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Simple ways to give back this holiday season with your phone
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Some Brigham Young University AdLab students produced a video about charitable giving. - photo by Amy Iverson
https://www.facebook.com/228771320469497/videos/1342766435736641/

December is a crazy busy time of shopping, parties and dance recitals. But in the midst of all the hustle and bustle, Americans still find the means to give to those less fortunate.

People in the U.S. have given more and more each year in recent memory, setting a record in 2015 for charitable giving. The National Philanthropic Trust reports Americans gave $373.25 billion to charities last year. And chalk another one up for cellphones, because Blackbaud a company that serves 35,000 nonprofits reports donations by phone are making a showing at 17 percent.

Many of us are looking for a way to give back, to make the world a better place, but we feel our time is so limited. Some people manage to set aside enough time to serve meals at a homeless shelter, or to make quilts for a childrens hospital.

But what if you didnt? What if you only have an extra $2? Can you still make a difference?

Absolutely.

It has never been easier to give to organizations that benefit those who need it. With the tap of a button on our devices, we can steer funds to charities we hold dear to our hearts. Digital options make it simple to get the warm, fuzzy feeling of helping others within seconds.

Venmo: We use Venmo to pay back our friend for lunch or concert tickets, but did you ever think of using it to give to charity? Thats exactly the idea some Brigham Young University AdLab students had when thinking of how young people who never carry cash could help the homeless. AdLab is a student-run, professionally mentored ad agency that came up with the idea that we can be #CashlessNotHeartless.

The students put an ad together it has more than 50,000 views already with people holding cardboard signs along Center Street in Provo. BYU advertising professor Jeff Sheets says the messages represent the inner monologue of thoughts weve all had when seeing homeless people: I have no cash or Where would the money go? Sheets says the message is clear: Instead of giving to the homeless directly, give to the community-based group that can help everyone directly.

The answer is to search for @FoodandCare on Venmo and send digital funds to the Food and Care Coalition. In the 20 minutes it took to film the ad, people driving by donated more than $200. After the video went live, the Food and Care Coalition saw the number of individual donations immediately go up. It received $2,000 in one day, when there were zero donations in the days prior.

Charity Miles: Heres a way to give back while getting rid of a little of your backside. Choose an organization on the GPS-enabled app and corporate sponsors will give cash to that organization for every mile you run, bike or walk. Choose from charities like Stand Up to Cancer or the Wounded Warrior Project to receive the donations. Its not a ton of cash 25 cents per mile run and 10 cents per mile biked but if youre exercising anyway, why not let big businesses like Chobani and Humana give to charity on your behalf?

Coin up: I know several families that collect all their spare change in a jar and then put it toward something they care about. This secure app is a digital way of doing just that. It lets you choose a charity like the Family Justice Center or Boys and Girls Clubs of America. After you connect a debit or credit card, itll round up every purchase you make to the nearest dollar and give the extra change to that charity. Coin up takes a minimal fee for operating costs, and you can set a monthly donation limit.

Cell Phones for Soldiers: Instead of using your phone to donate, you can also simply donate your phone. Cell Phones for Soldiers will recycle that phone and use the money along with other donations to provide international calling cards to military members and veterans. Two young people started Cell Phones for Soldiers in 2004. Robbie and Brittany Bergquist were just 12 and 13 years old when they decided to find a way to give cost-free communication services to the troops. You can mail your smartphone or tablet or simply drop them off at an official location. For every $5 donated, a service member will receive 2.5 hours of talk time, a free way to connect with home.

Sometimes we feel we are too busy or dont have enough money to give to others during the holidays. Nonsense. We can all give back, and our phones make it simpler than ever.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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