EUREKA, IL – If you have teenagers, chances are they are a member of Facebook or another social networking website such as MySpace. Facebook has more than 200 million users worldwide—including more than 6 million United States high school students.
These social networking sites have opened up exciting new ways for teenagers (and adults) to interact with their peers and express themselves. But, parents need to take a pro-active approach to guiding their children’s participation in the social networking universe.
Chris Tidrick, University of Illinois Extension web development specialist, offers the following advice:
• Facebook is not for pre-teens, despite the fact that many kids have opened accounts with or without parent permission. Facebook’s terms of service state that users must be 13 or older. Think long and hard before allowing your kids to lie about their age in order to join. Just because their friends are doing it, doesn’t mean they should.
• Make sure your children close their profile to people who are not approved as their “friends.” This will prevent other Facebook members from looking at your children’s profile and postings without their permission. Facebook offers several different levels of profile security, and these can be found under Settings & Privacy.
• Talk to your children about the implications of making statements or posting photographs on Facebook that make them appear irresponsible, reckless, or immature. Many employers now routinely check Facebook profiles as a part of the vetting process for job applicants. Irresponsible behavior today could cost your children a future job. This is another good reason to have a closed profile and retain a level of personal privacy.
• Be sure your children understand that if they post on the profile (or “wall”) of another Facebook member, that posting is viewable by not just their “friends,” but all of the “friends” of the other Facebook member. A posting that your child thought was an “inside joke” can suddenly become a cause for embarrassment or worse.
• Facebook has a whole series of privacy protection controls that most users don’t even know exist. Look under the Settings & Privacy area and see how your children can control which of their “friends” can see certain parts of their profile. Using these controls can allow your children to be “friends” with some other Facebook members, but not necessarily share all of their profile information. This can be especially useful if your child “friends” other relatives, employers, mentors, or teammates.
• Items posted to Facebook are virtually forever. Although users can delete an account, the account is simply disabled—saved on a server in case the user decides to reactivate the account in the future. Stress to your children: Think before you post!
For more information, contact Cynthia Baer, Woodford County Extension Director, at 309-467-3789