If you’re over 30, think about what your high school experience would have been like had everyone you knew had ready and immediate access to Facebook or other social media. Think about the idiot who used to bust your chops in class by calling you names or making you feel badly about yourself, and now think about being unable to escape the barrage of insults courtesy of social media. When you’re a teenager, your social life is quite often much more concerning than anything else (usually, for many teenagers, this is the case). Social media sites allow for social lives to be on the forefront of thought 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which in some cases can be absolutely toxic when abused by people who belittle others. Today, so many teenagers (and even pre-teens) are utilizing social media as an avenue to vent their social woes, seek affirmation from their friends or verbally assault their peers. Ready access to the Internet makes such socializing easy, and it may be difficult for parents to monitor their child’s online behavior at all times; however, there are ways to observe your child’s social media escapades and numerous sites dedicated to helping you keep your child in line while online.

First and foremost, parents must talk to their child about his or her life at school, even if he or she is obstinate about revealing personal details. So focus on the big things: Is your kid happy at school? Who are some of his or her friends? What kind of crazy rumors does he or she hear about other kids at school? (This question is a way for you to find out what kids are saying, and possibly, what nefarious activities are occurring among your child’s peers without outright asking). Is anyone being a jerk to your child online? And most importantly, talking about social media responsibility MUST occur in the home. Scare your kids! Let them know that NOTHING they type and put out on the Internet is private and everything can be traced. Let them know that kids these days are being arrested and charged for saying mean things about other kids online. Drill into your child the fact that whatever they put online can and will come back to haunt them one day, so they should be very VERY careful with what they say at all times. (If they want to write personal thoughts down somewhere to vent their feelings, buy them a journal: those can easily be burned and therefore untraceable). Feel free to peruse your child’s social media websites: if he or she isn’t willing to log in and have you look at the page, then he or she probably is doing something of which you would not be proud. Have your own social media pages where you can befriend your child or at least search through other pages with which your child may be affiliated. The Internet is public, and everything you write on it is too, so there is nothing wrong or invasive about monitoring your child’s online activity.

There are ways to monitor your child online, and here are some valuable resources with great suggestions and advice:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=7434768

http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/monitor-teenagers-facebook-7799.html

http://www.noslang.com/monitoring.php

http://www.onlinesafetysite.com/newsletters/ossr1.htm

http://www.howlifeworks.com/technology/how_to_monitor_teens_online_and_texting_activity_to_keep_them_safe_701

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