From predators to cyberbullies, misuse, UN-monitored social media use can have serious consequences.
If your child or grandchild is asking to use, or is already using social media, these quick tips can help keep them safe.
- Clear boundaries are good boundaries. Clarity helps children understand their boundaries and how to successfully operate within them. Create limits that make sense for your child and your family; this might include screen-time limits, what platforms are accessible, and where or when they may be accessed.
- Check account settings regularly. Once your child has set up a social media account, it’s important to remain vigilant about keeping their account settings private and updated, which will allow their shared content to be seen by friends and away from people who may misuse it. Social media sites are constantly adding security features to maximize protection, but these features may need to be updated manually—check for updates regularly.
- Help create a reliable password. Learning to create an effective password is an important step toward online safety. More importantly, if your child’s behavior signals concern, you’ll want immediate access to their social media accounts without having to ask for the password. Any time your child changes their password, you should know.
- Talk to your kids about posting personal information, photos, and video. It’s important that children learn that their actions online can have real-world consequences. Seemingly innocent information, like where they go to school, can be used to pinpoint their location, potentially aiding online predators. What’s more, content posted online doesn’t just disappear. Make sure they consider how pictures and video content presents themselves and others—if it’s not in a positive light, it’s best not to post it.
You can’t monitor your child’s social media activity 24/7, so maintaining a strong line of communication is important to understand what’s going on with your child online.
Advisory Tip: If you ever hear the words DARK WEB / DARK NET from your child’s mouth you just might want to start paying more attention to your child’s use of and interactions on the Internet. Steer clear of the DARK WEB / DARK NET, see my article on this subject DARK WEB / DARK NET ?’s.
If your concerned , not sure or just want to know more information on how to dig deeper into monitoring techniques, more advanced security methodologies let’s talk.
One good way is to get OpenDNS | Cisco Umbrella: Cisco Umbrella is cloud-delivered enterprise network security which provides users with a first line of defense against cyber security threats. Check out my article on OpenDNS | Cisco Umbrella for further detail.
