Teens 13-17 Online – Risks, Awarness, Tips
Teens and Their Online Lives
Teens are independent and that's clearly see today in their online lives. Teens have numerous profiles, countless accounts on social media apps, and plenty of online connectivity. They communicate about themselves to friends and family as well as strangers from around the world. What's important for teens to know, though, is that everything they post online is unable to be removed. And, that can impact them for years to come. Today's college admissions officers and employers perform simple searches online to learn more about an individual and online lives like these can be damaging if the wrong information shows up.
How to Teach Kids to Be Safe Online
For starters, all parents should conduct a basic search of their children online. It's a simple way to know what they are doing. Second, most teens should share their profile names and passwords with their parents and regular check-ins from parents should be discussed. Then, consider these tips as well.
- Parents should set and enforce rules for what is appropriate to say and do online. This should include limits on use, private information sharing, photo sharing, and using adult content sites.
- Parents need to be aware that most teens have such an online life and that it is unlikely to be easy to access. Learn where these accounts are and how to access them.
- Using browser data, find out what sites your child has been on.
- Teach kids to have safe passwords, how and when to change them, and how important it is not to share them.
- Talk to teens about phishing emails and how to avoid clicking on links from people they do not know.
- Keep the lines of communication open between you and your teen. It's important that kids know they can talk to you about anything.
- Focus on keeping computers, laptops and tablet computers in the family room rather than in bedrooms. It's the best way to ensure you can monitor what your teen is doing online.
Your teen has a life online and, whether you want to believe it or not, it is important to them. It's important to you to ensure your teen remains safe online, though. This means monitoring them such as you would any other activity they are participating in. The more open your communications with your teen are the safer and risk free his or her interactions online can be.