All good parents have a parental instinct to protect their children. This instinct no longer extends only to the real world, but to the online world as well. Mobile and Internet child safety has become as important if not more important than typical safety measures. Here are a few common Internet safety dangers that parents and teens should approach with caution.
1. Chat Rooms
One of the areas where children can be targeted is on chat rooms. The ability to remain anonymous makes these rooms a prime area to attack for predators. This is not to say that everyone who uses a chat room is a predatory, but it does mean that this is one area where they are often attracted.
Children need to be taught to leave a conversation whenever they feel uncomfortable or that something inappropriate has happened. They should block the individual who has made inappropriate comments towards them and should report that profile as well.
2. Online shopping
Children are not going to face the same risks with online shopping as they do with social media or chat rooms. Instead, the biggest risk here is the loss of financial information such as credit card numbers and the like. Children need to be made aware of the dangers that present themselves when trying to make a purchase online.
3. Social Media: Age Requirements and Oversharing
Most children are going to want to set up social media profiles of some kind. Though the age requirement on most of these sites is 13, this age limit is not enforced by the sites themselves. Parents must decide what they will do in terms of allowing their children to use social media. It is important to let children understand what they should and should not share on social media, as oversharing can lead to a number of dangerous situations.
Good To Post:
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Updates about life
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Pictures from your day
Not Good To Post:
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Gossip or rumors
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Offensive or racial remarks or comments
