News, Advice, and Tips for Parenting Teenagers

You want to know what your teenager is doing and saying on his favorite social networking site (MySpace, Facebook, etc). So you go online, create a profile of your own and "friend" your son so that you can see his profile, comments, pictures, etc. But is that the best place to start?

"Rather than going to your teen's favorite social networking site, finding something disagreeable and then telling him your were looking at his profile, talk about it first. Let him know that a condition of his being allowed to use MySpace, Facebook or the next big thing to come along is that you have access to his page. The purpose of this conversation is not to negotiate, but to underscore the value you place on being upfront and honest."

Instead of creating a profile of your own and trying to "sneak a peek" at your daughter's Facebook page, ask her if the two of you can look at her profile together. Most young people don't think they post anything dangerous on these web sites, but often they're unaware of little things (pictures or comments) that would make them vulnerable to online predators. Make sure your teen knows that your primary focus is to help her be safe.

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Labels: internet, interferring, privacy

Posted By: Aspen Education Group