We’ve spent a lot of time at EDG defining why you and your loved ones should be concerned about Internet privacy and safety. We flatter ourselves (a bit) that in doing so, we help spread awareness about the world that we all participate in on a daily basis. And for many people, that’s what they need: heightened awareness about risks that they may not know about.
And then…we have teenagers. Brilliant, naive, silly, bright, young people who are in a world that was undreamed of in their grandparents’ day. In many cases, they have no idea what they are doing and where their actions could take them.
Until it comes up in the news or worse ways. What are teens facing in today’s world and how can concerned parents, teachers, and mentors help them navigate this world? Here are the top 5 internet safety risks for teens and what can easily and simply be done to avoid the risk or to lessen it considerably.
Most teenagers don’t understand what they are doing when they snap that picture for Instagram or Snapchat. It’s easy for them to hide behind the curtain of “everyone else is doing it,” but they may be (perhaps literally) exposing themselves in a way that they can never take back. And they won’t know it until you tell them.
Likes, upvotes and other virtual “rewards” are addicting. In order to get those little dopamine rushes, teenagers in particular have a tendency to overshare all sorts of information. That’s a problem.
Kids share passwords between themselves and use the same password for everything far more than anyone would care to think. Netflix passwords are the most commonly shared (Spotify is another), and seem harmless. However, any time a password is shared is a potential security breach. And it’s a bad habit to start.
Moving into the darker side of the story, teenagers don’t expect cyberbullying until they get involved. When they do, it can be extremely difficult for concerned parents and mentors to break the atmosphere of abuse that their teen has entered and to help them through the long-term effects of such bullying. And while we are on the darker side…
We don’t want to think about it, but the sad fact is that most teenagers have been exposed to and/or solicited for sexual content. This topic is far too broad and important to condense down into a few sentences; however, it needs to be included and discussed with your teens.
Now that we’ve stated the problem, what can parents, mentors, and other concerned adults do to help?
Don’t try to keep your teenagers off the Internet as a whole. This will not end well! Instead, try sharing with them your concerns in a way that they can understand and appreciate, particularly when they first start using social media platforms.
Another good approach to the problem can happen away from the Internet. Cultivate interest in other offline hobbies, particularly hobbies that are “different” or “cool” and that appeal to your teenagers.
Granted, you may cringe a bit as you go to the third rock-climbing session or <insert hobby here>, but at the very least, it’s taking place in the real world, away from the screens and virtual dreamscapes we immerse ourselves in far too frequently.
And those are the memories and experiences that count in the long term.
We hope you enjoy the posts that Grace Malinoski writes for EDG on a regular basis as much as I do. Be sure to click on the links she provides, as they contain useful information. Please share these articles and anything you find on EDG with anybody who is interested in digital privacy and security issues.
Ethical Developer Group is very concerned about online privacy. We believe that the majority of Web users are compromising their private information every day by using wolf-in-sheep's-clothing services including Google, and normal operating systems like Windows and Android.
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