Summer is well upon us. In Columbus as I write this we are under a heat advisory and a storm warning. Screens as we call them in our house or that collection of devices with monitors such as computers, gaming systems, phones and, of course, the old stand-by television offer an attractive way for many of our kids to while away their days (and sometimes nights).
Online gaming, social media and texting offer an easy way for our children to stay in touch with friends out of school. But those same tools also offer our kids a touch of danger.
How do you protect your children online?
First, be aware that there can be an issue but that being online doesn’t mean that there are issues. There is more good than bad online. My kids use their “screens” to interact with friends and family long distance, share music, learn new things about their hobbies in sports and music as well as entertain themselves. I think they get more benefit than danger.
But you still need to be aware of the dangers:
- Data theft such as stolen passwords, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers and other financial information. Children are great targets for identify theft. They have clean credit histories and can go years without knowing they have been compromised.
- Malicious software such as adware, spyware, viruses, and the like. Children aren’t any more susceptible to malicious software than adults are but often when we are hired to clean an executives computer we find that a game download was the beginning of the problem as kids just want to get back to their online fun and are more apt to just keep clicking “OK” until their game returns. And then if the computer “blows up” after the last “OK” click they quietly leave the computer for someone else to find the problem.
- Inappropriate content such as pornography, content focused on violence, hate propaganda or other things that are inappropriate to your family’s values.
- Cyberbullying which is just a fancy name for when the old school yard bully takes to the online world. Cyberbullying can take on the guise of bullying peers via instant messages, texts, social networking sites, online games and other public forums.
- Predators which NBC’s Dateline has done a good job of highlighting through several episodes can hang out in social networking sites and chat rooms looking for vulnerable kids.
Second, help your kids use social media safely. As a society we talk to our kids about stranger dangers and about the dangers of Halloween candy. We don’t do was well talking to them about some of the real dangers of social media.
- Be friends with and interact with them online. Read their posts. Comment back. Ask about the friends they have. Don’t feel like you are interfering with their development to hold them accountable. I can in fact tell you which of my boys’ friends have parents who read their Facebook wall and those that don’t.
- Set some basic rules for use. Set an expectation that you can read their messages whenever you want. Limit the times and the amount of time they can access screens. Have them only be online in public areas of the house so that you can see what is on the screen.
- Caution them about choosing their online friends wisely.
- Encourage kids to keep passwords and personal information to themselves. Teen Angels of Wired Safety.org reports from one of their studies that 75 percent of 8- to 9-year olds shared passwords with someone else, and 66 percent of girls, grades 7-12, said they shared their password with someone else. Kids are also more open to sharing personal information online.
Here are some sites that provide additional details in helping you protect your kids online:
