With new social networks popping up almost daily, parents are scrambling to stay on top of the new technology in a frantic effort to keep their kids safe.
Law enforcement agencies have stepped their efforts to educate parents. "Internet has nearly endless cultural, educational and entertainment offerings, but it also can be a dangerous place," shared Donald Lucas, officer with the Computer Crime Task Force.
Take the MySpace safety quiz and then pass it on to your child. The quiz format, an image of a typical MySpace page, features a few prominent privacy issues that both kids and parents will want to know. Although the quiz focuses on MySpace, the privacy issues extend to all social networking sites. Also from Kim Komando, a listing of the latest MySpace threats and ways to prevent them.
The birds and the bees can be tough for parents to talk about, but how many parents do you know that broach the topic of internet pornography with their children. With the proliferation of nudity now floating around the internet and across cell phones today's kids could benefit from a few safety tips in this area as well. At recent technology summit, attendees tackled the issue of internet pornography in an effort to bring heightened awareness to the lives of kids and parents. Knutson, a computer scientist and conference attendee shared a few basic ways parents can monitor their child's internet use. Chief among these strategies was the ability to review their internet browser cache and cookies, which detail the list of sites your child has visited over the course of their online surfing safaris. Knutson claimed that nearly 90% of children between the ages of 8 and 16 have been exposed to pornography online. The percentage seems high to me. Additionally the span of eight years from 8 to 16 is too expansive.
Social networking and pornography will continue to be hot parenting issues over the next decade as kids become increasingly active on the web. The challenge for parents of middle school age children is to promote healthy and safe surfing habits that will guide them through the teen years.
