Protecting Teens On The Internet
by Shannon K. Spellman, M.S.W.
Did you know that 20% of children ages 10-17 reported receiving some sort of online sexual solicitation and that 75% of those kids who receive a sexual solicitation online do not report this to their parents? And were you aware that 90% of young people ages 8-16 have viewed pornography and that the largest consumers of Internet pornography are youth between the ages of 12-17? And 25% of adolescents surveyed in 2007 reported that their parents knew little or nothing about their activities online.
If you are a concerned parent of a teen these statistics are alarming. Teens will not be likely to tell you that they are experiencing any of these things. And being of the age of having an illusion of immortality, they simply do not see the dangers no matter how many times they are told. In fact, 48% of kids who report that their parents have talked to them extensively about online safety still post information about where they live on various Internet sites. And sexual predators and pedophiles are lurking in social networking sites and chat rooms on the web 24 hours a day. And while these dangerous individuals are very difficult to detect, there are many things that parents can do to protect their teens online.
It is very important for a parent to follow some basic guidelines that can help you in protecting your adolescents on the Internet. These include having the computer in a central location rather than your teenager's room, reviewing your teen's browsing history, monitoring chat room and instant messaging activities, learning the online shorthand lingo, and developing and enforcing online behavioral contracts with your kids. In addition, parents also need to learn about cyber bullying and how to recognize and interrupt this disturbing problem as well as how to prevent it from happening.
There are numerous sources of help available for parents wishing to educate themselves and protect their adolescents. Many of these resources for parents are listed for you in links in the section below this article.
Source: Enough Is Enough. [Online] Accessed 10-27-2007. (http://www.enough.org)
Additional Resources For Parents of Adolescents
There are numerous resources available for parents both online and offline to help you in protecting your teens on the Internet. Here are some links, professionally researched by the author, to provide you with additional information. You are strongly encouraged to learn all that is available.
http://www.eastvalleyparent.com
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org
http://www.moniteringsoftwarereviews.org
Products for Parents
The following links will take you to various products offered by other publishers that may be helpful for parents of adolescents.
Know What Your Teens Are Doing on The Internet
Additional Parenting Resources
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