📷 Image Credit: Engadget 👆By: Mariella Moon TL;DR Parents are going crazy trying to keep their kids entertained at home every day. Enter YouTube to the rescue...with FREE content. Without in-person summer camps and school, a lot of parents are juggling working from home and full-time parenting with no relief in sight. YouTube Kids announced that they want to help parents who are struggling with this with the release of 100 free full-length movies and specials to keep kids at home entertained and enriched with new materials. These free shows will be released during the month of August as part of their "After School" experience project. The new movies and specials offered on YouTube Kids will include award-winning short films, educational specials, and never-seen-before movies and shows that will debut on YouTube. Check back every Monday in August for the updated releases of old and new alike. To access YouTube Kids "After School" channel, simply go to the "shows" category on the platform. This might just be the saving grace for parents who can't stomach listening to the Frozen soundtrack one more time during zoom meetings. Way to go, YouTube Kids! Sources:Engadget Written by: Sofia Christensen, Intern Edited by: Lisa Knight, COO & Mentor

📷 Image Credit: Forbes 👆By: Mike Vorhaus TL;DR We all know that social media is how younger generations choose to catch up on the news, and while the trust might be shaky, it's a whole different ballpark than the "Sunday" paper. With many major events going on, from the pandemic to protests to an impending recession, it has been reported that many people are turning to social media for their inside scoop. The days of peopling receiving most of their news from TV or newspaper are long gone. In 2005, case studies showed that the younger generation was less reliant on traditional news sources, and this trend has only grown. The younger generations have reported being twice as likely to turn to social media for news and information as well as 2/3rds report that they turn to Instagram to gather news sources. Social media apps like Facebook. Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube have all been rated high in terms of being used as news sources. This is interesting, as studies have shown that 14% of people view social media as a reliable source of news compared to 22% who trust search engines. While the younger generation may not appear to have complete faith in the legitimacy of their social media news, they still continuously turn to it. The younger generation is truly leading this change in news sourcing. Sources:Forbes Written by: Sofia Christensen, Intern Edited by: Lisa Knight, COO & Mentor

📷 Image Credit: TheSource 👆By: Caitlyn Holroyd TL;DR Fans will likely have to settle for watching Basketball from home this season, not court-side. NBA star, Thybulle is creating a fan experience to try and keep viewership and engagement high at home by making videos on YouTube, giving the fans a glimpse into the life of an NBA player during Covid-19. The Philadelphia 79'ers rookie guard Matisse Thybulle is giving fans an opportunity to see life in the NBA with his video diary series on YouTube. His series, "Welcome to the Bubble," launched on July 11th. His YouTube series is trending, with more than 500,000 views each. Thybulle is a one-man show, filming, talking, and editing videos. The young athlete had an idea with the basketball season coming up, there could be some real interest in a series like his, and he's not wrong! Thybulle admitted he was worried about keeping it entertaining enough to show fans what life is like in the NBA, which fuels his creativity for the series. In his latest video, Thybulle facetime, his Dad gives a tour of the player's lounge and then shows how the players in the bubble are required to take their temperature every day. The videos are fun, entertaining, and insightful for NBA fans. He's even getting praise from teammate Ben Simmions, showing integrity for the sport and time. It is an iconic period for sports right now with so many changes due to a global pandemic; many people are appreciative of him giving insight into a historic moment in sports history. Sources:TheSource Written by: Sofia Christensen, Intern Edited by: Lisa Knight, COO & Mentor

📷 Image Credit: The Verge 👆By: Jacob Kastrenakes TL;DR Instagram is in the process of making its own version of TikTok. The addition to the app, REELS, might be coming just in time if TikTok gets banned in the US. Just as the U.S. is in discussions with a potential ban for the popular app TikTok, Instagram is planning on making a TikTok clone. Instagram has confirmed that its take on TikTok will be launched in early August in the United States and other countries. The feature will be called "Reels" and will allow users to record and edit 15-second video clips set to music and have the ability to use another user's audio. Reels are a story feature add-on in Instagram, which won't live forever as they do on TikTok unless a user adds it to their profile. So far, the feature is only available in Brazil and India. Instagram and Facebook have had a pattern for replicating successful features from other apps. In the past, Instagram decided to include a story option that it took from Snapchat, and they are doing it again with Reels as a replication of TikTok. Instagram is likely hoping to see the same growth it did when it introduced the stories feature to draw more users to the app. If TikTok really does get banned in the US, Instagram might be able to come in at the right time with a replacement of sorts for seamless user-generated content from one app to the other. Smart Play! Sources:The Verge Written by: Sofia Christensen, Intern Edited by: Lisa Knight, COO & Mentor

📷 Image Credit: WFAA 👆 TL;DR A Texan's TikTok making fun of local roads went viral and is a great example of creative content formats capable of going viral! We continue to see trends appear and die with the TikTok app as trends are easier to emerge and quickly die with the fast-paced entertainment design of the application. One video that blew up this week surprised most people, with user @definitely_not_travis explaining how the Road system in Texas works. His charming demeanor caught users off guard when his description of the road system in Texas wasn't what most expected, and the TikTok blew up with likes and views. The video is simply the user in his cowboy hat explaining how the Texas roads work, with a twist. TikTok user @definitely_not_travis explains the North I 35 as a construction zone sign rather than indicating the road it actually is meant to represent. He continues by explaining that the West Interstate 10 sign actually indicates a drag race to the desert and so on. The video is straight-up funny to Texans because insider information ringing a bell of truth is funny stuff. As for the rest of us not from Texas, we can appreciate the local's perception of things because our own towns have quirky attributes too. Relatability at its best. Sources:WFAA Written by: Sofia Christensen, Intern Edited by: Lisa Knight, COO & Mentor