MIDWAY, FL - In Today's Teen Talk, with spring break from classes, comes more time for teenagers to busy themselves with social media.
Family Therapist Jane Marks shares some pointers on how parents can keep the kids safe online.
Question from parent: My teens are on social media more than ever. As a parent of a teen who is about to navigate their first Spring Break experience and will be participating in all kinds of social networking, like Facebook, Twitter, what do I need to be aware of as a responsible parent in addition to all the other safety concerns?
Answer: Parents do need to know about the hottest social media platforms as well as the terminology and to that extent it can be tremendously challenging. On one hand you want to respect your teenager's boundaries, however, on the other hand you want to do everything in your power to protect your child with regards to online activity.
1. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT PARENTS ARE AWARE OF ALL THE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES THAT YOUR TEENS ARE PARTICIPATING IN. WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS DO YOUR TEENS CURRENTLY HAVE?
2. PARTICULARLY DURING THE SPRING BREAK, IT IS IMPORTANT TO CHECK YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGS.
3. BE CAUTIOUS OF ALL FRIEND REQUESTS.
4. WITH REGARDS TO SPRING BREAK, THINK BEFORE YOU POST, LIMIT PERSONAL CONTACT INFORMATION IN YOUR PROFILE AND POSTS, AND NEVER GIVE AWAY YOUR PHONE NUMBER, ADDRESS OR ANY INFORMATION THAT MAY PROVE TO BE HARMFUL IN ANY WAY.
5. DURING SPRING BREAK AVOID USING LOCATION SERVICES LIKE 4 SQUARE AND DISABLE LOCATION SERVICES ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM AND TWITTER WHEN POSTING PHOTOS, IT'S COOL BUT MAKE SURE THAT'S DONE.
6. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU LEARN SOCIAL MEDIA ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS. It is especially important to be aware of the sexually explicit acronyms used by teens. IWSN – I want sex now, GNOC- get naked on camera, LH6 – Let's have sex.
7. BE COGNIZANT OF SOCIAL MEDIA FADS THAT OFTEN FUEL RISKY BEHAVIOR.
8. BODY IMAGE TRENDS BECOME BIG DURING SPRING BREAK.
9. BE AWARE OF INSTAGRAM DRUG SALES. ILLEGAL DRUGS ARE BEING SOLD THROUGH PHOTO ORIENTED INSTAGRAMS, OFTEN SHOWING UP IN HASHTAGS. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR TEEN'S HASHTAGS AS WELL.
10. TO BE SAFE YOU NEED TO KNOW ALL YOUR TEEN'S CODES, PASSWORDS, ANYTHING AND CERTAINLY ALL OF THEIR APPS.
11. REMEMBER DURING SPRING BREAK, KIDS WILL USE THE VIRTUAL WORLD TO COMMUNICATE JUST AS THEY WILL FACE TO FACE.
12.PARENTS, REMEMBER SOCIAL MEDIA IS A TECHNOLOGY OF THE MOMENT, SO PARENTS, YOU NEED TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK CONTINUOUSLY.
