Take these precautions to ensure that your kids stay safe while using social media.
In today’s day and age, social media is an unavoidable force in most of our lives. While social media is a powerful tool that helps us connect and learn, it can also become a dangerous influence if we are not careful. As a parent, the idea of your child on social media might be a scary one. However, your child’s entry into the online world is not something you can put off indefinitely. This is why it’s so important for parents to have a serious discussion about the dangers of social media with their children. Here are some of the precautions that parents should take to keep their kids safe online.
- Set Parental Controls
While parents should respect their children’s privacy, they should still monitor what their children have access to online. Before allowing your kids to set up social media accounts, make sure you install parental controls on their devices. With these controls, you can limit which websites they can access, when they can access specific sites, and so on. You may also want to consider getting a social media monitoring app so you can keep an eye on who your child is chatting with and block any messages you don’t want them to see. Finally, to reduce the chances of your child getting into trouble, you should move family computers and connected devices to a common space inside the home. This way, you can physically monitor when your child is going online and what they are doing.
- Respect Age Restrictions
Facebook does not allow anyone under the age of 13 to create a profile, and many other social media platforms have similar age restrictions in place as well. While children with unrestricted internet access can easily lie about their birthdate to circumvent these restrictions, you should uphold them in your home. Use parental controls to block these sites until your child has reached an appropriate age to use them.
- Discuss the Dangers
The main danger of social media and the internet as a whole is that it is anonymous. Someone can easily pretend to be someone else, concealing their true identity and intentions. This is especially dangerous when it comes to predators who assume fake identities to lure children into connecting with them. To avoid this chilling scenario, you need to have a serious talk with your child about the dangers of befriending people online. Stress the importance of never accepting friend requests from strangers and explain the risks of posting too much personal information online. By candidly discussing the threats of the online world, you can reduce the chances of your child being vulnerable.
These are some of the precautions that you should take to protect your kids online. Want another way to take care of your loved ones? Then make sure you have the right life and health insurance in place. For assistance with your personal coverage needs, contact the experts at Randy Jones Insurance Services in Pleasanton, California. Our dedicated team is eager to assist you today.
