How to monitor children’s social media interaction

Internet safety for kids is an absolute necessity in our online driven society. Many children are increasingly using the internet as their main method of social interaction and there are a number of potential pitfalls your children need to be aware of when using these social platforms.

General advice for Facebook

Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with people but you should be aware of a number of security issues Facebook use can have if you are not careful. Firstly account hacking has become increasingly prevalent and you need to ensure you have a strong password and ideally change it regularly. If you are supervising your children’s accounts then encourage them to think up complex passwords and switch them regularly. This will develop the habit for later life and is one of the best ways of keeping private details secure. Secondly you need to be aware that Facebook’s security profile has come into heavy criticism previously because its default settings are public sharing of a whole plethora of information. When setting up or managing your children’s Facebook accounts be sure to check their privacy settings and turn on the highest levels of security.

Finally with Facebook it is a good idea to befriend your child on the social network. This is something that many children will dis-like but at younger ages is an absolute necessity as it allows you the opportunity to monitor their activity and check their friends and discussions. One of the most common ways sex predators operate is by befriending young children on Facebook and then start grooming them online. So if you are supervising children’s use of Facebook you should be monitoring who they become friends with. Ask your children how they know the person they are befriending and check that the friend request is legitimate. Build up in your children’s minds that they should only be friends with people they know directly through offline social interaction. If you find someone trying to befriend your child on the social network that is not someone they know monitor the situation and block the friend request. If you are worried that it might be an individual posing as a minor then you should report it to the police immediately.

If your child or children are under ten years old they should use social media under supervision only and you should use this time to instil in them a proper awareness of internet safety. Once they are past the age of ten you will want to let them manage their own Facebook accounts and they should be at the stage where they can do so safely and securely. However even after this independence stage it is worth talking to your children about cyber-bullying and grooming and ensuring that they can talk to you should any of these problems arise. Cyber bullying has become increasingly prevalent amongst recent generations and it is worth ensuring your child knows how to block unwanted chats and messages from individuals and groups. Keeping vigilant with your children and their use of the internet will ensure the highest levels of protection for you and your family.

Other social media platforms

Whilst Facebook is the biggest and most well-known social media platform you should be aware that there are a number of other social platforms your children may be using. Bebo and MySpace are two of the most well-known but there are a lot of others your children may start using. Security levels vary wildly between all of these networks so do a thorough check of each one before allowing your child access. Once on them ensure that your child takes all the necessary precautions and learns to monitor their own use carefully.

Jane writes about internet safety for children in order to help raise awareness to parents about the potential dangers of the digital world.

HOW TO: Talk to Children About Online Safety (mashable.com)
How to Protect Your Child From Cyber-Bullying (thedeezone.wordpress.com)

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About the Author

William

My name is William Chen, and I'm a 22 year old Student/Businessman/Web Marketer from Australia. I have over 10 years of business experience already under my belt and have founded 2 web companies. My passion is to strive for wealth, success and the ability to make the most of my life. And in sharing my knowledge to help others, as I believe one cannot fully understand something, unless they can teach it. For my full story, read here.