I finally broke down and opened a Facebook account just to keep track of my two sons. Both of them posted their activities online and I felt that it was the only way I was going to know about what was going on in their lives.
Like most young adults, they use Facebook for nearly every aspect of their social lives, from promoting their relationship status, which seems to change on a weekly basis, to talking about last night's ball game, with photos of key plays.
Unfortunately, where young people gather, predators are sure to follow, and we're not just talking about sexual predators either. We're talking about financial and identity thieves that not only target your child but you as well.
Like my sons, most young people post a variety of identifying information on Facebook. Jay Foley of the Identity Theft Resource Center says this makes the site a gold mine for identity thieves who scour the site for data they can use to apply for loans and credit cards.
Some cyber scammers try to get personal details by sending out quizzes or games with malware attached that collects keystroke information. When this happens, any time your child is using your computer, your data is at risk too.
So what can you do to protect your identity? Tell your teenager not to post his or her full birth date or address, and have her change her privacy settings to "friends only."
The default setting of "friends of friends" increases the number of eyes that can view your child's page exponentially. Finally, keep your computer's anti-malware software up to date.
One piece of information that is always hard to get across to your child is that what they post could have negative consequences later, such as when they apply to college or go up for a job. They may think it's cool to post a photo of themselves drinking at a bar or performing a risky stunt, but that photo could easily come back to haunt them.
So before they apply to college or a job, tell them to take down any incriminating photo or post. Experts say one out every five schools polled by the National Association for College Admission Counseling use social-networking sites to research applicants. And a recent Career-Builder survey found that close to half (45%) of employers use sites like Facebook to research candidates and that 35% found content that led them to reject a prospect.
If your child doesn't understand what you're talking about, ask them if you could review their site for them and remove anything that could make a bad impressionsuch as posts and photos related to sex or drinking, as well as disparaging comments about companies or colleges and then remove them.
While it's not as dangerous as identity or financial theft or even making a bad impression with a college recruiter, one other area you may want to control is your teenager's temptation to over spend when they're on Facebook.
Bet you didn't even know they could? According to RoiWorld, 43% of teens using social networks spend money on the sites, often to buy virtual items or to advance in a game. For example, one Facebook credit costs just 10 cents, but those dimes could add up quickly and you may never know how much your children are spending. Parry Aftab of WiredSafety.org says kids can charge credits to a cell phone number, or to a PayPal account if they know the password.
So here's what you need to do. Review your bills closely and never store your PayPal password. Remind your child that the rules online are the same as off. He or she needs permission to bill purchases to you. If you do give the go-ahead, make him share the cost which should keep his spending in check.
