According to a
recent Pew Internet & American Life Project
released in April 2007, nearly two-thirds of
teens with profiles (63%) believe that “a
motivated person could eventually identify
them from the information they publicly
provide on their profiles.”
How can we be
sure that the information we post on our
profiles isn’t too revealing? How can we
make sure our kids and teens are safe?
1.
Never post your last name, home address,
phone number or social security number on
your profile page. These types of
personal details can be easily used by
someone with bad intentions to identify you
or members of your family.
2.
Adjust your account settings on social
networking sites so only people you know
have access to any detailed information on
your profile. By doing this, new
friends can still send you messages and
invite you to join their network, but you
retain the power to decide whether or not to
share your page with them.
3. Be
involved in your child’s online life.
Take time to talk to your children about the
Internet, and the potential risks
involved. Spend time surfing the Net with
them and make sure they know what to do if
someone solicits them online. The Internet
is a wonderful place filled with
information, potential friends, interesting
news facts and entertaining videos; help
keep it that way by protecting yourself and
your children. The same old fashioned rules
that applied to you growing up still work
today: children shouldn’t ever meet with
strangers. Be sure your kids understand that
even though they might think they are
talking to other kids on the Internet they
can never be sure.
4.
Stick to reputable companies. A
wonderful aspect of the Net is that there
are a lot of different social networking
sites available to meet different types of
people. Whether you’re looking for friends
your own age, friends with whom you share a
common ethnic heritage, or a place to meet
people with like hobbies, do a little
homework before joining a site. In
particular, check with friends to make sure
there are safe-guards in place to protect
you and your family.
Omar Wasow
is an
Internet analyst and co-founder of BlackPlanet.com.
We Recommend
imbee.com (www.imbee.com),
the first parent-approved social networking destination for
tweens, has created enhanced media features which
enable the most comprehensive and authentic user generated
experience for their target demographic (kids from 8-14).
Expanding far beyond its public beta incarnation, these new
offerings establish the network as the premier destination
to help foster creativity and build a more purposeful
relationship between tweens and the Internet.
Unlike the majority of tween oriented destinations which are
either fantasy based virtual worlds or branded game and
entertainment portals, imbee.com supports user generated
content that is not corporate defined, allowing its members
to personalize their own online user experience. All of
imbee.com’s members can upload graphics and audio files,
listen to music, watch exclusive video clips or customize
their blog spots with artwork and more.
“Kids should have more options beyond game playing when it
comes to their online experiences,” said Jeanette Symons,
CEO for imbee.com. “imbee.com was developed to enable our
members to define their own user experience, and focus more
on their own content creation instead of just corporate
content consumption. By making learning fun through
hands-on exploration and their, we believe our kids will
become better, more productive Internet citizens.”
