The protection of teens’ and younger children’s privacy and security on online social networking platforms has become a prime concern for parents. Regrettably, the most popular and leading socializing sites including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are putting the user privacy at risk. The consequences are more hazardous for the teens and tweens leaving their digital footprints in the cyber world.
Teens share more details about themselves on social media platform as compared to adults. They post information about their private life such as their location, likings, disliking, thoughts, opinions, habits, activities, and much more. They post photos and videos of themselves on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest without bothering the consequences. Almost 91 percent post a picture of themselves; 71 percent post the name of their school, city or town they live in; 53 percent post their email address, and 20 percent post their mobile phone number. The more they reveal about themselves, the more they could be at risk.
There are scores of social media apps that do not just require you to give up your personal information to use these apps but entice you to share more and more with you. These socializing platforms stimulate users to stay up to date with the trends, current news, gossips, and allow cyber bullies and stalkers to reach and victimize them.
The teens and tweens are least educated on the potential dangers they can come across from sharing too much personal information online. The responsibility lies with parents to educate their children on the privacy concerns and potential risks of the social media. Given are the precautions that you must teach to your child before entering any social media site.
1- Password Protection
Teach your kids to protect the passwords of their social media accounts. Your tween may share his password with his close buddy who may not be as careful about it as he should. It is up to the kids and parents to decide if the parents can know their passwords. Moreover, in case the account of your teen gets hacked, change the passwords of other online accounts to avoid more damage.
2- Privacy Settings
Make sure your kid is aware of the privacy settings on social media app he is using. It is recommended for children to set their profiles private. Most of the socializing apps have simple ways to set the privacy limits, so both parents and kids should decide what settings they may find themselves safe and comfortable.
3- Use the Grandma Rule
Make sure your kids know that whatever they post on the internet remains there forever. It will make them think twice before posting anything online. Meanwhile, you can use the Grandma rule to prevent your kid from posting inappropriate stuff online that Grandma would not like to read or watch. If Grandma does not like your stuff, it means the other people would not like it as well.
Have discussions with your teens and tweens about the social media privacy. Make them know how hazardous it can be to post private photos and other personal information on the internet. Inform them about the online child predators and the way they use the personal information to lure their target.
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Work together with your children to set rules to use the social media responsibly and securely. Parents can closely watch out what information their kids reveal on social networking sites with the help of social media monitoring application. The supervision of your kids’ social media posts can prevent them from posting any private or inappropriate stuff online.
Author:
Angelica is a social media experimentalist and blogger. She is an active member to stop cyberbullying campaign. Her work on cyberbullying got very much appreciation over the internet. To know more about her follow her on Twitter @angelicadowson2
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