GeckoLife
GeckoLife gallery
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that GeckoLife is a social network designed for families or small groups with privacy features designed with kids' safety in mind. Parents create their own account, and as part of the set-up, have the opportunity to add kids (or can add them later). Parents can then receive notification of their kids' activities on the network, including approving what they post and what they follow, depending on how they set up the account. Unlike other social networks, there's no minimum age in the user agreement.What kids can learn
Having access to social media, which is usually reserved for teens and older, will thrill kids, and their enjoyment will increase as friends and more family members join.
Parents will need to dialogue with kids as they use GeckoLife to make learning happen -- discussing what is appropriate to share and what should not be shared, as well as why they approve what they do and don't approve some things.
Kids or parents can view the tutorial at any time. Posts and canvases can easily be deleted.
What's it about?
GECKOLIFE is organized into canvases, each with its own privacy setting allowing families to customize exactly who can see a canvas, which can include pictures, posts, and comments. Activity for all subscribed canvases shows up in a newsfeed or can be viewed individually. Users can also message other connected users through the app. If parents choose to approve kids' activity, they'll receive a notification to approve canvases kids request to join or photos they upload. Kids see "pending approval" on the photos until they are approved.
Is it any good?
Using GeckoLife, families can share photos and ideas amongst themselves only or within an approved and monitored small group, allowing parents to model and teach good social media habits to kids before they enter a larger, less regulated social network. The concept and its privacy features are fabulous, though a few issues keep it from being perfect just yet. Only still photos can be shared, not videos. And the sign-up feature is a little buggy, with some difficulty entering birth dates and occasional crashing. For parents with kids itching to start using social media, GeckoLife is a safe starter.
Families can talk about...
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Families can talk about how to choose what to share and with whom to share to help kids learn smart social media skills. What sort of things should you never share?
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Check out our channel on social media for articles and FAQs about teaching kids responsible social networking.
App details
| Devices: | iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android |
| Price: | Free |
| Pricing structure: | Free |
| Release date: | December 8, 2014 |
| Category: | Social Networking |
| Topics: | Friendship |
| Size: | 17.20 MB |
| Publisher: | ClubGecko.com |
| Version: | 1.6 |
| Minimum software requirements: | iOS 6.0 or later; Android 3.0 and up |
