Many righteous soldiers fighting in favor of restricting the use of social media among teenagers have fallen flat on their faces since the “for” and “against” groups collided forcefully during the past decade.

The pivotal point of the heated debates had been the relationship between teens and social media. Now, one cannot just turn their face away from the fact that when used excessively, social media does in fact damage the well-being of children.

On the other hand, moderate use of social media can actually work to the benefit of kids. Adults have to realize that there is no way in which social media would just cease to exist one day and instead they should teach teens about proper usage of social media by keeping their online safety as a priority.

Getting Acquainted with Technology

The primary job of adults in this regard is to get acquainted with the latest technologies that are in use all around them.

You could do this by making a profile on social networking sites, getting a hang of the forum and then sending friend requests to your kids in order to monitor their activities. Take extra care not to embarrass your kids online and give them a reason to block you from their profiles.

Ask Frequent Questions

A very reliable method of interacting with children is by asking them simple questions about their activities in the real and virtual worlds.

This would not make them feel suspicious of you and kids would also share most information with you without withholding much.

Ask your kids what they did on social networking sites and whether they had exchanged any text messages with their friends. In return you could tell them a bit about your online activities for the day which would help maintain a respectable level of trust between you and your children.

In Clear Sight

This must be one of the most repeated advices ever in regard to monitoring online activities of children, but keeping a computer in a busy part of the house is a good measure to keep an eye on a kid’s online activities at home.

Talking with parents of other kids by using social media would also provide you with good ideas to implement in your own house. The dangers of social media should never be underestimated.

Public Information

No matter what age group your children fall into, you still have to emphasize the importance of information shared via the internet or mobile phones. Tell your kids that information once shared online is shared with the entire world.

Teaching kids to exercise good judgment while sending messages or pictures is the best advice you could give to the young ones.

Skipping the Rumor Mill

Rumor has it that spreading a rumor online about someone would come back to haunt you after a while.

As a parent you should discourage kids from gossiping, spreading misinformation, and becoming a part of bullying. It is one of the lowest of all human traits to taint someone’s reputation for the sake of cheap fun.

Within Safe Limits

Setting time limits on the internet and mobile phone use among teenagers is very important. Equally important is the fact that you have to track the online activity of children with parental control software to ensure that they are shooting straight.

As time passes, kids would grow up to become responsible adults. But this doesn’t mean that you have to quit teaching them about safe use of social media and cell phones.

Keep your strength intact and continue doing your job to the best of your abilities.