Cyber Dive Launches Free Platform for Parents to Connect with and Monitor Their Children's Heightened Social Media Activity
Amidst unprecedented COVID-19-related confinements and school closings, the platform will help parents monitor their children's increased social media access and availability
MESA, Ariz., March 25, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today Cyber Dive, an online platform that connects parents to their children's digital reality, announced the launch of a free service that enables parents to easily view their children's social accounts, understand their online activity and achieve peace of mind—an increasingly relevant service at a time when children are home from school for the foreseeable future.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Education Week estimates at least 118,000 U.S public and private schools have closed their doors. As Americans' social distancing escalates in an effort to help contain the spread of COVID-19, school closings leave 52.6 million children to their own devices—both figuratively and literally. Without a clear understanding or timeline of when everyday activities, such as working out of public offices or sending children to school and activities will resume, parents are navigating how to monitor their children's online activity. For many, this is uncharted territory, as children have increased access to and time available for social media.
With Cyber Dive, parents can easily monitor their child's social media activity across popular social media sites including Instagram, Snapchat, VSCO and, by summer 2020, TikTok, Discord, Google, and YouTube. Key features to keep kids safe online include:
- Word Cloud: Provides a look into the frequency of words used on social media.
- Vibes Meter: Gives an overview of the emotions surrounding a child's activity.
- Friends: Showcases the people a child interacts with on social media.
- Alerts: Displays activity that might require extra attention.
- Posts: Lists the posts a child makes or is tagged in on social media.
- Search History (summer 2020): Recent search history across all monitored platforms.
"COVID-19 directly impacts us in many ways, including hunkering down at home with our kiddos for the time being. Although being able to spend more time with them is a positive, we also acknowledge the nuanced challenges we must traverse as parents of digitally connected kids," said Cyber Dive Co-Founder and CEO Jeff Gottfurcht. "As parents of 8- to 15-year-olds, we often wonder, 'What is my kid doing on the internet right now? Who are they interacting with? What videos are they watching? How is what they are seeing impacting how they feel?' If you've ever thought about how you can mitigate the risks your children face on social media, we've taken those ideas and created a free, comprehensive, and easy-to-use tool. It helps keep them safe—and keeps you in the know about what your child is being exposed to and exploring."
Cyber Dive provides information on whom children interact with, how they feel about what they see, what they are searching, and alerts you to anything needing extra attention. It empowers parents to partner with trained analysts to conduct thorough social media audits (coming summer 2020), which dive deep into a child's social media life to uncover things that might be hidden under the surface. These audits search:
- Dating Sites Like Bumble or Tinder: Find out whether or not your child is connecting with 18+ men/women on dating websites.
- Ghost Accounts (If They Exist): Some children create both "public" and "private" accounts. Children often allow their parents to only view the "public" profile because of its appropriate content.
- Cached & Deleted Data Search: Your child may try to delete searches. Cyber Dive may be able to recover some of that deleted information.
- Verify Friend Identities: Find out if your child is connected to any fake accounts, which are often created by stalkers or pedophiles to follow and learn about their targets.
- Reverse Image Search: Find out if your child's images are being used by someone else on the internet.
- Dark Web Search: Rest assured that nothing associated with your child exists where nefarious people lurk.
According to the McAfee's consumer research department, 87% of young people have seen cyberbullying online but most do nothing about it. Ditch the Label published in their bullying survey that 47% of cyberbullying victims will develop social anxiety, 37% will develop depression, and 26% will have suicidal thoughts.
"We've seen that nearly 9 out of 10 kids avoid telling their parents about the negative things they see happening online. This leaves parents struggling to keep up, and oblivious to what's happening beneath the surface," said Cyber Dive Co-Founder and CTO Derek Jackson. "As an intelligence officer, my team's job was to dig through extensive social media data and provide only the most time-sensitive information to the commander to make life-altering decisions. We took that mindset and made you, parents, the commander. We show you what's most important, so you can initiate necessary conversations and directly impact how your child navigates social media."
Parents can sign up for Cyber Dive, free of charge, from any device. Offering a simple, intuitive sign-up process, Cyber Dive makes it easy for any parent or guardian to access the innovative technology.
Cyber Dive was created by Co-Founder and CEO Jeff Gottfurcht and Co-Founder and CTO Derek Jackson, who set out to get a better grasp on social media for families everywhere—including their own. Jackson is the father of one and Gottfurcht is the father of three.
Jackson, an ex-military intelligence officer and Millennial tech entrepreneur, previously served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, where his intelligence work focused on the social media activity of U.S. adversaries. Jackson worked as an intelligence officer for five years and deployed in support of combat operations with 1st Special Forces Group (airborne) to Kuwait, Jordan and Syria.
Gottfurcht, the first person in the world to summit Mt. Everest with Rheumatoid Arthritis, previously worked in Silicon Valley for 14 years as a Vice President at UBS Financial, a global Swiss investment banking firm that provides services in more than 50 countries. Additionally, he was selected as Man of the Year by the United Nations and their International School for the philanthropic work he does speaking around the country, inspiring kids and adults to push through obstacles and achieve success.
For more information, visit https://www.cyberdive.co.
About Cyber Dive
Cyber Dive is a free online platform that allows parents to monitor their children's social media accounts. It connects parents to an overview of their child's social profiles across platforms like Instagram, VSCO, Snapchat and, by summer 2020, TikTok, Discord, Google, and YouTube. With the ability to see the extent of their child's social media usage, parents can begin to understand their child's online habits, stop and/or prevent inappropriate activity and achieve peace of mind. For more information, please visit https://www.cyberdive.co.
Contact
April White, Trust Relations
323-216-8589
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SOURCE Cyber Dive
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