A recent study of Pew research found that 88% of teens using social media have witnessed other people being mean or cruel on social network sites and more than every seventh teen has been the target of online meanness. Despite many great opportunities the Internet and social networks offer to young people, such as education and networking with friends and companions, there are many challenges and risks children and teenagers face when using social networks.
Though, I have observed that this issue is often underestimated by parents. Adults believe their children to be very technology savvy. Any new service the young generation discovers online they‘ll know how to use within seconds and if not, they are so curious that they‘ll figure out very quickly. This makes young people much more skilled in terms of grasping and using online tools than many adults who didn‘t grow up with the Internet.
But a high online proficiency still doesn‘t make children and teens experts when it comes to social networking, as the Pew study has shown. The Internet is a network of people. Where humans meet, connect, communicate and share information, there is another type of skill set required, such as respect, kindliness, empathy, the ability to deal with criticism and also the ability to assess the character and intentions of other people -- social skills, that is. It‘s nothing new that children need to acquire interpersonal skills. What‘s new is that children are dealing with the world wide web today, meaning that any discussion, any careless comment and any embarrassing picture can multiply umpteen times and spreads faster than it has ever been possible before in the offline world.
Besides teaching social skills, parents should get to know the social web better to understand risks and chances and children‘s worries and fears. This doesn‘t mean they need to become power users, but they should become aware of the way people connect, how posts spread and which information is shared with their kids. Monitoring their children‘s social networking activities will empower parents to learn more about their offsprings‘ online habits and it will enable them to teach their children how to use social networks in a responsible way, protecting their own personal data, privacy and reputation.
Monitoring their kids’ social networks, parents should watch out for the following things:
- Personal data published by your child:Your child shouldn‘t share any personal information such as contact details, school attended and whereabouts without your permission. Explain to your kid that publishing this information could harm its safety since it could be tracked by other people.
- Questionable content on the kid’s profile and in its friends’ network: Is there profanity in your child‘s social network? Is this directed to your child or to others? Talk and listen to your child and make sure she or he knows that you will be supportive at any time. Also, possibly contact teachers and talk to your children’s school mates‘ and friends‘ parents. At the same time, your child should respect the social rules in social networks, too. Swearwords and name-calling should be a taboo. Explain to your daughter or son that she or he could hurt others and negatively impact their own reputation and the reputation of others if this rule is broken.
- Content posted by applications on your child‘s profile or news stream:Check the content that‘s posted in your child‘s social network by third party apps. In case of inappropriate posts, the app should be removed. Also, social networks can get targeted by spammers spreading out violent or pornographic videos and pictures, as recently happened on Facebook. Make sure to talk to your child if it faces such content and help allay any fears that may have arisen.
- New friends and contacts:Monitor who your child is in touch with online. Your child should avoid contact with people he or she doesn‘t know in real life. Accepting friend requests from strangers should be a no-no. Most importantly, your child should never meet up with anyone face-to-face he or she has met online only.
- Photos:Keep your eyes peeled for photos in which your child is pictured. It‘s important that photos don‘t harm the child‘s reputation or his or her safety.
- Malicious links:Viruses, worms and phishing links increasingly spread via social networks. Often, they appear in the users‘ feed through eye-catching headlines and pictures. Instead of directing the user to an actual news story, the links harbor viruses or other malicious programs. Make sure your child doesn‘t click on any links that seem suspicious.
When monitoring their children‘s activities, parents should not do this secretly as this could harm the family‘s bond of trust, obviously. Instead, social networking should be a topic discussed openly within the family, and parents should both initiate the talk and listen to their kids to learn about the risks they face. The EU Kids online study, conducted across the European Union in September last year, showed that nearly half of the kids avoid talking with their parents about sexual content they see on the web. I believe it‘s very likely that children in the United States react the same way. It‘s important that parents encourage their children to talk to them if they are unsure about any situation. Parents should indicate that they are willing to support them with any problems they may have.
Monitoring, supporting and discussing children‘s online activities will help children gain media competence.
Media competence is the best solution to diminish online risks and thus help children profit from the vast opportunities of the social web.
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Guest writer: Christian Sigl, founder of secure.me (http://www.secure.me)
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