Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Do you monitor your Kids social network use?

 I was going through my twitter feed today when I saw a link talking about kids fooling their parents on social media use. So I took a look at the article and thought I would share some of my thoughts on it plus share some of my thoughts on kids on social media. Please note you don't have to read everything your Child does if you trust them, I just thought I would throw that in there.

 First off I agree with the article saying just friending your child does not mean you know everything your child is doing. You need to make sure you set ground rules of what they do on the social network. First make sure they set their profile on private, the whole world does not see everything they post. Remind them that what they post online can not be simply erased. They can harm chances at jobs later on in life with what they put on social network sites.


 Next make sure you (the parent) are a leader and not a follower. Just because your 12 year old or younger child tells you that all their friends have (insert social networking site here) does not mean they need to break the 13+ TOS and get one. Now this point is a very big deal because a lot of parents go out and help their kids get one then complain when something happens to their privacy. They have 13+ TOS for a reason and you should be an example to them by not bypassing that rule. I strongly disagree with anyone who say's my kids needs social network (name here) because everyone else does.


 I do have some disagreements with the part about kids misusing Google Plus. Because if your kids are misusing Google Plus you have other lie issues to worry about. Why you may ask? Google Plus is an 18 or older social network site. So if they are accessing Google Plus that means they have already went through the steps to get a Google Account which says they are 18 or older. So if you see your kids on Google Plus make sure you talk to them about tells lies to get past TOS of some sites.


 So what do I recommend to do to stay safe on social networks? Here are some tips:


  1.  Make sure you know what social networks your children are on. You are the parents so you have the right to know.
  2. Be a leader and not a follower. Do not let your kids access social networks till they are atleast the right age. No need to set them on path of lies at an early start.
  3. Be involved with your kids social networking. If they get on twitter make yourself a twitter account. If they get a Facebook make yourself a Facebook account

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