SLAP IN THE FACE-BOOK
PARENTS: Have you had “the talk” with your teen yet?
No, I don’t mean that talk. But there’s another issue that is just as important in today’s society. It is ever parents worst “web” nightmares, I’m referring to the talk about predators and staying safe on social networking sites such as face book.
Kids use the internet for hours upon hours each week. They can navigate their way very easily around the web, using it to complete assignments, play games and engage in social networking, but just because kids know a lot about using the internet, does not mean that they know a lot about internet safety.
Social networking, by definition, seems harmless, but there are a lot of hidden dangers and parents of young teenagers are dangerously kept in the dark by their children on face book and other cyber social networks. We love it, we hate it, but we can’t live without it. Face book is the largest, free social networking site with over 900 million users as of may 2012. With so many people having access to face book, it makes you wonder about just how many of them use social networking for the right reasons. According to the College of Ivanhoe Grammar there are approximately 5,000,000 suspected predators surfing the internet.
Online predators are most commonly adults who use various techniques to establish a close relationship with young users of the web. They typically pose as a young person and take their time in befriending minors and gathering personal