Monitor Kids' Cell Phones for Cyber Bullying

Do you monitor your kids’ cell phone when they come home mad or upset?  This would be a good habit to get into because kids can send out mean texts that may be looked upon as cyber bullying.

A parent that monitors kid’s cell phone can help stop the inappropriate texts from other so that it does not evolve into cyber bullying. We have all gotten in an argument or two in our life, to say the least, so we know it takes some time to cool off. When your kids come home from school or from a friend’s house after an argument, kids need to know not to start texting that friend or another friend just to talk trash about the first friend.

If you do not monitor your kid’s cell phone, then talking to your kid about cell phone etiquette is a must. We all know when we get into an argument the first thing out of our mouths may not be the kindest.  The same thing applies to sending a text message to a friend when you just got into a fight - you may not text the nicest remarks. 

Before this happens, parents need to talk to their children about cell phone etiquette and talk o them about how their actions could be perceived as cyber bullying. 

Teach your kids to refrain from texting a friend when they're in a fight or are angry with one another.  As we all should do, wait until you have calmed down, and then encourage your child to work things out in person or over the phone not through a text message.

As a parent, have you talked to your kid about cell phone etiquette?

Sharing Passwords

Parents need to remind their teens not to share their passwords with friends and to treat passwords as private.  

Although, teens still need to let their parents know their passwords for their own safety and protection.  Some studies have shown that one third of all teens between the ages of 14 and 18 years old share their passwords with their friends.  Teens are sharing passwords as a sign of trust between friends. This type of behavior can put them into danger because now other people have access to their social networking accounts, cell phones, emails and iPads. A password gives a person some sort of privacy and protection, so when teens give out their passwords their security is gone.

The sharing of passwords can lead to cyber-bullying.  Here is an example of what could happen when passwords are shared. There are two teenagers, “teen A” and “teen B” and have been friends forever and one day “teen A” gets mad at “teen B,” so “teen A” decides to share “teen B’s” password with friends “XYZ.”  Well of course, one of these teens doesn’t like “teen B” so he/she uses the password and post something horrible on “teen B’s” Facebook account. Teens need to remember not all relationships end up “happily ever after” especially when teens start sharing passwords.

How Private is Twitter

Do you know what type of information Twitter keeps on you? Basically, Twitter looks at the information you provide them as you wanting that information to be made public. This would include your tweets, the lists you create, the people you follow and your favorite tweets just to name a few things.

Twitter also collects information about how you use their service, whether it is your IP address, mobile device, operating system, web pages visited, cookie information and so on. Ultimately, any information that is public and is not marked as private, Twitter will share this information.

However, Twitter is following the Do Not Track (DNT) function found in a number of web browsers. When you activate the DNT, Twitter will not adapt your account based on the web sites you have visited.  So, just beware of what information you have on Twitter and where it is going.

Parental Monitoring, a Sign of Untrusting?

Parental monitoring can help kids make better decisions when online. But parental monitoring alone is not the best choice for kids. Many tween and teens perceive parental monitoring applications as a sign of spying, untrusting and invasion of their privacy. 

It has been found that if parents engage in what their kids are doing online and talk with them about what to do when encountered with inappropriate behavior, such as rude or sexual chatting, then kids understand parental monitoring better. 

Parents need to continuously talk to their kids about the family rules of using the internet and cell phone so kids know what to do when faced with cyber bullying and online predators. When young teens know to ignore, de-friend and block the person on their social networking account who is cyber bullying them or sending inappropriate messages, this is indication that your young teen is aware of the dangers and using common sense when online. When kids are aware of the online dangers, the internet can be a place for them to learn, create and expand their horizon of their individuality.  

Do you think the best combination for kids’ online safety is talking and parental monitoring?