Social networking is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family as well as meeting new people with similar interests and hobbies.
Here are some tips to follow when you feel your child is ready to begin engaging with social networking sites like Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitter:
- If you haven’t already got an account, set one up so that you can understand what your child can and can’t do as well as learning how to adjust the privacy settings. You can use fake information if you aren’t comfortable using your own.
- Make sure your child is old enough to use the site. Sites like Facebook and Instagram require users to be 13 years or older.
- Tell your child to keep their passwords a secret otherwise other people may log on and pretend to be them. It is important that you know your children’s password however.
- Advise your child to set their account to private so that they will only interact with people they know in real life and aren’t approached by strangers.
- Encourage your child to think carefully before they post any information online. Things they post on social networking can have an impact on them even after they delete it and long into the future.
- Help your children to set up their location services on their device so that they aren’t broadcasting their location to strangers.
- Remind children to be careful when making new friends online as some people may not be who they say they are and ensure your children never arrange to meet an online friend unless accompanied by a trusted adult.
- Make sure you know how to report inappropriate content on social networking sites and show your child what they should do if they come across anything inappropriate
More information for parents is available at www.cybersmart.gov.au/parents.aspx
