| Author |
StillTedd
Joined: 11 Jun 2013
Posts: 5
Tue Jun 11, 2013 5:22 am |
|
| Message |
 In The Social Networking Age with Our Teenagers
|
   |
|
Unless you have been living under a rock, you are pretty much aware of how much the social media is ruling our lives. Before you jump the gun, no I really do not have anything against the social networks. I have a profile myself, and keep in touch with most of my contacts through the networks.
But, just like every other parent, I often worry about children on these social networking sites. How much is safe and when do we really need to start worrying? Before, we start pressing the panic button, let’s take a step back and understand a few things ourselves and maybe take a few steps that can go a long way in handling the subject with a little maturity.
Respect the Age Limit
Kids as young as seven or eight are on Facebook, more often than not with the knowledge of their parents. As a parent myself, I am of the opinion that it is absolutely NOT OK to violate a social networking site’s terms of service. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act states that the legal age for any individual to voluntarily share pictures or information is thirteen.
If we consent our kids to flout this condition, we are willingly opening our pre-teens to danger. Another unwanted danger is that a fake age profile may also allow adult content to be displayed in certain sites. Waiting one more year to be legally allowed to be on Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace, is worth the wait than exposing the kids to the danger lurking in social media sites.
Stress on A Few Ground Rules
A rule that I follow, and have insisted that my teenager does too, is that I know and have in person met every contact on my friend list. No strangers on my list. It is important we stress that networking sites are to keep in touch with people we know, there is no requirement (at least at that age) to meet strangers online. Explain to them, that while you trust them, it is important that they consult you if they are ever in doubt.
Explain the Dangers
Many parents proudly tell me how their pre-teens discovered their way around Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace, all by themselves and how they do everything without their help. While I do understand their pride, it scares me that these kids haven’t been explained the basics of social networking.
Sit with them and explain the etiquettes of sharing personal information, and pictures online. Teach them the importance of privacy, and that everything need not be shared online. Cyber bullying, cyber stalking, stealing of information, etc are all very real dangers, and it is important that they are made aware so they can know if they are being victimized.
If It Isn’t Online, It Didn’t Happen
Many of my adult friends, even as they have a meal, or while at a vacation, are busy gathering images, or videos, etc to showcase the fun they are having. When I once returned from a vacation, and posted no pictures of Facebook, many asked me if I had cancelled my vacation. It is like, if it is not on Facebook, it didn’t happen.
If we adults have to face this pressure, imagine teens, there is so much peer pressure. In every picture they upload they need to look good or cool. There are cases of kids going into depression if a few of their tweets, updates, or pictures, go unnoticed or uncommented. As parents, it is important for us to make sure that we raise a confident child, who is able to combat this incessant critiquing.
Parental Controls Can Be Overridden
So you have parental controls. Let me inform you the scary statistic of 67% of teenagers saying they know how to hide what they do online, from parents. Yes, they know how to override the parental controls.
So, do not live in the dark ages, get tech savvy yourself, and know how to get smarter than them by adding on additional filters, content filters etc.
_________________
work in australia
|
|
Search
