There’s a new kind of “talk” to have with your children in the age of digital dependancy. It is not about “the birds and the bees” nor is it about sharing or whatever other traditional coming of age conversations parents might have with their kids.
How to talk to your kids about using social media and the Internet safely
Teenage and kid behavior online is significantly different than that of adults. They see things differently. Over the past 10 years, privacy is gradually not an issues for teens sharing their personal information online. Many have their phone numbers, addresses, relationship information among other important information that could lead to dangerous situations. Kids will more easily and frequently have conversations with strangers or “friends” in around the world that they’ve met online. More often than not, cyber bullying cases reach international news because a teen committed suicide, a child was solicited to meet with a stranger and was found raped or dead, or never to be found. The Internet poses many concerns for parents, guardians, and educators around the world. Understanding the dangers of the Internet and what it’s best practices are may be difficult for a parent to present to their children if they had never been talked to about it. After all, the Internet has only been a persistent driver of our economy over the past 30 years. Most current parents did not grow up with it the way Millennials are.
Here are a few tips to offer to your children when having “The Talk”:
1. Strong Passwords
Whatever social media platforms that you allow or disallow your child to use should have different and strong passwords. What does that mean? Using mixed uppercase letters with numbers and lowercase letters. The passwords would be changed every couple of months and should not be associated to your something close to your child or family. That means absolutely no least names, pet names, favourite ice creams or movies or places. Passwords should be random so they are hard to guess and every harder for a system to crack. This will prevent anyone from getting into your child’s accounts. Likewise, the passwords should be different if they use multiple social media platforms. If the password ends up in the wrong person’s hands, they suddenly have the password to all other accounts.
2. Everyone is Watching
This may be that hardest point to explain and convey to your child: your every move is being watched on the Internet. Regardless of whether they think what they share can only be seen by your friends or privately through a messaging app, nothing is private. The recent Facebook scandal showed us that even the largest social media platform in the world is not secure. With that said, if they over share or upload inappropriate pictures online (even if it is in a private message), more apps are not encrypted. Even end-to-end encrypted apps are questionable. So what does that mean? Anything important your kids need to tell or show a friend, they should do so in person. Important information should not only not be in your kids profile descriptions but not in private chats either. The potential consequences of identity theft, inappropriate mass shared content, or harassment and cyber bullying are far too high.
3. Be the Friend your Children can go to
There are many hats you can wear as a parent: the friend, the educator, the guardian, or the parent among others. It is important that your child can trust their relationship with you if they end up in trouble using the Internet. By having “The Talk” and frequently talking about difficult and uncomfortable topics, your children will understand that they can talk to you about anything and everything.
With the increasing dangers the Internet posses (while it offers great opportunities as well), having “The Talk” to shape your kids online reputation is the first step to their social media safety.