Social media has long been the term and brand that we’ve used to define social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and many others.
Even going back a decade, I remember this term being used for places like MySpace and Aol Chat Rooms.
While this term is still commonly used for all of these outlets, social media is just simply the state of the internet in today’s world. Whether through Facebook or not, we’re all pretty we connected through the inter webs these days, and it’s important to remember that we need to keep our children safe from some of the connections we’d rather guard them from.
Today, we’ll discuss a few safety tips for your kids on the web, why they’re important, and how you can implement them.
On Facebook, in general, people are who they say they are and tend to have only one account that links to their real e-mail address and contains only real information about them. Unfortunately, like the real world, Facebook isn’t completely free of malicious people who lie to take advantage of someone else.
Friends
The good news is that you can keep your experience free of people like this by accepting only Friend Requests from people you actually know in real life. Talk to your teen about the importance of sharing information only with people they actually know, and telling you when someone they don’t know contacts them.
Privacy
Teens in the United States on Facebook have very specific privacy rules that are different from most users. Their Public posts are not distributed to everyone via search or otherwise. Instead, the largest group of people who can see something a minor shares “publicly” is friends of his friends.
That being said, you can rest easier if you go through your teen’s Privacy settings with her and agree on settings that allow her to share more safely. In general, sharing only with friends or creating a list of close friends can quickly ensure that fewer people are seeing your child’s information.
Location Information
Make sure that the settings of your child’s account disable the location settings. The reason why this is important is that as your child gets older, they may be using Facebook on an app, which will note their physical location.
Think of it this way – You’re at work and your teen is at home on a summer day, alone. You won’t want them inadvertently announcing that they are home alone.
If you’re not sure how to do this, here’s a step by step from Facebook:
Android Devices
To turn OFF Location Services for your Android device:
- Tap Settings > Security & location > Location.
- Tap to turn OFF Location Services.
- In older Android devices (OS 5.1.1 and earlier), turning on Location Services automatically turns on location access for the Facebook app.
IOS Devices
To turn off Location Services for your iOS device:
- Go to your device’s home screen.
- Tap Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
- Scroll through the list of apps below, tap Facebook and select Never.
- Restart the Facebook app for iPhone or iPad.
If your child is part of the selfie generation and has a large Instagram following, you’ll need to pay careful attention to his or her online activities. Instagram’s “trap” is that to stay popular or gain popularity, a lot of Instagrammers will start pushing the envelope with their picture content, whether it be photos of themselves or others.
Enable a Private Account
On Instagram, only your approved followers can see your photos. It’s important that child has a private account in Instagram, to prevent anyone from seeing their posts that hasn’t been approved.
Monitor Their Follows
After you have a private account setup, you’ll still need to keep an eye on who is following your child. Depending on your child’s age, you may want to implement a rule that only you can approve their follower requests. But, if your child is older and you’ve allowed them to accept/deny on their own, it’s still a good idea to keep an eye on who’s following their posts.
Turn off the Map
Just like Facebook, Instagram will tag your photos with a location. Going into your IG settings, you can easily disable this feature.
Snapchat
In short, Snapchat is a “disappearing” messaging app. It allows users to send photos or videos accompanied by short text messages, which can be viewed for a short amount of time.
The app was created in 2011 by four students at Stanford University. Their goal is to “accommodate the broadest range of self expression, while giving Snapchat users a safe and enjoyable experience.”
However, the “safe” part of Snapchat has often been debated. The app has become a hotbed for sexting and cyberbullying among all ages, in part thanks to how it operates.
If your child is old enough and you’ve permitted them to use Snapchat, here’s a few things to keep in mind:
Privacy
Snapchat’s privacy settings are important to understand. The default “My Friends” setting only allows users to send and receive media from users they have added to their friends list. We recommend that any minor using Snapchat continues to use this setting.
Saving Snaps
Even though Snaps aren’t saved by default, it’s always possible for the creator to save a Snap before sending it or for a viewer to take a screenshot.
One can even take a picture of the screen with another camera or use other tools to save a copy. So it’s important to remind kids to never send Snaps that are illegal, could get them in trouble now or in the future, or would be embarrassing if seen by people like grandparents or college admissions officers.
Personal Information
This one is applicable to all of the platforms, and I’ve saved it for last for this reason. Your child should be careful about the information that they place in their bio sections of all social media platforms.
Commonly, social media outlets will ask questions to get more information added to the profile section. In some cases, you may even see notifications that a profile isn’t “complete” if there is certain info missing. However, that doesn’t mean that your child needs to or has to place their personal data on the web. Be diligent about how much you allow your child to disclose.
Conclusion
New apps and platforms are popping up all the time. That’s why it’s important to talk to your kids and to help them develop critical thinking skills about staying safe in their digital lives.