Who is not familiar with Social Media? Almost every one of us is having accounts on various Social Media sites and that includes kids too.
But do you know? The internet can turn out to be the darkest place if not used and handled correctly. And that’s why, it’s important to take care of certain things while using the internet and social media, especially in case your child is using it.
With the world getting digitized and your children becoming more and more tech-savvy, it would be worthless to say that your kid is not using Social Media. You can’t control that but what you can do is to ensure their safety online.
Keeping a track of your kid’s every activity can be a tedious task, however, setting up a few basic rules can help you relieve some stress that comes with parenting and Social Media. Keep reading to find out more!!
10 Ground rules for your kids on Social Media
Check out some of the tips that can help you keep your kids safe on Social Media sites:
1. Learn about various Social Media sites
The first thing that needs to be done is educate yourself about the various Social Media sites available. Earlier, there were only Facebook and Orkut, but the scenario has changed now. There are plenty of Social Media sites having equal craze among youngsters.
As a parent, you must make yourself familiar with all these appropriate sites for your children. Some of the most popular social sites are Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc.
2. Fix an age limit for your child to start using Social Media
Although Social Media sites have set certain age limits for users, still, as a parent, you should fix an age bar for your kids to start using Social Media apps or sites. Remember, Social Media is a vast place, and your kids need to be mature enough to handle it.
3. Keep a check on your child’s privacy settings.
No matter how cool you as a parent are, you should always keep a check on the privacy settings of your kid’s account. Though Social Media keeps on adding security settings to ensure maximum protection of the accounts, specific settings need to be updated manually.
4. Ask your child to keep their profile private
Most Social Media sites offer the option to keep your account private. This means, only the people who are added to your kid’s account can see what they share. Now, this is a crucial step to keep your children’s pictures or content private, which prevents the risk of misuse of the content that your children share.
5. Be very sure about your child not posting any personal details
When your kids are using Social Media, this means they are exposing themselves to a vast number of people. Therefore, it’s essential to teach your kids about what they can or should share online.
Teach your kids never to share personal details like their house’s address, contact details, check-ins, or any other details that can hamper their security with people online.
6. Teach your child not to post stuff that can jeopardize their privacy and character
Many kids are unaware of the potential risks and threats that come with using Social Media. While kids will share pictures or videos with the best intentions, there can be the chance for things to go wrong or out of context, and when the whole world is online, any wrong message can cause a long-lasting consequence.
Try educating your kids to share content that presents themselves and others in a positive light.
7. Be cautious of your child not accepting friend requests from unknown
You must know that the internet is full of different types of people, including people having bad or ill-intentions. It’s crucial that you keep your kids safe from catfishing, i.e., falling into the trap of such people having wrong intentions for your kids.
Therefore, ask your kids only to add people whom they know and can trust in their accounts.
8. Make sure your child is setting a strong password
The cyberattack has risen, and hackers can quickly get through accounts having weak passwords. And once they are in, they can misuse the information available in the social account or use the account for ill purposes.
So, make your kids understand the importance of setting a strong password for their Social Media accounts.
9. Set some basic guidelines for using Social Media
You should establish some guidelines for your kids about using Social Media from the very beginning. This may include setting a particular time limit for using the internet. This way, you can teach positive habits to your kids from the very start.
But make sure you are not setting stringent rules, as in that case, your kids can lie about using Social Media.
10. Keep open communication with your children
As said above, you can’t keep track of your kid’s every activity, but you can put your kids in a position where they feel free to share about anything that’s going with them online, whether it is positive or negative.
The best way to do so is to keep active communication with your kids. Make them comfortable, make them believe that you are on their side, so that, if they ever face any harassing or teasing, they can directly come to you for help.
Facts about some popular Social Media sites
Instagram has set the minimum age limit for users to be 13 years. It has grown to be one of the most popular Social Media sites, where users can share their pictures, videos, chat with others and go live. This platform also allows sharing and commenting on content shared.
However, if the account is kept private, only a limited number of users who are added to the user’s account can view the profile or comment on the post.
The minimum age for WhatsApp is 16 years. This messaging app allows users to chat or make video and audio calls with the numbers saved on their devices. It also enables sharing of photos or voice notes in the chats.
Facebook is the most widely used Social Media site. Allows the users to share, comment, chat, make audio and video calls. The minimum age limit to create an account on Facebook is 13 years.
To avoid any potential threat, one must keep their privacy settings limited to friends.
Snapchat
The minimum age for using Snapchat is 13 years, and teenagers mostly use it for sharing photos and videos for a given length of time. Despite the self-destruct feature offered by Snapchat, taking a screenshot of the pictures is always possible. Permanent deletion is just a false sense here.
Twitter is a micro-blogging site where users can share their opinions in the form of tweets. People can engage with their friends and celebrities here by reacting to the tweets. The minimum age to use Twitter is 13 years.
Although there is an option to delete the tweet, one should know that the tweets could have been stored and copied.
Key takeaway
Your kids can get attracted to Social Media, but being the parents, it is your role to keep track of your kid’s online activities. Even though kids today are tech-friendly, they still are kids and still are learning. So, there is always the chance for them to fall into some trap or risk that can harm their security.
Teach your kids about the dos and don’ts of Social Media sites. Encourage them to come to you for any guidance when questionable situations arise. With the help of a few rules and guidelines, you can undoubtedly ace the use of Social Media amongst your kids.
Bhavik Soni is a Creative Writer at Auto Monkey. We provide an original analysis of the latest
happenings in the social media industry. Connect with Latest Social Media Trends and News
plus tips on Twitter, Facebook and other social tools on the web.