By Jonathan Boyd
With social networking sites being as popular and accessible as ever before, there is no doubt that parents need to use caution when letting their teenagers use these sites. These popular social websites like Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter are excellent places for your teenagers to interact with other teenagers, make new friends and learn more about the larger world around them. These sites can provide safe access for your teenager to meet people from all over the world and interact with teenagers on a whole new level. But these sites can also be dangerous places where people are not always as they seem and could be looking to harm your child. But if you follow these simple safety tips and exercise caution and common sense, you and your teenager will get the most out of safe, social networking.
Never List Personal Information
It is important that you teach your teenagers, before they ever touch a keyboard, to never list any personal information anywhere on the internet. Information such as phone numbers, addresses, email accounts, schools or even neighborhoods should never be listed anywhere on the internet. This information may allow others personal access to your child which is exactly what child predators and scam artists use to build trust with teenagers and garner private information.
Never Have Inappropriate Conversations
People often feel invulnerable online and feel they can say whatever they please without any repercussion. This is a big misconception. Every computer has tracing mechanisms in IP addresses and other software, that if you make a threat against someone, or violate a law in anyway, you will have to account for it. Teach your teenager there are things that they just shouldn't say online, like racial, sexist, or crude comments, and threats made towards other people.
Never Agree to Meet Anyone You Met Online Without Supervision
It is very important that if your child makes new friends online and wishes to meet with them in person that there is extensive supervision. People may not always appear as they seem and you do not want to put your child in a possibly dangerous situation. It is never smart to meet anyone that you met online, but if your child does, then make sure you know everything you can about this person, and that you are there to supervise. It could just about save your child's life.
Never Giveaway Passwords
A simple password to your child's email or social web account may be a ticket to identify theft and other potential problems. Others can use this information to divulge inappropriate messages, pictures, or other content that could be harmful to your child or family. Remember that passwords are never requested in emails so teach your teenagers never to divulge this information.
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Jonathan Boyd has written countless articles for Meeting Wave, a free website to meet people offline, for social or business networking. Check out the MW blog at www.meetingwave.com/blog
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