Social Networking Websites

By Bonnie Bogle, NCPC

You’ve probably heard the names – MySpace.com, Facebook.com, Xanga.com (pronounced Zanga). These are some of the more famous among top social networking websites that have become an online craze for teens and many adults. You’ve probably also heard stories about how pedophiles surf these pages for their next targets, or how teens are having their identities stolen after posting too much information online. The good news is that young people can protect themselves and their personal information easily, if they know how.

Social networking websites may seem high-tech, but they’re easy to use and to understand. They differ from traditional websites in that they allow users to interact with them and with other users. Many of the popular social networking websites let users create personal profiles, add photos, write in a public journal or blog, send messages to others, and invite people to become their online friends – all with just a few clicks of the mouse or a few strokes of the keyboard.

The technology is itself not inherently dangerous. If it’s safely used it can be a great creative outlet for young people. However, many young people share too much information online and aren’t aware that anyone with an Internet connection can view it - pedophiles, employers, teachers, their parents. If you work with children, teach them how to safely use social networking websites and make sure that they do. Here are some ways that you help protect children protect themselves and their personal information online.

• Explain that online information and images can live forever. It can be very hard and sometimes impossible to take down information that is posted. Photos and personal information may already have been copied and posted elsewhere.
  
• Tell children not to post any identifying information online. This includes cell phone number, address, hometown, school name, and anything else that someone could use to locate them.
  
• Make sure they know that anyone in the world can access what they post online. Explain that some college admissions boards and employers are checking social networking sites before they admit students or hire people.
  
• Remind children never to give out their passwords to anyone but you – not even their friends. Explain that if someone has their password, they could post embarrassing and unsafe information about them on their personal pages.
  
• Make sure that children understand that some people they meet online may not be who or what they say they are. Explain that on the Internet many people are not truthful about their identity. Young people should never meet people face-to-face that they met online unless you agree first and go with them.
  
• Most social networking websites require that young people be at least 13-years old, and sometimes even 18, to create an account. Don’t let younger children pretend to be older to use these websites.
  
• Some social networking websites let users set their profiles to private so that only their friends – usually defined as people who know the site owner’s full name or email address – can contact them. Make sure teens’ profiles are set to private, especially those of young teens.
  
• Go online with children and have them show you all of their personal profiles. Ask to see some of their friends’ profiles too. If they have a blog or share photos online, ask to see those as well.
  
• Treat children’s online activities as you do their offline ones. Ask questions about what they do, who their friends are, and if they have made any new friends.
  
• Set clear rules that you both agree on regarding what children are allowed to do online.

How You Can Help Them

• Have children tell you if they ever see anything online that makes them uncomfortable. Make sure they understand that you won’t blame them.
  
• Ask them to come to you if anything happens online that hurts or scares them. Tell them that you won’t punish them by banning them from the Internet – this is a big reason why many kids don’t talk to adults about their online problems.
  
• Report any cases of possible child sexual exploitation, no matter how small, to the Cyber Tipline at www.cybertipline.com.