Social Networking & Your Children
It wasn't so long ago that the term Social Networking had nothing to do with kids and computers. It was all about business connections, getting jobs, fund raising, and engaging in interactions that provided necessary introductions.
Today social networking, at least among preteens, teens, and young adults means logging onto an Internet site, posting information about oneself, and connecting with peers. Social networking sites such as MySpace, Bebo, FaceBook, and others have become favorite places for young people to meet. Instead of going to the mall or a friend's house, teens and preteens go online. As a parent you need to realize that the Web culture is part of your children's world. That said, it's your job to learn about it so that you can help your children be as safe as they can possibly be.
To be sure, you've probably heard lots of negatives about social networking, but the headlines in the newspapers don't tell the whole story. Much of the interaction on these sites is typical teen talk and no different from when young people get together off line. Problems arise when your children post personal information, when they seek friendships with people online rather than at school or in the neighborhood, when they encounter what are called cyberbullies (online bullies), when they are disrespectful to others online, and when they spend too much time online.
What most concerns parents and what has been highlighted in the media lately is the fact that child predators are known to frequent social networking sites. There have been lots of articles in the newspapers and on television about kids who meet strangers online and then set up a time to meet them in person. Some of the meetings have disastrous results, ones that are reported in the news. Sometimes these meetings are set up by law enforcement officers in an attempt to catch child predators.
To keep your children safe from child predators, you and your children need to be alert to the possible dangers of social networking sites. You should know that even though most of these sites have a minimum age for membership that many of those younger than the minimum age sign up for these sites by listing their age as several years older. Therefore, don't be surprised if your social-savvy and Web-savvy fifth grader has a profile on a social networking site. These sites look intriguing to your children, and if their friends are signing up, they will want to join, too. —Even if it means lying about their age.
Chances are that those who are the minimum age or over may list their age as older. –And chances are that they'll want to post information and photos that make them look more mature than they are.
All this adds up to lots of kids' profiles that have misleading and false information in them. The profiles of your kids are right there with the profiles of college students, young adults, and others who are members of the site. No one knows if anyone on these sites is who they claim to be. The idea behind the sites is to give people a place to interact with each other—just like going to the soda shop in years past or the Internet cafe today. In the soda shop or Internet cafe, however, they won't find information, some of which is quite inappropriate, about millions of people.
You should realize that for young people social networking is the thing to do now-a-days. They love to create their profiles (which are like Web pages), and tell all about themselves and their friends. The profiles may include text, photos, video, music, links to friends and other places, etc. Social networking site officials try to make sure members adhere to specified Terms of Use, but with the numbers of people on the sites, this is virtually impossible. They try to check photos, try to discover underage members, and will work with parents who need help.
If site officials discover a photo or other type of content that is unacceptable, they will eliminate that from the site. Site members, though, have found a way around this problem. From their profile, they can link to another site that allows porn or vulgar-type material. If a member is deleted from the site, that person can sign up again under another email address. Some parents who have worked with these sites to have their children's information taken off-line have found to their dismay that their children have simply opened other accounts and added new profiles.
The best thing parents can do to keep their children safe when social networking is to carry on an on-going conversation with their children about their activities on the site. They should set rules with their children and check to make sure that the rules are followed. The most efficient way to check as to whether the rules are followed is for parents to require that their children show them their profiles. Parents would also be wise to become members of the target site themselves so that they can check on all their children, not just those who fit the age requirements. Major rules should address the following: username (not sexy, macho, crude), password (a smart password, not something others can guess), types of photos and other information that can be posted, not giving out any identifying information, setting profiles to private, realizing some people online are not who they claim to be, when (and for how long) they go can online to the site, not downloading files sent by people they really don't know, not interacting with people they don't know, and never setting up a meeting with anyone they consider a 'friend' but have never met in person.
Recently during an interview with a group of college prep high school students, most said that they had profiles on a social networking site, but they didn't use the site that much. They felt that lots of younger kids were the ones who were really interested in the profiling. Several said that they thought they'd use the site more when they went off to college as a way of keeping in touch with high school friends. This is interesting because there have been reports that many college freshmen are not getting involved in college activities and meeting new friends at college because they spend so much time online interacting with old friends.
Social networking is growing fast, and huge numbers of members are online everyday. Although parents and teachers should do what they can to supervise and protect children, it's the children who have to learn to be safe online. They need to take responsibility for their actions and to use their common sense to keep out of trouble.
To find excellent information on social networking, suggestions for family rules, suggestions for monitoring, child safety software, etc., check out the social networking information provided on CableVision's Power to Learn. The site features a slide show for your children and information for teachers and parents. Other valuable information can be found on these sites:
Back to Top
|
