Snapchat, YouNow and dangers lurking on the web

The photo messaging craziness still going strong. Instagram, Snapchat and their applications have made instant photo sharing fast and simple. But there is a new kid to the game, YouNow.

YouNow, isn't just a measly photo sharing app but a broadcasting tool as well. It’s been referred to as Public Access Television gone wild. Users can simply watch streaming channels or broadcast live. Posted videos go from the mundane to the infantile. The silly to explicitly sexual. Where Snapchat photos and videos have a limited viewing time and are then deleted from the server, YouNow is infinite. As far as I can tell, once the videos go live, they stay that way, and the internet, as they say, doesn't have a delete button.

As a parent, that is what bothers me the most, users broadcasting live to potentially millions of viewers with no way to filter or edit some embarrassing image. Images that will be out there possibly forever. I think about some of the stupid things I did as a teenager, and wonder what adulthood will be like for this generation. Video footage haunting these young people through college, job interviews and potentially even into their family life. Live videos that might seem silly and harmless right now might feel devastating down the road and it is cringe-worthy imagining having to explain these videos to an employer or worse  their children. And I thought my teenage son finding my senior yearbook was bad!

YouNow, claims to have safeguards in place: age restriction ( no one under the age of 13), no nudity, no sexual content, and no sharing of personal information. I recently read that because CEO Adi Sideman shares in these concerns, YouNow, has recently employed a multilingual team of moderators to monitor the site. They've set up an additional honor-code system where users are encouraged to flag questionable material, as well as a tool designed to direct moderators to potential abuse as it arises. But is that enough? I know I’m old- fashioned but does the world need to watch me sleep? Or clean my room? With such benign tasks creating teen and tween internet superstars it brings to mind what my dad used to say, ‘If everything is extraordinary nothing is.’ Now throw in the lack of privacy. Are we creating a generation of voyeurs? Narcissists? Is it healthy to have so much access to other peoples lives? What are the ramifications of such exposure?

Now ask yourself why a site whose average user is between 13-18 doesn't require age or identity verification. Spend an hour watching, YouNow, and it is exceedingly clear how young the ‘broadcasters’ are. Should a site like this, that caters to such a young demographic be allowed to operate without parents approval or knowledge? God only knows what weirdo might be watching these videos. 

Which brings me to tools like Easy Spy cell phone monitoring software. While YouNow is in such an infant stage, Easy Spy doesn't have the ability to monitor that application, but the more widely used applications such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are included within this software. Having the ability to monitor your child’s phone usage is a start. Seeing what sites they are visiting, checking their videos and photos might seem intrusive, but you are protecting them from hidden dangers lurking on the internet.  Seems ironic that my son can’t go see a rated R movie but he can take personal videos and post them. Isn't it a question of intent and potential harm? And if, YouNow, wants to really safeguard the kids that are making their App such a success, then, like Snapchat, they should put a time limit on the length a video can play and then delete it from their server.

Prevent Protest in the Work Place

This is the perfect day to grumble through your taxes, knowing that most likely Uncle Sam’s going to take most, if not all of your money. This year, this day marks something more than that! Fast-food workers are protesting their minimum wage pay. Calling for a $6.25 increase, the protesters are asking for the minimum wage to be increased from $8.75 to $15. Were used to hearing complaints about money like clockwork every year, especially when April 15^th rolls around, but these complaints have been a long time coming.

The “Fight for $15” campaign has been catching the attention of many media platforms and many large chains have started to make the change. Wal-Mart raised its minimum pay to $9 an hour and Target and T.J. Maxx are both following suit. According to a recent Fox Business article, a unionized electrical foreman, Mitch Tepper, stated “we’re all in the same boat,” saying this campaign could lead to broader wage increases. Of course everyone would like to make more money. You’d be crazy if you didn’t! These employees are banding together to try and bring about change in the work place. Are you worried your employees might be watching these individuals protest right now and grow unhappy with their pay as well?

If you’re an employer, you have probably heard grumblings around the water cooler and possibly heard your own employees complaining about the job pay you’re supplying to them. Sometimes it’s just harmless venting, but how can you make sure that it doesn’t turn into a national sensation like the “Fight for $15” campaign? While you can monitor these feelings with your own ears and attempt an honest discussion with that employee, today it’s more likely that your employee will text their complaint to a friend, or post their work-related problems on their Facebook wall, for fear that you would hear the words coming out of their mouth. The days of overhearing a private phone call and just dealing with that conversation are over. The need to monitor online activities is a new threat in the workplace.

Realistically you can’t be looking over your employees shoulders every minute of the work day, since the work at hand is the priority throughout the day. With the use of cell phone monitoring software like Easy Spy you can let the software “look over their shoulder” for you. With this spy software you are given the ability to track all text messages, call logs, email messages, social media activity and more. This takes the responsibility off your back to monitor your employees and allows you to be free to do your own work without worrying about employee uproar and eventual protest.

Easy Spy is so helpful, even on this Tax Day! By charging a one-time fee, unlike most of the other competitors in this market, it is the most cost-efficient cell phone monitoring software available. Save more of your money from Uncle Sam this Tax Day with Easy Spy.