Meme Coins, Deep Seek And A Cool Japanese Gadget

Hi Digital Parents!

This week I explain two new tech-y things that have been in the news and I tell you about a new gadget that I really like for younger kids.

Let’s dive in.

Meme Coins

I first learned about this from my pal Rachel Richardson in her insanely good “highly flammable” newsletter. Her full story on it here.

What it is

• A meme coin is a cryptocurrency named after characters, individuals, animals, artwork, or anything else in an attempt to be humorous, light-hearted, and attract a user base by promising a fun community.

• Meme coins are created using blockchains and seem to be more interesting for the community they create than as an actual investment asset itself.

• Anyone can make a memecoin on platforms like pump.fun.

Why it’s worrisome

• Meme coins appear to be particularly popular with young men and potentially with teen boys.

• Meme coin sites like pump.fun– like most of the internet– are accessible to pretty much anyone. This means any of our kids can scroll through meme coins about anything, create a meme coins and interact with the meme coin community. There are no age gates or parental controls.

• I didn’t have to scroll too far to start seeing meme coins about dildos and weed smoking “gangster-ass” frogs…so…yeah.

  

  Gross.

What parents can do

• Mostly…just be aware that this is a thing and kids are probably going to be curious about it.

• If your gut is telling you this is going to be a thing for your kid, talk to them about it. Find out what they know, establish your policy and fill in any info gaps. Better for them to learn about it from you.

• Restrict access to meme coin sites like pump.fun through device parental controls or get in the habit of checking your child’s browser history— I’m sure more sites for this will pop up. (Paid subscribers get a video tutorial on where to find the browser lock down controls on apple at the bottom of this post).

Deep Seek

I’m seeing alot of digital parenting people talking about this on the Instagram.

What it is

Deep Seek is a Chinese based AI Assistant App. It currently sits at the top of the app store and is rated 12+.

Is this worrisome?

This is worrisome the same way AI in general is worrisome. Kids need to understand how to use AI responsibly. This is one more tool along side chatGPT, Jasper.ai and any other AI’s our kids may or may not be tempted to use.

What parents can do

• Talk to your kids about responsible AI use.

• Review the technology and AI policy at your child’s school.

• If your child’s school is actively blocking AI apps, make sure they know about this one too.

• If you do not want your child using AI like Deep Seek, block access to it in the app store and browsers of your child’s devices.

Worth Flagging

The BoT Talk- This is a GPS tracker + two way voicemails.

• PRO: Use it to communicate with your kid without extra distraction including the problems of having the devices attached to your child (for many parents having the tech thing attached to their child is too much distraction in and of itself).

• PRO: The BoT can be clipped onto a backpack or a sports bag or worn as a necklace as my son prefers a la Flavor Flav.

  

• CON: the messages aren't instant. There can be about a 1 min lag between sending and receiving.

• WHO IS THIS GOOD FOR: I think it's a great tool for younger elementary school aged kids that walk or take the bus to school. A quick way to check in without anything extra.

• WHERE TO BUY: here!

Bonus For Paid Subscribers

A tutorial on where to find the browser blocking tool in the Apple Parental Controls.