Safeguard Kids on Social Media

Tracy Repchuk, bestselling author and Founder of SocialMediaSafetyForKids.com says as a mom of three active online teens, and as someone who has a 28-year history as an entrepreneur in the technology field, what I am seeing is Cyberbullying, cyberstalking, revealing pictures and information. Kids spend the majority of their time on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Pinterest, and this leaves a big window for problems. The issue is teens are unaware of some of the consequences of what they are posting, and 43% of teens reported an incident of cyber bullying in the past year and only 7% of parents are concerned or aware of the effects with over 1,000,000 children affected last year by Facebook alone. “With 95% of teens using social media, Tracy advices parents use her SAFE formula. Secure your data, you need to know the settings in twitter and Facebook, as they change often and your child’s private information could be wide open. Ask questions and communicate with your kids about the effects of internet and social media.” Be careful whom you tell what to because not all should be trusted. Educate your kids on issues such as cyberbullying and cyberstalking, and the fact when they post and upload pictures that are there forever and ever affecting future relationships, jobs and college applications.