The new normal is a phrase that we’ve been hearing a lot these days. It’s a challenging time for many families. The office you once commuted to every day is now in your home. Your children are learning remotely and doing their schoolwork from home, too. It’s a full house and everyone is using technology one way or another.
Your home must have functional technology that can accommodate everyone as they perform various activities like work and schoolwork. This also includes online shopping, social media, and entertainment like streaming movies and television shows. Take a look at these tips to help keep your family productive and safe while they use technology in the home.
The Tech Talk
Not everyone in your family can wrap their minds around technology and how it works — especially the younger ones. They take it for granted and think it’s just like turning on a faucet. Consider having a friendly and honest conversation about things like streaming, Zoom calls, password management, and the importance of digital security for all members of the household. This ‘tech talk’ is not meant to scare your family members. It’s only there to help them understand how important technology and security is while the entire family is together under one roof.
Organize Passwords for Everyone in the Family
Passwords are one of the easiest ways that systems and devices are compromised. Your family should know never to share passwords. But do they also know that it is bad practice to have a single password for the entire family to use on all platforms and digital accounts? It may feel convenient to use one password for computer access, social media, email access and other accounts, but it’s unsafe. If one account is compromised it may be easier for thieves or hackers to gain access to the other accounts.
Assigning unique passwords to each member of the family helps insulate the digital security for the household. You can keep the passwords stored in an electronic password app or written down in a notebook that is stored in a safe and secure location.
Teach Your Family Password Retrieval
We all misplace and forget things — it’s only human. It’s common to forget your passwords, too. Each device or platform we access has a different way of retrieving forgotten passwords. It is important to show your family members how to retrieve their passwords if they forget them. How to find your Wifi password is different than how to find your password on your phone. Older kids may already have this skill set, but it’s important to show the younger kids how to find Wifi password on laptops or any other device.
Create a No Tech Zone
As we work through these challenging times it’s important to set some rules about separating ourselves from our technology. These rules can be simple, such as no phones or devices at the dinner table. It’s easy to become too focused on our technology. From time to time we have to step away from it and spend quality time with our families.
Keeping your family informed about home technology and safeguards is an important concept they should all be familiar with especially when work, school, and life are all under one roof.
