Are Your Teens Social Media Habits Dangerous?

The Inter­net has very quick­ly become an essen­tial part of our lives. Whether we are look­ing for infor­ma­tion, social activ­i­ties, or games, the inter­net is often where we turn to sat­is­fy our needs. But the Inter­net also presents real and sig­nif­i­cant dan­gers to those who are not on guard, and it is impor­tant for your teen to know how to stay safe online.

If you are wor­ried about your teen’s inter­net habits, con­sid­er the fol­low­ing guide­lines for online safe­ty:

Nev­er reveal your true iden­ti­ty

When sign­ing up for social media or web­sites, it is always best to keep per­son­al infor­ma­tion as basic as pos­si­ble. Your teen should know not to reveal per­son­al infor­ma­tion such as their full name, house address, street, neigh­bor­hood, or school name, as this infor­ma­tion may be used to iden­ti­fy and tar­get them.

This is one of the most impor­tant rules for them to fol­low online and its impor­tance can­not be over­stat­ed.

Keep all user­names and pass­words pri­vate

Be sure that your teenage child under­stands that shar­ing pass­words can land them in hot water. The only oth­er per­son who should have their login infor­ma­tion for any social media account or web­site they fre­quent is you, the par­ent.

Stress that you will only use the infor­ma­tion in emer­gency sit­u­a­tions and be sure to explain the impor­tance of reg­u­lar­ly updat­ing their accounts with secure pass­words.

Alter­na­tive­ly, if your child is on the younger side, don’t give them pass­word infor­ma­tion at all. Cre­ate their social media accounts and main­tain con­trol so they can only access their pro­files when you’re present.

Do not engage in threat­en­ing or hate­ful behav­ior

Many teens feel social pres­sures to behave a cer­tain way, and this is just as true online as it is off. Remind teens that their actions online are just as real as they are at school, and encour­age them to act in the same way as they would in real life. Hate­ful mes­sages or rude com­ments can not only get them into trou­ble but may also car­ry legal ram­i­fi­ca­tions.

Nev­er meet up with online friends alone

It is high­ly like­ly that your teen will at some point meet some­one online that they are just dying to meet in per­son, but they should know the dan­gers and risks of doing so alone.

Encour­age them to keep you in the loop and let you know who they are meet­ing online and what they are doing. If they decide to meet some­one from online, be sure it is in a pub­lic place and go along with them even if you sit at anoth­er table and pre­tend not to know them. This way you can keep an eye on them with­out embar­rass­ing them and you will be avail­able should some­thing unto­ward hap­pen.

Nev­er post risky or inap­pro­pri­ate pho­tographs online

Teenagers have a way of not think­ing very far ahead when they’re hav­ing fun, which can lead to all sorts of poor deci­sions. For this rea­son, it’s impor­tant to be very strict about what con­tent is and is not appro­pri­ate to post online. Stress that once an image is on the Inter­net, it’s all but impos­si­ble to get rid of. Encour­age them to always think about the future before post­ing.

It may be seen as a nui­sance to your teen, but close­ly mon­i­tor­ing their social accounts is the best thing you can do for their per­son­al secu­ri­ty in today’s day and age. For more help­ful tips on how to keep your fam­i­ly safe, con­nect with PROTECTION PLUS ®!