Home Cyber Security Tips
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media isn’t necessarily a negative influence; in fact, it can offer a wonderful avenue for your kids to discover the world, express their unique selves, and build connections with friends – provided they navigate it safely. Encourage your children to stop and think before posting comments or pictures and stress the importance of never divulging personal details such as age, school, address, or full name, especially when parents aren’t around.
You may recognize these social media icons, but how much do you know about them? Check them out! These are only a few and your children may be using others. Look into the sites they’re using or want to join and learn about them together.
Communicate & Supervise
Anything posted or sent through the internet is impossible to fully remove. Communicate this to your kids.
- Respect Age Restrictions: Let’s make sure we’re all following the rules about age limits on social media platforms. They’re there for everyone’s safety.
- Include Parents in Social Circles: It’s important for us to know who our kids are interacting with online. Let’s make it a house rule to get parental approval before joining new social groups or networks.
- Discuss Respectful Posting: Talk about what is an acceptable and respectable post.
- Connect with Your Kids Online: “Friend” or “Follow” your kids so you can check in on their social media activity. You don’t have to participate, just take a look as often as possible.
- Adjust Privacy Settings: The data our kids provide online is often shared by default. Ensure your child’s profile is set to private. Go into settings and help them adjust the default controls.
- Acknowledge Visibility: Even with privacy settings, our kids can still see what others post and share.
- Utilize Safety Features: Check for safety, blocking, and reporting resources on each site being used.
Source: www.IAmCyberSafe.org/Parents
