Young People and Social Media: Is There Anything for Parents to Worry About?

What is the most important thing after the internet that has been introduced in the field of information and technology? The answer should be, beyond doubt, social media. It has changed the way life used to be. And it has impacted the lives of people of all ages, young and old, in one way or the other. However, social media has probably been most popular among kids and teens. Many parents complain that their kids remain active on social media websites for most parts of the day. And majority of these parents are worried about the activities of their kids on social media platforms. However, the question remains whether there is anything to worry about.

Discussions with Strangers can be Risky

Strangers are probably one of the major reasons why parents are worried about the activities of their kids on social media. There is a high chance for children to interact with strangers on social media. Parents fear that their kids will divulge some of the most private and important information to these strangers, which can lead to disastrous results in terms of security of their children. However, this is not true. Unlike their parents, most members of the present generation have grown up using social media since they were kids. Hence, they have a perfect idea of how to use social media and interact with strangers while remaining completely safe.

Breach of Online Privacy

Online privacy is one of the most important things to consider when it comes to internet and social media. Even a small mistake in this aspect can turn out to be a major factor that can damage the reputation of the person involved. Majority of social media websites require the users to enter a large number of personal information. Hence, it is quite normal for parents to be worried that these details of their wards might be misused or seen by unwanted strangers. In fact, several parents do regular searches to see what information about their kids is available on the internet. However, this problem can be solved just by using the security settings of the accounts. Thus, there is not really any major reason to be extremely worried about this.

Identity Theft can be a Great Worry

Identity theft of users is a major worry for parents. While registering, most social media websites require users to provide several details such as:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Place of residence
• Relationship status
• Educational and employment details
• Names of pets
• Hobbies and interests

All these are enough for cyber criminals to pose as the user and gain undeserving opportunity at different places. Moreover, they also use these details to chat with others on social media to gain their trust and commit crimes. Parents, in most cases, are aware of such misuse of social media platforms and hence, whether their wards are performing any such mistake or not is a major matter of concern.

Several parents have also expressed their concern about the way advertisements use the identity of their kids on social media. There are a few things to worry about when it comes to social media use of kids. However, the scenario is better than what it is considered in most of the cases. Hence, there is actually no need for parents to track the activities of their kids online. All they should do is keep an eye on the social media usage of their kids and correct them if they undertake any wrong step.

Parents should Know the Solutions

Parents are mostly worried about the social media usage of their kids, but do not know how to solve the problems. To properly manage the use of social media by their kids parents need to know every detail about these platforms. In addition to identifying the problems, they should also have the solution to ensure that their wards do not fall prey to any form of fraudulent activity.

It is quite common for parents to remain worried about the activities of their kids on social media. A large number of researches have revealed that the real situation is not very dire. In fact, kids use social media for a number of reasons. Apart from using social media for activities that can make parents worried, they also use it for group studies and a large number of motivational reasons. Hence, all they need to do is avoid a few social media mistakes. To summarise, there is no reason for parents to be utterly worried and keep a track of all the activities of their children online.