Staying on Top of Children's Social Networking Ecosystem

As we move at lightning speed to delve deeper into the Digital Age, there is a growing concern on how social networking might negatively impact our children. Do not undermine the power of social networking websites. They can be highly influential. 

According to U.S. data, "Children are the fastest growing population of victims of Internet crime, but only 52% of parents moderately supervise Internet use, while an unsettling 20% do not supervise at all."

In a U.K. survey, "A child's social media development begins at aged nine; first accesses YouTube, and begins to use mobile and/or laptop. At 10, they experiment the use of Internet slang (e.g. "BRB", "YOLO") and instant messaging. At 11, when the greatest proportion of internet activity takes place, they are likely to first upload an image or video of themselves, post a nasty comment online and set up a fake social media profile! At 12, children will venture into Twitter and Whatsapp, and message someone online they haven't met in real life. When children reach their social maturity at aged 13, they will try SnapChat and Ask FM, and perhaps try sexting for the first time! I do suspect Asian youths are generally digitally-connected at a comparatively younger age; as consumers in Asia use social media far more than their Western counterparts.

With the advent of technology, so come the accompanying dangers of social networking security threats. Social media has removed the barriers between a child's public and private self, leaving him / her vulnerable and exposed to content, people or situations that may be potentially out of their depth and which they're not emotionally prepared for. Parents must exercise diligence in their supervision, and persistently interact with their children on the technology they embrace:-

• Know the sites your children visit.
• Know the chat lingo.
• Maintain an open dialogue with your children. Nothing can replace one-on-one communication. Encourage sharing of both good and bad online experiences.
• Educate the children on potential social networking and internet dangers, i.e. False identities, internet predators, information posted online isn't always private. Alert them to risks about compulsive online sharing and giving out personal information to strangers.
• Establish internet safety rules and boundaries.

Here are 15 next-generation apps and sites (is Facebook still the favourite digital hangout?) that parents should acclimatise themselves to:-

Twitter
Instagram
SnapchatTumblr
Google+
Vine
Wanelo
Kik Messenger
Ooovoo
Ask.fm
Yik Yak
WhatsApp
Omegle
Yo.
Whisper

For the social networking "dummies", further reading is recommended to put us on the right track of what's currently trendy. Let's hope this will help bridge the Information Age divide between the parents and our teens...
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/15-sites-and-apps-kids-are-heading-to-beyond-facebook

Parents, let's stay computer savvy so we can better guide our children on being SAFE and socially RESPONSIBLE internet users! 

Article written by Julia Oh