Child's Social Media Life: A Parent's Guide

Based on materials from androidcentral.com

With the help of social services, it is easier to keep in touch with groups of friends and classmates; schools are increasingly using the possibilities of social networks for group work not only with students, but also with parents. Add to this the relatively recent phenomenon of the growing popularity of 'celebrities' from social networks and other objects of conscious or involuntary interest and we have a whole bunch of reasons why your child will seek access to this attractive world, which he is often denied.

In truth, social media is both beneficial and destructive. If the parents themselves are not active users of them, things only get more complicated and confusing. This material is an attempt to help parents a little to understand how to talk about potential problems in the world of social networks with children, to figure out what is going on in general, and most importantly, to make sure that all possible precautions have been taken.

Fundamentals of 'social networking'

When we look at social networks through the eyes of a parent, it may seem that they have their own language, their own laws, which can only be understood by instructions. However, all of these applications and sites have much more clear points than complex and strange ones. There are a number of basic rules that apply to the Internet in general. And it's incredibly important to explain them to children before they start playing with friends in their new digital playgrounds.

First and foremost: the Internet remembers everything

You can't just take and delete something from the Internet. When you post something, whether it's a selfie on Snapchat or a screenshot of something for a friend in Facebook, it's forever. Then you can delete the post, and the app can promise you that the video you shared will 'disappear' after an hour. However, the post or post exists somewhere, and this information is stored somewhere under your username.

It is also important to remember that your username is associated in some way with you. Some social networks ask you for a phone number, some require an email address, but everywhere on the Internet your IP address is saved when you go to an application or website for some purpose. In general, everything that you do or say on the network is saved and cannot be deleted simply when you demolish a post or log out of your account.

Keep track of the amount of information you share

Maybe you are eager to share some everyday little thing in Twitter or Instagram, but that does not mean that you need to spread about everything and everywhere. Apps like this have built-in features that let you share your location, mood, and the music you are currently listening to, but you don't have to. You can make your online existence much safer by turning off the ability to share your location when you post photos in social media apps.

Moreover, such information is not only available on the social applications that you use. Your location can be made known to people, for example, through the camera application. Therefore, you can turn off geolocation services in your camera, which will stop fixing the exact location when you take a picture. It is useful not only to keep it in your head yourself, but also to help children understand the settings or configure everything for them.

It is even more important to explain to the child who is keen on photography that you should not take pictures that can obviously identify some important components of his life. For example, the street and house number or school number in the pictures is completely unnecessary, since it is even easier to recognize the location of a child – and who knows who would think to use it.

Hashtags – benefits and harms

Everything nowadays has corresponding hashtags. Almost every phenomenon, every thing, and even every TV program can be marked with a hashtag, and there is nothing wrong with that. On the one hand, you can search for a hashtag to understand how other people respond to this or that significant event. On the other hand, you can share with your friends some kind of joke that only you understand – a kind of way to allocate personal space on the vast expanses of the Internet.

However, not everything is so rosy. A hashtag is also a way to find and tag people, and therefore an opportunity to compromise them. Hashtags can be used by detractors to embarrass someone or force someone to do something. The hashtag, combined with a photo that has a date and location, makes it possible to track a group of people in the real world.

Like so much else, hashtags need to be used consciously and responsibly. Explain this to your kids so that they don't engage with strangers or post anything too personal under popular hashtags.

Keep kids safe

Now that your inner paranoid is already frightened by the horrors that lie in wait for you and your children on the Internet, it's time to remember that there are many tools built into applications and sites that will help you keep children safe from the very first post.

Make their accounts private

The best way to keep a child safe from a random stranger who stumbles upon his account is to control how many people are generally able to look into him. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and almost any other social network allows you to make your account private. This means that only approved people can be added to the list of friends who can see your child's posts, as well as personal information on his profile.

Setting up a private account is a good start, but you still have to teach your child certain safety rules when adding people to friends. It's especially tempting and enjoyable for kids to see their friends list grow, but it's important to have an idea of ​​what kind of people they are. Control over this side of online life comes down to choosing who your child is and who you want to see on your friends list – for example, only those you know personally, or only classmates, etc.

Everyone wants to know your location

This is the simplest thing that you can never be afraid to repeat: with rare exceptions, the answer to the question “Do you want to let the application determine your location” must be negative for you and your child. Especially on social networks, which offer the ability to locate in posts so that everyone who reads them can know where you are at the moment.

Probably the most intrusive in this regard is Facebook, which constantly pops up the places that you often visit – what if your friends list is wondering what restaurant or store you went to? This information is added quickly and can paint a very clear picture for the attacker of what your child is doing, when and where.

Selfie and everything else

Taking cool selfies with friends is not something that should be prohibited for a child, however, as mentioned above, any photo may contain excessive information. A selfie near her home school – and her number is distinguishable in the background. It's the same with your address. It is also possible to accidentally set such a 'informative' photo as a profile photo. And now the whole world knows where your child lives or goes to school.

It's also important to remember that you are not the only person in this world with a camera phone. And, unfortunately, in this world, certain photos and videos are in great demand in certain segments of the Internet. Therefore, only vigilance can save you and your child from unpleasant and even dangerous situations. If your child notices someone suspicious taking pictures, they should be sure to inform you and / or other trusted adults – teachers at school, etc. The child should not be silent, set him up that way.

Alertness and fear are different things

The easiest way is to read this material and other articles on the topic of child safety on the Internet and decide that the child does not need to have a phone at all. Everywhere there are these terrible stories about what can happen to your child, and that it is access to the Internet that is the greatest of the dangers that lie in wait for him. Isolation may seem like the best solution, but it’s much more effective to teach your child how to use the Internet and make it a useful tool in children's hands, rather than a source of fear.

The simplest rules described are relevant for children of any age, and your task is to help the child navigate and master a new world for him with him. Together, you will be better informed and protected than alone in an atmosphere of fear and inhibition. However, which path to choose is up to you. And if you have already chosen a strategy for yourself and your children, share your experience in the comments.