Talking to Your Chlidren About Their Facebook Content

I understand it is stressed all over that parents should have a Facebook account and monitor their children's profiles, but I know this can be a daunting task for some parents and others may worry about upsetting their children. If nothing else, talk to your teenagers about the content of what they post online. Information posted on the internet is forever out there in cyberspace for the whole world to see. Personal information, photos, comments to friends, and Facebook statuses can haunt today's youth who think it is all in good fun.

In fact, more than one of my professors at UConn told the class that they had previously looked up all their students up on Facebook. Clearly, they were seeking information to feel out what kind of person each of us was and likely used that to shape their interactions with us, quite possibly even our grades! Some students have alcohol in every picture, evidence of criminal activity, and comments that portray them negatively. These occurrences are NOT limited to college students, but to people of all ages on social networking sites who may not realize the future implications of today's online choices.

I know for a fact that one scholarship at UConn is given for leadership and overall excellence. When the pool had been thinned to the very best of the best, the final decision was determined solely by the students' Facebook pages. All but one had photos of underage alcohol consumption - and that was the one to win the prize.

Teachers, future employers, and even acquaintances check Facebook and MySpace pages to make critical first impressions that may count for a lot. I, too, am guilty of checking a co-worker or classmate's profile and making decisions on how to treat the person or what to expect from them.

Another feature to talk to your children about is the personal information they list online. Many students naively post their screen names, email addresses, cell phone numbers, and even home addresses. Facebook also has a certain application which allows users to post their daily schedule on their profile. This enables anyone to know exactly where the person is at all times. With this information in plain sight, plus knowing the person’s full name, birthday, school, and activities they are involved in, cyber stalking is an easy task. Hopefully, you can see the dangers all of this possesses, but your children may not realize other people than their close friends (who should have this information anyways!) can be reading it and even utilizing the information. Be sure to look into Facebook’s privacy settings, which offer a variety of options, but the safest strategy is to simply not list their personal information online.

Please, talk to your children about their Facebook content. Personal information about your child or family should never be made available online. Derogatory terms, foul language,  or "funny" photos may seem cool and in good fun now, but in ten years, they may be their nightmare. Younger teens may not be thinking about their futures or safety when they are logging into Facebook, never mind realizing that what they say may inhibit them from running for political office, winning a scholarship, or even earning the respect of their peers.

I encourage all of you to check out the wonderful and informative podcast that inspired this blog:

http://audio.mommycast.com/357_MMYCST_SocialGen.mp3 which can also be found under the Bookmarks tab here on iParentNetwork.org