When you think about parental monitoring, what are some of the first words that come to mind? I recently read a Canadian study that noted the general change in the way parents have come to view the Internet:
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2000: parents were enthusiastic about the opportunities the Internet would bring to their children.
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2004: the Internet had become a source of frustration for parents, who felt that their kids were wasting time online when they should be doing schoolwork; they reported spending too much time fighting about, limiting, and managing their kids' Internet consumption.
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2011: parents felt anxious, fearful, and overwhelmed by the task of monitoring kids' online activity; they didn't know how to monitor because kids access the Internet from so many devices.
How do you feel about the Internet, and has your attitude evolved over time or as your child has gotten older?
To me, these statistics just go to show how much things have changed in the last decade. The family computer isn't the main access point for kids anymore, and parental monitoring has come to mean a lot more than just limiting screen time.
Today, parental monitoring is a truly daunting task. It involves keeping tabs on your child's multiple profiles which are spread all across the Internet, watching out for cyber dangers like predators, cyberbullies, or accidentally giving away too much personal information. All the while trying to to keep up with a teenager who is way more plugged in and digitally literate than you.
So how does parental monitoring make you feel? How can you simplify the process? And what can you do to get your teen educated about keeping themselves safe online and on board with parental monitoring?
-Article Contributed by Jenny Evans
