Why You Shouldn't 'Like' Stories About ViolenceThe Huffington Post| By Carolyn Gregoire Posted:07/17/2015 7:30 am EDTUpdated:07/17/2015 11:59 am EDT

In the wake of mass shootings likethe massacre in Charleston, South Carolina, last month, media coverage of the violence is all over social media. Often, it focuses on the killer.If you're sharing or "liking" stories about these crimes on Facebook, you may be inadvertently helping perpetuate the violence -- and new research suggests that kids, in particular, can be led astray by that attention."When kids approve of any kind of violent word or statement or gestures or symbols, it really increases the likelihood that they'll go on to commit violent acts in the future," said Dr. Tom Dishion, a psychologist at Arizona State University and the study's lead author. "Kids are very sensitive to the audience."TheArizona State University researchfinds that sharing negative or violent news -- and receiving feedback in the form of "likes" and comments -- may beget aggressive behavior in children.While previous research has shown that exposure to violent media overall canincrease aggressive behaviorin children, the new study indicates that parents might want to pay particular attention to the way that their kids are engaging with violent news on social media.The researchers don't know whether the same connection applies to adults. But the study suggests that not "liking" posts about violence on social media may be one way to halt the spread of violence.Dishion explained by way of example: A person who posts a racist joke on his or her Facebook page and receives lots of likes and positive comments will find it easier to use racist language offline. Similarly, when children who share violence online are essentially told by their peers that they did the right thing, they're more likely to carry out violent deeds in the real world.Peer approval is highly reinforcing for children -- a phenomenon Dishion refers to as the "Beavis and Butthead effect.""Kids are very sensitive to peer approval, and they're likely to change their norms and values based on subtle signs of approval -- or even on the opportunity to have an audience," he said.Dishion emphasizes that the media have a role to play here, too. It's possible that the glamorization of killers -- the most famous recent example being theRolling Stone cover of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev-- may inspire mimicry."I think it's a good idea to talk more about the victims and less about the perpetrator," Dishion said, adding, "People are very sensitive to media, media attention and now social media."Nation's 'Father-in-Chief' Bans Phones From The Family Dinner Table"Theres nothing wrong with every once in a while putting the technology aside and actually having a conversation." Posted: 07/16/2015|Edited: 07/16/2015 03:03 PM EDTPresident Barack Obama made a simple request Wednesday to young peoplespending eight hours a daylooking at their screens: Please look up. Inannouncing the "Connect Home" initiativeto provide Internet access to low-income communities, Obama shared some advice in an aside, suggesting that America's teenagers may be a bit ...tooconnected."Now, that doesnt mean I want folks on the Internet all the time," he said. "I always tell young people when I meet them, sometimes they just have the phone up, Im standing right in front of them -- and I got to tell them, young man, put down that phone. Shake the hand of your president. Then after you shake my hand and look me in the eye, and told me your name, then you can maybe go back to taking pictures."Obama also let fellow parents know that he and Michelle Obama have set a boundary for the use of mobile devices at the dinner table."So theres nothing wrong with every once in a while putting the technology aside and actually having a conversation," he said."This is something I talk to Malia and Sasha about. We dont let those phones at the dinner -- but thats a whole other story."The Obamas have talked before about the boundaries they set fortheir children'sscreen time. In a2012 interview with the Stir,the first lady shared the strict rules they follow and how she's involved in monitoring virtual study groups.The girls have limited television and screen time -- none during the week unless its school-related, because now kids are doing these -- they video chat study groups. And when theyre doing that, I always go in their room to make sure theyre actually talking about school ... Kids, instead of how we used to call on the phone and talk about homework, they get on the computer now and chat. So I dont want to interfere with that, so I monitor with the teacher to make sure that the kids who were studying together are actually -- that then theyre studying in a way thats helpful.It's good to know that on this count, the Obamas are setting an example that's worth considering as we alllook for the right way to integrate technology into our lives.But it's unclear whether the chief executive who famously fought to bring a BlackBerry into the White House also respects the same boundary. After all,parents need to model screen sensethemselves: Kids tend touse screens as we do, not as we say.

Google Will Soon Let You Buy Things Using Your VoiceJust say what you want and tap to have it shipped. Like magic.

Damon BeresTech Editor, The Huffington Post Posted: 07/15/2015|Edited: 07/15/2015 03:11 PM EDTWe're not quite at the point where you can simply imagine a product to have it billed to your credit card and shipped to your doorstep, but Google is bringing us a bit closer.The companyannounced Wednesdaya new "Purchases on Google" feature, which will allow people to buy things directly from Google Search. If you look up something like "woman's hoodie," you might get a relevant ad from a retailer which you can interact with and purchase from -- without leaving Google's page. This will work with voice search,The Next Web reported, so you can ask Google out loud for a new colander (or whatever) and, with just a couple delicate taps of your thumb, have it shipped.(Story continues below image.)

"Conversational search is also really important -- were seeing more shoppers literally asking Google to help them learn more about products. So were rolling out new experiences that answer them right back,"Jonathan Alferness, vice president of product management at Google Shopping, wrote in ablog post.Here's something to keep in mind if you plan to use voice search for shopping, though: Google has thus far stored voice data for features like Google Now, so if you're wearing an Android Wear smartwatch and ask it to "send a text to Sweetie saying 'I love you,'" that recording is sticking around on Google's servers. You can revisit these precious moments -- which may now include you asking Google things like "what's the best electric toothbrush?" -- in the "Voice and Audio Activity" panel in yourprivacy dashboard.It should be noted, of course, that Google says the recordings are kept private, and you can delete them whenever. You can also disable this history function, thoughGoogle notesthe recordings will still "be stored using anonymous identifiers."The new Purchases on Google feature will be tied to a user's Google account credentials. So, you won't have to type in your credit card number and send that information to specific merchants.According to Alferness' post, the new feature is "in early experiments with a limited number of retailers." Moving forward, more may be included.