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Limit your teen’s time spent online, and put computers in a common area of the house. |
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Learn about the digital devices your teen uses. |
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Visit your teen’s Web site or personal blog. |
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| Click here for credible, user-friendly sites that can give you further digital monitoring advice. |
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Here are some easy and effective ways to monitor your teen’s online activities. |
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- Many of the sites have age requirements, but teens often get around those limits. By doing that, they enter a world that is intended for adults who are 18 or older. When your teen is involved in these sites, it is often a portal into an adult world that you many not want them to have. They can be exposed to pornography, forms of sexual activity that you find abhorrent, discussions about drug use and alcohol parties, and many other themes that they may not be ready for. You can consider these sites wide open instructional sites for all the good and bad characteristics and activities of people around the world.
- All too often, many teens do not set sensible limits for how much information to share. They put themselves in danger by giving out too much personal information and communicating with strangers online.
- Due to the anonymity of social networking sites, teens can develop a false sense of security, making them vulnerable to enticement to meet strangers in person.
- Youth are more readily exposed to inappropriate content, misinformation about drugs, identity theft and even cyberbullying
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- Some teens post inappropriate content, such as pictures from a drinking party, postings about taking drugs, real or invented sexual activity, or gossip about school peers. These kinds of behaviors can have serious consequences, like expulsion from school or difficulty later in life when the sites are reviewed by prospective employers or college admission officers. Such postings can also escalate when others, including adult predators posing as teens, respond with something even more “daring” and challenging.
- Adolescence is a time for exploration and experimentation. Social networking sites offer a forum for teens to express themselves in creative ways, allowing them to try on different hats.
- For shy teens or those who don’t have many friends, social networking sites can provide an outlet to meet other kids their own age who have similar interests.
- These sites can help parents gain a sense of who their teen really is and how they perceive themselves.
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