5 Social Networking Risks To Know About

October 13, 2009

The media has taught us well about the risk of predators on the internet but you may not have thought about these five risks that your kids will likely encounter online.

  1. Relentless Peer Pressure
    In times past, kids were able to take a break from peer pressure. With social networking and texting capabilities, kids may feel pressured to be “on” 24/7 365 days a year.  The need to announce what you are doing, where you are going and who you are with may be stressful especially if the answers do not fit the mold of what is expected by the group.

    Action:     If you haven’t already, consider time limits for internet and texting usage. Limits actually give kids a break from the peer pressure and an excuse (YOU!) for why they are being silent.
  2. Opportunity for Reputation Damage
    The ability provided kids today to publish anything, anytime and anywhere is both a gift and a curse. In seconds kids can push information (pictures, videos, text conversations and more) to large numbers of people. This kind of power in the hands of young people with limited maturity (not a fault, just a fact) can be troublesome.

Action: To help kids protect their reputation, discuss the long term consequences of presenting oneself in ways that don’t reflect good character.

  1. 3. Fake Profiles
    As a joke or as a way to “get back” at someone, kids may create a fake profile representing someone else.  This can lead to trouble with school officials or even police. Caution your kids about playing jokes or getting back in this manner.

  2. 4. Cyber-bullying
    The National Crime Prevention Council’s definition of cyber-bullying is “when the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person.” Caution your children about cyberbullying. You don’t want them to be a victim or a perpetrator. (See Cyberbullying article in this booklet.)

  3. 5. Desensitization to sexually charged images
    Myspace, more so than Facebook, exposes kids to sexually charged images and themes causing desensitization.

Posted by Michelle Cullison | Filed Under MySpace 

Comments

Got something to say?

You must be logged in to post a comment.