With more children and teens having access to cell phones and tablets, police are urging parents to monitor their activity and be aware of what they’re doing online.

“Parents, community leaders, teachers need to be involved,” said Richard Evanchec, a special agent with the FBI Pittsburgh office. “They need to be aware of what their children are doing online. When they’re picking up a cell phone, we shouldn’t assume that they’re doing something admirable. Children are vulnerable. They don’t yet know what right and wrong is, and we need to help them.”

Evanchec shared that message on Wednesday during a news conference in Whitehall Borough, where a teenage girl had been lured from her home over the weekend. Police said a 27-year-old man started communication with the teen on an app called Discord just days before she went missing.

Consider parental spyware, expert says

Cyber experts said parents must know what their kids are doing on their devices.

“If you’re going to hand your child a device, realize that there’s a time commitment for you as well,” said Dr. Elise Silva, the director of policy research at Pitt Cyber.

Experts at Pitt Cyber said parents need to explain the risks of being online, be vigilant and monitor their kids’ activity and consider parental spyware.

“As soon as your child has access to any digital technology, it’s talking about the responsibility of being a digital citizen,” Silva said. “What is a digital footprint? How long is this information going to be online? But also, who else goes online? Not everybody online is who they say they are.”

Set screen times and parental controls 

Silva said parents should consider setting screen time limits and filtering adult content.

“You can turn on things like parental controls,” Silva said. “Screen time limits for different apps or for an entire device. You can also, app by app, go through and look at the different types of parental controls that are there. I suggest doing it on both a device level and an app level. So the apps that your children are accessing, make sure that you’re going into parental controls, privacy settings and seeing what you do and don’t have control over. Safe Search is a really important thing for parents to know about. You can do that on a device level and also a browser level. So make sure you’re looking at Chrome, make sure you’re looking at Safari and turning on safe search to make sure that they can’t access adult websites, for example.”

Some parental control apps include Bark, Qustodio and Aura, Silva said.

Communication is key

As children get older, Silva said parents can loosen the reins a bit, stressing that communication is key.

“Maybe as they get older, you’re not looking at all of their texts and chats, but you’re talking to them about what online responsibility looks like,” Silva said. “They’re aware of risks that other people in their own age group have experienced, and they know warning signs.”

Some warning signs children should be aware of are online grooming behaviors.

“If somebody is asking them to keep a relationship private, if somebody is asking them to send photos that are inappropriate or asking them inappropriate questions, if somebody who they don’t know is asking them to meet up, these are all grooming behaviors,” Silva said. “And if you’ve had those conversations, over and over again, hopefully that youth would begin to recognize those things. Does that mean that you can control everything? No. What we like to say is that these things are speed bumps, right? They’re not walls, and so, you really have to keep those lines of communication open and really do your best.”

Kids may try to hide things on devices 

Silva also reminds parents that children may try to hide things on their devices.

“There are apps that kids can download that are, they look like one thing, but they’re another thing,” Silva said. “For example, it looks like a dictionary, but it’s actually an AI chatbot. So things are absolutely getting past parents all the time, and that’s where the open communication really comes into play. I spend a lot of time going through my daughter’s phone and iPad. She’s 12. I feel like I will spend less time doing that as she gets older, but it is a time commitment on the parents’ side.”

For parents looking for resources to learn more about things like parental controls, including tutorials on how to lock things down on a child’s phone, Silva suggested websites including Common Sense Media, Connect Safely and Internet Matters. 

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — In an ever-changing retail space, malls across Connecticut are doing what they can to keep up with the times and rethink what the quintessential mall experience looks like moving forward.

From the hum of escalators and the buttery smell of warm pretzels to eye-catching window displays, shopping malls charmed customers when they first opened in the late 20th century.

For some, those early memories tie back to long days walking the halls of The Westfarms Mall in West Hartford.

“I saw ‘Star Wars’ here; there were movies in the mall back in the mid-70s and 80s,” Ronald Torres of West Hartford said. “The mall changed throughout the years, but this mall has always been a staple in this area.”

Self-described as ‘Central Connecticut’s Premier Shopping Destination,’ the space holds over 140 stores, many of which are filled, for shoppers to choose from.

To keep its legacy strong, General Manager Carolyn Edwards and her team say they are constantly looking ahead for ways to elevate their shopping experience. Recently, the mall has leaned more towards offering unique dining options and special events to pique customers’ interest.

“I think Gen Z right now is really embracing the mall, right? After COVID, you had people who maybe weren’t socializing or coming out,” Edwards said.

Keeping a healthy variety of brands that customers can identify with is also key, from popular national retailers to high-end brands. The mall is soon welcoming Barnes and Noble and Häagen-Dazs just in time for sweet summer treats and beach reads.

“The shoppers come to support it and in turn the retailers say, ‘We want to be at that center cause that’s where the strong shopper base is,’ so it goes hand in hand,” Edwards said.

A Different Story Down The Road

Just a couple of towns over, Enfield Square has been up for conversation by town leaders. Built in the 1970’s, the space stood tall as an economic driver for the town.

Over the past decade, Economic Director Aaron Marcavitch says he’s seen a decline in revenue, followed by a full mall closure for safety reasons. A Target location, which is “anchored” to the mall, has remained open.

“All these different communities that had malls as their hubs are really looking at these as revitalization opportunities,” Marcavitch said. “It’s critical that that parcel be redeveloped in some way. We really don’t want to have a massive, vacant parcel in the core of our community.”

Gears are moving for potential new owners, who have already proposed plans to town leaders to turn the mall into a mixed-use space, including a central retail hub and apartment units.

News 8 reached out to the Enfield Square mall’s representation but was declined for an interview.

Betting on Community Over Commerce

At The Shoppes at Buckland Hills, General Manager Justin Roberts is also giving the modern-day mall experience a second look.

“Malls themselves have had to change over the years. It’s not the same environment as the 90’s,” Roberts said. “What we’ve noticed is that many of the malls that are successful do have these third spaces, places to go, things to do. It generates a lot more foot traffic.”

In addition to offering national brands, small businesses are bringing unique offerings to customers. Roberts says he’s also leaning towards something online retail can’t replicate: More entertainment spaces to fill empty storefronts. Roberts says the mall has already had plenty of success with its tenant, The Funny Bone Comedy Club.

“Community theatres, roller rinks. Things for people to do and be involved in a community,” Roberts said. “We want welcoming third spaces.”

PORTLAND (WGME) — The 18-year-old charged with the death of paddleboarder Sunshine “Sunny” Stewart last summer appeared in court Thursday.

Stewart was killed last July in Union while out paddleboarding near a family campground.

Last week, a judge ruled Deven Young is competent to stand trial.

Thursday afternoon, he appeared in front of a judge via Zoom from Long Creek Youth Development Center.

The hearing to address motions started and stopped briefly when Young’s attorneys said they hadn’t yet had an opportunity to speak with their client.

Deven Young (Deven.Young.33/Facebook)

We didn’t hear much from Young once the hearing restarted, except for when he acknowledged his name. During the hearing, Young’s attorneys objected to the state’s request for his school and hospital records. They say since Young was 17 when police say he committed this crime, he should be treated as a juvenile.

The judge said he would take the matter under review.

He also talked about a “bind-over hearing” being held by August or September.

That’s where they could decide whether to try Young as an adult.

Young is facing a murder charge.

A medical examiner says Stewart died from strangulation and blunt force trauma.

Sunshine “Sunny” Stewart (APTN via CBS Newspath)

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Police haven’t publicly said what the motive might be.