Have you used on the same passwords for the last decade? Is your Facebook account still using the default security settings? Are your kids safe? If so, you may want to think about the example your own Internet use is setting for your kids.
If we expect our teens and tweens to think about protecting themselves and being selective about what they share and with whom on the Internet, we have to model that behavior ourselves:
Require a password to access your computer
In cyberspace, things rarely stay private. A nude picture, snarky comment, or reference to illegal drugs or underage drinking meant for a friend’s eyes only can easily be seen by a teacher, employer, parent, stranger, or the entire high school.
In an effort to underline the need for more caution in posting information online, the non-profit Ad Council has produced a series of public service announcements with the tagline “If you wouldn’t wear it, don’t share it.”
You don’t need an expert to tell you that you lived a different childhood than your kids do. You remember when you had to get up and turn the dial on the TV to change channels; your teen can’t understand how a world without Facebook or MySpace would even function.
You perceive everything differently than your child, and that includes the very nature of social networking.
As adults and non-Facebook natives, we naturally approach social networking with more caution and more discretion. We are well aware that it is a public activity. We parents are more likely to view Facebook as more of a billboard-type communication than a conversation with a friend. But do our kids?
Photo sharing websites like Flickr, PhotoBucket, and Shutterfly are becoming extremely popular. Signing up for a free account only takes a few minutes, and then you can upload all your family pictures, add captions, and share them with friends and relatives. Photo sharing sites are a great way to stay in touch with out-of-state relatives or catch up with friends you don’t see very often. And let’s face it – pictures of your own kid are too cute not to showcase. But many parents are using photo sharing sites much too freely, and it may be compromising the safety of their kids.
