Social Networking for Parents

Facebook. MySpace. YouTube. Blogs. Virtual worlds. The world of social networking–online locations where people convene to socialize, make connections, and share information--seems to have new inhabitants every day. As a parent, the world of social networking has two components for you. First, there is the opportunity to connect with other parents. However, there is also the issue of monitoring how your children are using social networks.

For Parents

Social networks like Facebook and MySpace let you create a free profile page to share information about yourself. These networks also allow you to connect with people individually and to form and join groups. They can be fun (people who love to shop at Target or people who love a particular sports team) or serious (campaigns to stop global warming, feed hungry children, and fight various diseases). You can also use sites like Google Video and YouTube as a form of social networking, as users can post short videos and viewers can comment on them.

Similarly, free blogging programs like Blogger and TypePad let virtually anyone publish an ongoing chronicle of information, life experiences, photos, videos and other material. In many cases, readers can post their own comments, creating a running dialogue. In other cases, message boards and chat rooms like those found on iVillage.com and Parenting Club let you find other parents who can share your joys and challenges, while offering information and advice. Virtual worlds like Second Life and The Sims, allow you to actually move around in a pixilated world where you can buy real estate, build a home or business, and interact with online friends.

If this sounds like kid stuff, these tools can actually be quite useful. Message boards and social networking groups can be rich sources of information and resources. If you have a child with a disability, for example, the easiest way to find other parents dealing with the same thing may be to venture online and find them through social networks. These types of common interests and concerns can lead to real-world friendships.

For Children

Social networking can offer children many of the same benefits that it offers adults. However, it’s important to monitor your child’s social networking activity to ensure that it is safe and appropriate.

Since social networking sites allow and often permit personal information to be shared, tweens and teens who use the sites should be aware than anything they do post has the potential to be shared. Others who have access to their profiles or videos can forward them or store them. Increasingly, employers and educational institutions are reviewing social networking sites, personal blogs and other information available online as a matter of course before offering a job or admission to the institution. As a result, embarrassing or inappropriate information or images on a social networking site or blog can have long-term consequences.

Since these tools are open to the public, anyone has access to the information that’s posted there. As a result, it’s a good idea to set social networking site pages to “private,” so that only those people who are accepted as “friends” can see them. Parents should have their children’s passwords. Set a ground rule that using these sites is predicated on the assumption that Mom, Dad, or a guardian can check in at any time. Parents who want to keep track of their child’s online activities can also use software packages, such as PC Tattletale and Spector Pro. Many of these packages also offer Internet blocking software to keep your children from accessing inappropriate material.

Most important, discuss with your child why it is critical to not put personal information, such as address, phone number, personal e-mail address and sensitive personal details on a public forum. You never know who might try to access it for nefarious reasons. ‘Tweens and teens need to be aware of the risks involved with putting information online via social networks.