With so many teens and parents using social networking these days, everyone should know these few social networking safety tips. There are ten great safety tips for social networking. By following these safety tips you and those that use the computer in your house for social networking can be safer.
1. Put everything behind password-protected walls. This is where your friends can find information but it will be harder for others to get to your information. The passwords should also be at least eight digits and letters combined. Also make sure you really know who someone is before you give out any passwords.
2. Distort your photos a bit. This will make it harder for someone to steel your photos and use them without your permission. Because if they don’t get your permission, they aren’t going to enter a cutest hair contest with your photo.
3. Don’t post anything your parents, spouse, of friends couldn’t see. Predators will look for extremely personal information and use it to get to you or your family. Remember what you put online will stay online forever. Don’t say or do anything online that you couldn’t say or do offline.
4. Check out what your friends are saying about you. You may be careful, but you need to make sure they are being careful about you too. Protect their privacy too and never put up a picture of your friends without their consent. If you are going to say something about your friends ask them first if it’s ok.
If you have kids using social networking there are safety tips for parents. The next five tips are for parents or those that know teens who are using social networking. Teens are among the highest percentage of social networking users.
5. Talk to your teens about social networking and what is appropriate to put online. Check out their social networking profile. Your kids posted it there for millions of people to see, you should see it too. Know your kids user name and password. It’s a good idea to get your own profile on the social network your kids are on and be on their friends list.
6. Help your children to see and understand that not everyone on social networking is honest. There may be a fun good-looking boy they have made friends with, but if the truth were known, that boy is 45 and has been in jail for the past 15 years.
7. Parents don’t believe everything you see online. Teens especially may write or upload something just to see a reaction from their friends. If you don’t like what you see about your kids then talk to your kids and get the truth about the situation or entry.
8. Social networking safety tips includes knowing when to put a hold on the social networking. You are the parents and you have the ability to stop social networking within your house. Give your teen guidelines to follow and make sure they know you will hold then to the guidelines. You do not want your child to be talked into meeting a stranger at the local Wal-mart.
9. Social networking is best used by teens that are at least 16 years old. If you have younger teens that want to join in social networking, be sure to keep a close eye on what they are doing and whom they are in contact with. Check stuff out and let your kids know that you are checking them out.
10. The last social networking safety tip is to add friends that you know personally in real life. You can add new friends later, but this should be done with extreme caution. Keep your personal information personal; don’t post it for others to see.
There are so many people out there that will send you viruses, steel your identity, or even come by your house if they have the right information from your social networking. Social networking safety tips include protecting yourself and those in the household. Protection can come by knowing what is appropriate for millions of other to see. Everyone who uses social networking should follow these social networking safety tips.
