If you suspect your teen is being bullied online, tell him there's a new social media site where he can post and share without the nasty comments, stalkers, and negative feedback. A new iPhone and Android app (free) called BonzoME allows users to post videos and photos in a safe zone, free of cyber bullies.
Developed by Dr. Michael Nusbaum, a New Jersey-based physician, BonzoMe even shares 80 percent of its ad revenues with its users. When your teen shares one of the site's ads, she gets paid. (You'll have to set up a PayPal account for her.) She can earn money watching advertising videos that have a dollar sign under them or by coming up with clever posts that her friends share. She also gets money whenever someone she invited into her network watches an ad. There is no contract, so there's nothing to worry about if your teen loses interest. (Guessing she won't.)
So, to recap - no cyber-bullying, safe space to post comments, pictures, and videos, and free money! Cool, right?!
Here are a few of the caveats:
This site is for the 12 and up crowd, due to (according to their page) Infrequent/Mild Realistic Violence, Infrequent/Mild Medical/Treatment Information, Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence, infrequent/Mild Horror/Fear Themes, Infrequent/Mild Sexual Content and Nudity, Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References, Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes, and Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humor. So it's PG-13.
The site is free, and your teen gets paid because the advertisers want to get their opinion about the ads they run, so he'll be expected to answer a question or two every so often by clicking on a button to tell the advertisers what he thinks about an ad.
You can bet the advertisers will be collecting information about the ads your teen and her buddies click on. Though no personal information about your teen will be displayed on the site, somebody somewhere is keeping track of the clicking habits of the demographic. But they do that anyway on pretty much every social media site, so this site is just up front about it.
Here are the specifics of how the whole system works. Happy bully-free browsing!
