Teaching teenagers about online risks should be on every parent’s to-do list. Yet no one wants to sound patronizing. What is the best strategy for talking to your kids? And what should you know about internet safety for teenagers?
Contents
Teenagers are inseparable from digital technologies. First, the internet provides a gazillion ways for a teen to express themselves — via social networking sites, online games, discussion forums, and dating apps. Furthermore, kids can use digital technologies to search for physical or mental health support.
However, while the internet is sometimes a helpful and entertaining place, it can be harmful, too. Knowing what dangers await online is the first and most crucial step toward a safer digital presence.
To fight your enemies (or help your teenager avoid them), you need to be able to recognize them first. Let’s discuss the most common types of online danger.
Young people tend to pick on one another, and this is sadly a widespread phenomenon, especially at school. Yet the abuse doesn’t necessarily stop once they leave school grounds. It can continue online. Bullying in the form of social media messages, emails, and texts can invade your teenager’s peace of mind.
Cyberbullying has different forms — from posting, sending, or sharing harmful and false content about someone to exposing their private information to cause humiliation. Dealing online with harassment can seriously affect a teenager’s mental health.
While exchanging private photos or suggestive banter can sound romantic, it could result in trouble. Once your teenager sends someone a sext message or a picture, they lose control of its distribution. Innocent flirting can result in severe reputational damage. For instance, if the intimate content a teenager shares with someone becomes public in their social circle, it can result in social judgment and humiliation.
Usually, online thieves are more likely to target the identity of people with stable income, bank accounts, and other valuable assets. A teenager without financial stability isn’t lucrative prey. However, teens can become targets too.
Teens have a clean credit history, and that turns them into attractive targets. Cybercriminals might steal their identities to apply for credit cards, loans, and other financial services. Such crimes can affect your child’s future, messing up their financial history and causing difficulties in dealing with banks. For example, once a teenager turns into an adult, they may apply for a mortgage and be rejected due to unfulfilled financial commitments that result from their identity having been used by cybercriminals. Identity theft has a long-lasting effect.
Watching pornography can distort a teenager’s view of romantic relationships. Adult content portrays sexuality in an exaggerated way that doesn’t align with reality. That’s why exposure to such material may warp a teen’s perception of consensual relationships and intimacy.
Teens sometimes also deal with low self-esteem. Adult content can inflict body image issues and build unrealistic expectations. That’s because pornography objectifies the human physique and emphasizes certain physical traits such as size and shape. Comparing their looks to the performers’, teenagers might feel ashamed and self-judgemental.
Online security might seem like a tricky subject, but you don’t have to be Einstein to understand it and enlighten teenagers on how to stay safe. Internet safety for teens is similar to internet safety for kids – all it takes is some discipline, awareness, and online security tools. Let’s see how you can better protect your teenager’s online presence.
While this might seem obvious, the rule of thumb is to care about what your kids do online. This doesn’t mean you have to become a control freak. But just talking about the internet and its dangers with your children can do wonders.
Make them aware of why cybersecurity is important, and ask if they feel safe online. If they don’t, support them and suggest finding a way to solve the problem together. Building trust between you and your teen will help build a safer digital life for them.
While you want to believe that the internet your kids see is all sunshine and rainbows, it’s not. How can you protect teenagers from dealing with harmful content?
First, ask them about the websites they visit daily. Let them know that you won’t be judgemental and all that matters is their online safety. If they know they can trust you, your kids will be more likely to share any negative online experience. If you notice that a website they visit is questionable, discuss the potential risks with your child.
To help make sure they stay safe, ask your children to befriend you on social media. Yes, this request might seem like a reputational catastrophe for some teens. But again, it all depends on your honesty. Promise not to disturb their social media presence and explain that your sole motivation is their protection.
One of the most effective ways to limit your teen’s exposure to inappropriate content is parental control apps. They can provide valuable information about potential red flags in your child’s internet feed. These applications allow you to block specific websites, control your teenager’s screen time, or even monitor calls and text messages. It is crucial to find the right balance between protecting a child’s safety and respecting their privacy. You should have an honest conversation with your teen about using such apps.
Another important action you should take to protect your teen’s digital life is to ensure privacy settings are in place on all the devices and programs they use. Let your teenager know that cybersafety requires constant attention.
The more knowledge your teenager has, the safer they will be. Here are a few topics you can discuss with your child:
No matter how hard you try and how much advice you give, your child may still face internet threats and tell you nothing about them. Stay aware at all times. You should look for the following warning signs:
A VPN is a valuable online privacy tool for everyone, including young people. It encrypts your internet traffic and hides the user’s IP address. A VPN works in the background without bothering users. It’s an effortless yet effective way to have a more private digital life.
By using a VPN, you can also improve online safety. A VPN could block online trackers, intrusive ads, malicious websites, and malware-ridden files. When an accident happens (like an unplanned click on a suspicious link), it can protect you from serious trouble, such as installing malicious software on your device.
It’s crucial to note that using only a VPN isn’t enough. Other cybersecurity tools, such as a strong antivirus and a password manager, can also significantly improve online protection.