* 41% of teens consider themselves addicted to their technology, 20% to social media sites.
* 43% wish they could “unplug” and 21% wish their parents would too.
* Our kids spend between 6-7 hours a day using digital media (including television).
* 21% report making negative comments on social media sites, as young as 11 years old.
* 43% report contacting a stranger online by age 12.
* 25% of teens admit posting a risqué photo online, while only 1 in 11 parents is aware that this has happened.
* Social media has made 1 in 10 kids afraid to go to school or fear for their safety.
* 86% of teens post things online they know they shouldn’t.
* McAfee reports that 58% of tweens say they know how to hide what they do from their parents: this number jumps to 65% for teens, and 80% for young adults; about half said they’d curtail such activities if they knew their parents could see what they were doing.
If your eyes (and minds) are open, you should be afraid.
There are a host of benefits for teens using social media safely. It helps connect them to those all-important friends, develop relationships with kids they otherwise might not have because of shared interests, develops social skills and can boost self-esteem. But the dangers abound: sexting, cyberbullying, oversharing of personal information, exposure to predators, identity theft, exposure to inappropriate content, and reduced physical exercise.
Social media tools of choice include Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Tumblr, to list a few. Have you investigated these sites? How about Ooovoo, Ask.fm, Google+, Vine, Waneo, Kik Messenger, YikYak?
And this is only a short list. Young people don’t use Facebook as often as they did because most of their parents use it (making it “uncool” and too easy for their postings to be “checked on.”)
So, what’s a parent to do?
- Control the conversation and behavior. Most social media sites “require” users to be 13 years old, so that’s a good time to start using social media with your child.
- Talk about what constitutes appropriate content, and what’s “safe” to share online.
- Create a social media/digital use policy together that applies to everyone in the family, including how much time can be spent on electronic devices.
- Select social media sites together and monitor their use.
- Keep digital device use in shared family space, like the kitchen or living room.
- Discourage participation in contests and answering questionnaires.
- Discuss what makes (and breaks) their online reputation.
Consider software to help you monitor use of your children’s electronic devices. Well-rated paid software includes Net Nanny, WebWatcher and McAfee Safe Eyes; free software options you may wish to evaluate are Norton Family, DNS Angela and Bitdefender.
If you and your under 13 year old children want to go online together, the following sites are great places to start: for preschool/elementary age children, Disney’s Club Penguin and Webkinz, and for upper elementary/middle school age children, Dgamer and Whyville are the ones recommended by child advocates. Sgrouples is much like Facebook, but also boasts a privacy bill of rights, threaded discussions, and email accounts.
Some great group online sources for additional information include the Family Online Safety Institute, CyberSafe and Common Sense Media.
A smartphone, tablet or computer can be just as dangerous as a loaded gun in your home. Please be aware and educated about the potential dangers and benefits of this powerful resource available in public spaces and in your own homes. Your child’s life depends on it.
Kathy Snavely owns Lightkeeper Consulting, a small business development firm, and teaches at Harrisburg Area Community College. She has been recognized as one of the top 100 marketing professors on Twitter by Social Media Marketing Magazine and one of the top 50 business professors on Twitter by OnlineMBA.com.
