the Web. It's called Google+.

Google+ allows users to share what they want with specific groups of people or social circles, instead of sharing with all friends and aims to help users easily organize contacts into groups. There are also some analysts saying that Google has simply added new features while adding a video chat feature.



As of now Google+ is only available by invitation only. Google+ will test whether Google can conquer its past flops in social networking, like Buzz and Orkut, and deal with one of the greatest challenges the company faces.

"Online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it," Google's senior vice president for engineering Vic Gundotra said-Tuesday in a blog post about the much-awaited social networking enthusiasm from the internet giant.