Paulette Chaffee, an educator, advises on how to keep kids safe on social media
In our digital age, social media platforms are becoming increasingly popular. However, when everyone in the world seems to have a social media profile, monitoring online activities to keep a child safe on social media can be challenging for parents.
Academician Paulette Chaffee, Encourages parents to take a proactive approach instead of overreacting and pushing children towards social media privacy. She suggests these simple steps to guide parents’ approach to keeping children safe when using the Internet and social media:
1. Open communication hug
Make a Open dialogue Their online activity with a child supports security rather than privacy. For example, when a child logs in to a phone or computer to scroll through social media, a parent may show interest in what the child is reading or talking to. In addition, providing positive feedback and feedback during discussions helps to encourage open communication throughout a child’s development.
Open communication allows a parent to talk about moral boundaries and what is appropriate. It is also important to discuss online reputation and how it can affect a child’s future during open discussion. But, of course, a parent who is obsessed with all the negative aspects of social media does not want to quickly expose a child to open communication.
The The dangers of social media It is important to address issues such as psychological trauma, cyber bullying, unwanted predators, and the disclosure of excessive personal information. However, parents should also discuss the benefits of social media, such as positive communication, collaboration and self-expression.
2. Go to age requirements guidelines 6
Not every family is going to social media in the same way. For example, a child may notice that a friend or peer has a social media profile when they do not. If the child asks why they are not allowed to keep a profile, the answer “because I said so” will not suffice. Instead, parents should always return to the truth. In case of social media restrictions, Follow age requirements guidelines Can serve as an excellent resource for truth-driven guidance.
For example, for the social media outlet TikTok, all users must be of a certain age. Any website that collects data from users is prohibited by United States federal law from signing up anyone under the age of thirteen unless the parent has been notified and consent has been obtained. This law protects the online privacy of children (Copa)
3. Stay up to date
The number of social media platforms available to users is increasing. Parents who are up to date with the most followed social media sites will have an insight into what platforms their child is using or wants to use. Some popular social media platforms, for example, include Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Kik, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Reddit, and Tumblr. There are also apps that kids use to hide their use of other apps that are labeled off-limits. Parents should be familiar with those applications if they are looking for a secret online activity that a child is hiding.
4. Use privacy settings
When a child is old enough to have a social media account, parents should take responsibility for highlighting the importance of using privacy settings. To avoid dealing with the online hazards that a public account can bring, kids should set all of their account information in the most private and secure settings.
About Paulette Chaffee
Paulette Chaffee A teacher, speech therapist and attorney deeply involved with the Fullerton community. As an educator and member of various nonprofit boards, his focus has always been on providing the highest quality education to children. Miss. Chaffey holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the California Lifetime Teaching Credentials, University of Redlands, and is admitted to the California Bar.
