iMOM

News you need to know about how social networking is affecting teens

Common Sense Media released the results of a national poll of teens and parents on social networking behaviors on August 10, 2009. The poll, conducted by The Benenson Strategy Group, illustrated that kids increasingly connect with friends, classmates, and people with similar interests through social networks – and that parents are out of the loop.

According to the poll's key findings, teens admit to many behaviors while using social networks:

22% of teens check social networking sites more than 10 times a day, while only 4% of parents believe kids are checking that much
51% of teens check social networking sites more than once a day, while only 23% of parents say their kids check more than once a day
28% have shared personal information that they normally wouldn't have shared in public
25% have shared a profile with a false identity
39% have posted something they regretted
26% have pretended to be someone else online
54% have joined an online community or Facebook/MySpace group in support of a cause
34% have volunteered for a campaign, nonprofit, or charity

"In today's digital environment, parents have less time to supervise their kids' behavior," said James Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media. "Communication and socialization in our kids' world is increasingly moving from face-to-face to face-to-cyberspace, and parents vastly underestimate the amount of time that kids spend on their networks. That makes it more challenging for parents to actually parent in the crucial areas of social interaction and development, and, in a digital world, parents need to play a more important role than ever in ensuring that our kids get the best of these technologies and are using them safely."

Social networks and mobile communication connect kids to their friends 24/7. For the most part, conversations that start in the classroom hallway more or less continue in digital space. Teens are using social networks to share information, make connections, and develop their identities in new, exciting ways. But when teens communicate either anonymously or through a disguised identity, the doors are left wide open for them to not be held accountable. That kind of communication also leads to a disconnect between actions and their consequences, which is how irresponsible behaviors like cyberbullying become a reality.

Parents are the first line of defense when it comes to helping kids use the same senses of responsibility and self-respect in their online worlds as they do offline. Common Sense Media urges families to keep up regular conversations about life in a digital world and what it means to be safe, smart digital citizens.

So what should you as a parent do?

Talk with your kids often about new technology and what it means to stay safe online. This means you have to be informed yourself! Make sure your kids know that online posts can last forever, and that virtually anyone can see them. If they wouldn't talk about something in school, they shouldn't post it on their pages.

Set up a social networking account. See for yourself how your kids' online world works – it'll be easier for you to understand what they're talking about.

Activate you child's privacy settings. Set the privacy settings for them. These settings do not protect your child from everything, but they can help a great deal.

Set clear rules on what your kids can and cannot say online.
Here are 3 ways that iMOM can help!

1. Get Informed! Watch these videos about Social networking.

2. Set the rules! Check out our Social Networking Safety Guidelines.

3. Put it in writing! Download this Family Internet Contract.

To find out more about what teens are doing on social networks, as well as get full poll results, parent tips, and more, visit www.commonsensemedia.org/teen-social-media.