Children play an important role in our society and within their families so protecting them and keeping them safe should be priority one for parents. This is more difficult today than it used to be only a few decades ago because we’re living in a fast-paced, digital world. This is especially true when it comes to keeping information about your children safe. Here are some ideas for keeping your kids safe in a world of social mapping.
Social mapping may affect various parts of our lives and can include our activity on social media sites, the information on the websites we visit, our location through any kind of GPS device and the messages that we send to friends and family. While most people don’t realize it, much of the information that is important to us is important to other people and businesses, though for entirely different reasons. Information makes the world go around these days and it goes without saying that people and companies who have the best information and use it correctly will be the most successful. While most information gathered about you and your children is relatively harmless, there are some weaknesses in the digital world that are easily exploited, especially if you aren’t aware of cookies and other information gathering devices.
Knowing what your kids are doing gives you peace of mind about their well being. The way that parents and children interact today is very different than it was just a few decades ago. In fact, today many parents seem to take a hands off approach when it comes to raising their children. Whether this is the case or not, parents need to be aware of what their children are doing because this information can help parents make sure their kids stay safe.
It’s imperative that parents understand what types of social media their children are accessing and how they’re using digital media. This means being aware of the websites they visit, the searches they do and who they IM or text, among other things. It’s also important to help them understand which information must not be shared at all. Knowledge is power and understanding how your kids are using the internet or staying connected to the world as well as what information they’re sharing will help you keep them safe from the harm. While you don’t necessarily need to know everything that your kids are doing online, checking in on them occasionally and see what they are doing on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other social media sites is necessary. If you don’t know which websites they visit, talk to them and find out. While giving your kids a certain amount of privacy and autonomy, they need to understand that not everything is permissible. Communicating with your kids is very important and it’s an essential aspect of keeping them safe in the real world. While parents may sometimes be overprotective of their children, many people would say that it’s better to be safe than sorry.
