Teens and Social Media

Sometime ago I wrote a post on Social Media Safety. The focus of the Social Media post was to provide an overview on some of the steps you can take to protect your identity online for adults. I wanted to write a post more focused on teens they actively use social media daily. There is a balance between respecting the privacy of your teenager and monitoring your teenager activity on social media.

If you are not on social media as a parent then got on it. One of the requirements you can pose to your teenager is if they want to be on social media you have to be their friends list on the social media platform. This will allow them the opportunity to have an account and you can monitor all their activity. Some studies have found teenagers are more expressive on social media then in person. The social media platforms act as a filter so they may post personal information or current mood on social media first. Although you are friends with your teenager keep in mind social media platforms have security settings to hide certain post from friends so there might have to be some detective work on your part to make sure you are able to see all the activity on a feed.

We are all familiar with the popular social media platforms such as facebook, Twitter and instagram but there are many others available for use like Google plus, Tumblr, Snapchat and Meetme just to name a few. Occasionally do a search online see what is the lately and greatest social media platform on the rise I can tell you Snapchat is currently on the rise. You need to have an open conversation with your teenager about what social media platforms they are using so you can better monitor their activities.

Lastly invest in some monitoring software, the software will provide you with the ability to monitor online activities and read text messages on smart phones. If your teen has checked in somewhere or taken picture with the phone you will have access to this information as well. Check with your local phone provider for details on how the software works.

I hope this post is helpful please leave a comment below.

Mark Carvajal