Think you know everything about social media? Think again...
The social media revolution isn’t fizzling out; in fact, it’s growing and has probably swept your kids up in it…It’s not easy to be a parent in 2013, and with a huge chunk of the littlies’ social interactions occurring online, it’s vital to understand social media. Be alert, but don’t be alarmed (at least, not yet). We’ve rounded up 8 things parents should know about social media, so you can start to be vigilantes in your kids’ digital life! Just don’t let them know you heard it from us.
Smuggy Smartphones
Even if your kids don’t have smart phones, it’s likely that one of his or her friends do. Having a smart phone means being able to access a plethora of websites (many with inappropriate content) on the Internet 24/7. Though there’s currently no foolproof way to filter smartphone internet access, being aware and able to monitor what the kids can access on their phones will make talking about rule and expectations of appropriate usage a whole lot easier! Now, you might want to rethink getting that new iPhone 5S (with fingerprint lock and all) that the tots have been begging for…
Getting Sexy With It
Better known amongst the kids as sexting, we think this is way more dangerous then just being the latest way to flirt. It involves exchanging sexually explicit text and images over the phone or computer, which makes it extremely high risk because something captured on the spur of the moment can spread virally online in a matter of seconds. The scary part? There’s no ‘undo’ or ‘delete’ button to push, and the images may turn criminal (and horribly tragic) anytime – they might constitute child pornography, and desperate kids who were blackmailed by people in possession of these images have been driven to suicide.
Chatroulette
Invented by a teenager seeking to extend his network outside of snowy Moscow, Chatroulette’s following has exploded worldwide. A crazy-addictive platform allowing users to bounce around chatrooms using their webcams, it’s like speed dating, Skype-style. Though many of the chatters on the other end of the portal may seem innocuous, the sheer intimacy of Chatroulette enables users to invite strangers into their bedrooms for convos that should remain outside the realm of kiddos. Recently, Chatroulette had introduced an algorithm to filter out and ban obscene images, however as we know, our mini-me’s get craftier every day with technology use.
Xs and Os (and we don’t mean hugs)
Better known as porn, the sheer extremity, lack of restriction, and ease of access on the internet just makes explaining the birds and bees to your kids a whole lot tougher. Besides luring them into handing over personal details, and charging exorbitant prices for ‘premium packages’, porn heavily misrepresents what sex is about. From all the sociology and psychology literature (only from the most respected journals, don’t worry!) we’ve read, the young ‘uns, due to overexposure to porn, will have unrealistic expectations of sex. In the long run, they might lose interest in sexual encounters without a ‘storyline’.
Ask FM
Like a modern Slam Book, kids answer questions from friends and strangers that range from innocent – like favourite pop stars or latest tween fashion – to dodgy stuff such as age, hair colour, where you live, and even if you’ve been to third base. Precisely because Ask FM is anonymous in nature, the questions asked are those that most don’t feel comfortable asking (and answering) in the flesh. As a result, anything goes, and users are subjected to bullying, inappropriate behavior, and other far too personal inquiries. The lack of parent control procedures makes us (and you too, we bet) want to keep this platform at arm’s length.
Instagram
The app that everyone is using – guilty as charged – might actually be promoting a toxic mix of narcissism and insecurity for the munchkins. Most of the photos posted on Instagram are selfies – images of the user taken by friends or by themselves. ‘Followers’ of the user can view, ‘like’ the image or video, and leave a comment. The latter can get terribly explicit and mean, since teens are posting photos of themselves in swimsuits, underwear, or even in their birthday suits! All these are related to self-esteem problems, and are done in the hope that their photo will garner ‘likes’ and positive comments from friends and strangers.
Tinder
Tinder is a smartphone app that introduces two people who find each other attractive so they can…we’ll leave that up to your imagination. Parents will be terrified to know that Tinder is rated 12+ in the iTunes app store, and who’s to say the kids won’t fake their birthdates like they do on Facebook (though that’s another story for another time)? Not only can tweens and teen meet (much) older people with this app, we see the potential of it being abused by girls as a measurement of popularity. Parents, be warned, this is another app for the kids to give a wide berth.
We get that our kids are growing up faster than we ever imagined, and that our interconnectivity is exploding. We can help to avoid weaving a tangled world wide web by keeping one step ahead of the kiddos. As informed parents, we can best protect them from the biggest danger in this super wired age: themselves.
Image credits: Getty Images