The relatively new place where kids and adolescents can be found is the digital social sphere or in other words, you can say “Internet and the social network” As other places, the digital social sphere has its perks and perils. If we talk about the perks, you can see the advanced connectivity, the easy accessibility of information and nonetheless entertainment. However, if you look at the dark side you will find cases such as Cyberbullying, cyber stalking, sextortion, cybercrime, and what not. You cannot expect your kid to stay away for the dark side so better educate them the proper use of the internet and social networks. To help you in this regard, here we present you some basic tips that you can start with!
Learn about new technologies
In order to avoid being afraid of the tools that your children use with so much ease, it is vital to learn or know about them. You can attend dedicated tech courses where experts explain you everything from what kids use to how to use a social network, what are the main platforms and what are the mechanisms that regulate them. If not this dedicated help, you can ask your kid to teach you the new digital tools directly. Interested in what they’re passionate about will certainly be a great step to spend time together and not leaving them alone with the technology. This is a great way to stay in touch with kids and to know what they love.
Establish rules
Do not leave your grounds. Even if you ask your kid to teach you about the latest tech and teen trends, you have all the rights to examine what is good and what is not. On the basis of your analysis, you can pick what is good for your kid and what is not. For that, you can also establish rules maybe together with your children about the times and methods of access to technology.
Teach and participate
Teach your kids how it is to be on social networks or how can they use the games correctly; how can they respect themselves and others. Not only this, you are needed to make them realize that the message that goes to the digital world does pose an impact on the real life so, they have to choose their words and actions vigilantly. In addition to the instructions try to participate in their activities and join the forums they are already a member of.
Use Parental Controls
Setting up parental controls is another good way to teach kids the proper use of internet and social networks as it lets parents have a look at what kids are up to and how do they act in the cyber world. Using parental controls observe them closely and look for the loopholes you can get in touch with them. The digital parental control applications such as Family Time are of great help in this regard.
These applications trace out behavior patterns of your teen while helping you plan appropriate actions. Using the FamilyTime app you can monitor, analyze, and take control of your kids as the app offers:
Web Monitoring
- Check browsing history with the date and time stamps
- View bookmarks and favorites
- Keep an eye on most visited sites
Mobile monitoring
- Check the call logs
- View contacts with details
- Watchlist suspicious contacts
- Check installed apps
- Check app usage frequency
- Blacklist unwanted apps
Location tracking
- Check current location with virtual map
- Track where they have been all day long with the location details and the time stamps.
- Geo-fence places to receive automated check in and check out alerts.
- Receive panic alerts along with location
- Receive PickMeUp alerts with the location details
To download this app on your phone, go now to your phone’s store.
Check their privacy settings
It is very important for you to check what are the privacy settings of the various social networks and what settings they have chosen for themselves. After the check is complete, ask your kid to remove private information such as how is the school they attended, the address of the house and turn off the geolocation.
Have Dialogue
The dialogue is always the best way to explain to your kids what the risks are associated with the use of new technologies and what the reasons to implement rules are. Having the dialogue helps you know the stance of your kid and makes you communicate your perspective too.
