Safer Social Networking & Blogging

Get Informed
Social networking and blogging can be fun and constructive outlets for your kids, but they can also present a privacy risk. We've put together a quick primer on social networking and blogging, including good strategies for dealing with both.

Social Networking
Steadily growing in popularity for teens and adolescents, social networking sites include MySpace, Facebook, Friendster and Windows Live Spaces. These sites allow users to set up personal profiles with interests, pictures and commentary in order to create online communities of people with similar interests. Social networks can have a positive influence, as they allow kids to:

Keep in touch with their peer group Express their emotions or have an outlet for problems Perform “unofficial background checks” on peers by checking out their profiles

The main thing for parents and teens to be aware of is that social networking can allow strangers — even predators — to find and use private or personal information.

Blogging
Blogging — the practice of keeping a "Web log" or online diary — is a common hobby for modern teens. In fact, some estimates indicate that roughly one-half of all blogs are written by teenagers. As with social networking, blogging can be a positive outlet. It can even help improve kids' writing skills.

But when your teens post personal information on their blogs, they can put themselves at risk of attention from predators. The statistics on the information shared in blogs can be startling, as recent studies have indicated:

Strategies for Safer Social Networking & Blogging

You can help your teen minimize risk and get the benefits of social networking and blogging with these strategies.

	Educate yourself about the site. Evaluate any social networking or blog site your child wants to participate in by reviewing its privacy policy, code of conduct and content-monitoring practices. Suggest sites with private profiles, and make sure kids make use of privacy settings.
	Check the age limits. Many social networking and blog sites are restricted to ages 13 and above — but these limits aren't so strictly enforced that younger kids cannot sign up for an account. Some social networking sites are specifically intended for kids under 13, are strictly monitored and do not allow kids to post pictures or other private information.
	Explain that information posted online may be hard to take down. Tell your kids to think before they post. Ask them if they'd be embarrassed if any of their posts were seen by friends, classmates, role models, school officials or employers. Inform them that their posts could be temporarily stored on a server or copied and pasted by other users — making it difficult to remove once posted.
	Review your kid's profile or blog. Don't allow kids to post information that would make them easily identifiable: Last names, home address, phone numbers, school's name, email address, last names of friends or relatives, age or birth date Photographs that could allow strangers to identify their house, school or hometown Peer group information, such as high school activity group that lists their high school Make sure that your child doesn't post revealing comments or blogs with strong emotions that could make it easy for predators to form a bond with them. Ask yourself and your kids if they are comfortable allowing strangers and peers to read the information they're posting.
	Insist that your kids don't meet anyone in person that they've only met online. Because users post personal information on these sites, kids and teens may think they “really know” the person they're interacting with. Predators routinely create false identities to lure young people into online relationships. If your child only knows someone online, they should not meet them in person on their own.
	Talk about it. Teach your kids to trust their instincts, and come to you if something or someone online makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened. Stay calm and remind them that they are not in trouble for bringing issues to your attention. Praise their discretion.

Bottom Line If you feel your kids are posting information that is threatening to their safety — and they refuse to change their profiles or habits — contact the social networking or blog site and ask them to remove your kids' pages.