Stay Safe on Social Media

3 Easy Tips to Make Sure Your Kids Are Social Media Safe

Whether it be Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, social media can be a really fun way to interact with friends. It provides a platform for sharing experiences, keeping up with trends, and maintaining connections with loved ones. As much fun as they can be, we need to always remember there are real threats to using these tools. Social Media can be dangerous too, especially for children who might not fully understand the risks. Cyberbullying, online predators, and exposure to inappropriate content are just a few concerns that parents need to be aware of.

So, how do we protect ourselves, and make sure our kids are protected too? Here are a few practical tips to help teach your kids about social media safety while fostering a sense of responsibility and awareness.

1-Don’t let young kids roam free

First things first, if your child is under the age of 13 make sure all of their accounts and passwords are connected to your device or computer. This is a critical step in ensuring their safety. By having total access to their accounts, you’re in a better position to oversee their activities and manage potential risks.

However, this doesn’t mean you should micromanage or invade their privacy by reading every message they send or receive. Instead, focus on being a guide and a protector. You should have total access to them. I’m not saying you should log on and read their messages, but you should be able to block or unfollow anyone that you feel could be a danger to them. It’s important to trust your kids, it’s even more important to make sure they are safe.

Remember, there are some nasty things on social media, and you never know what is happening if you don’t have full access to your children’s accounts. Social media is full of content that can be inappropriate, harmful, or even predatory, and it’s difficult to know what is happening if you don’t have full access to your child’s accounts. So be smart, don’t allow your kids under 13 to have total reign over their accounts.

2-Stay private

Privacy is one of the best tools for ensuring safety on social media. Always encourage your kids to set their accounts to private, which allows only approved friends to view their posts. This simple step can significantly reduce the risks of strangers gaining access to their personal information or photos.

REMEMBER: IF YOU ALLOW PEOPLE TO FOLLOW YOU THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW, YOU ARE NO LONGER PRIVATE. Make sure you monitor the people your child allows to follow them. If you don’t know who they are, ask. Being social media safe means constant checkups to stay social media safe. If you have any questions on how to make your social media accounts private, this should help. Building an ongoing conversation about social media safety is key to staying protected.

Social media safety also requires consistent checkups. Regularly review privacy settings and ensure they are up to date. Some platforms frequently update their privacy policies, which can unintentionally expose personal information if not managed properly. Take time to explore the privacy settings together with your child and explain why each setting is important.

If you’re unsure how to make accounts private, don’t hesitate to look for guides or resources online to help you navigate these settings effectively.

3-Parody accounts are a wild card

Accounts that are created for memes and other funny internet things are usually accounts trying to build a large following to earn money through ads. Make sure you know what parody accounts your children are following. Once these accounts have a large enough following, they will often post inappropriate content for an easy buck. Don’t fall into the trap of a couple of stupid jokes just to put your child at risk of seeing something that they shouldn’t. Remember being social media safe means preventing the problem before you have to deal with the problem. Don’t let social media teach your children about the birds and the bees.

We’d love to hear about other ways to protect our kids on social media. Leave us a comment and let us know how you do it! Being social media smart is a joint effort.