Webquest

Here's a link to a Social Networking Webquest! It was created for 8th Grade students to learn about online safety. A webquest uses the Internet to guide students through the process of learning. Instead of lecturing to the students, the teacher lets the students learn through a self-paced activity.

Check it out and share your experience in the comments for this post.

http://uhaweb.hartford.edu/MARKBROWN/WebQuest/index.html

Twitter

This is a very popular social networking site that is totally open. By open I mean anybody, any age can get an account. Also, and most important to be aware of, everyone in the world can see your status updates. This can be a real danger for kids and adults. If your kids are on Twitter, create an account for yourself and "follow" them. That means you will see all of their status updates on your Twitter page.
Twitter is real popular with celebrities and they are a great example for parents to see what NOT to do on any social networking site. Use your imagination and go on Twitter and search for someone to follow, like say Paris Hilton or Miley Cyrus. Read their status updates and imagine if you were a predator how you might be able to use the information that is being openly shared with the world. Now you're ready to start another conversation with your child!
I'll share some links to get you started. Use the comments for this post to share what you learn with the other parents on the blog. Ask your kids to share their thoughts about how predators might be able to use Twitter.

Twitter
Twitter Donates Entire Tweet Archive to Library of Congress
How to help your kids use social Web sites more safely

Cyber Bullying

Do your research! Cyber bullying is a big concern for parents of tweens and teens on social networking sites. Watch the news, read the paper and share the stories you learn about with your kids. A current event is a great way to start a conversation. Unfortunately, our children can be involoved with cyber bullying and not even realize it. Communication is critical. Fortunately, there are many resources for parents and kids to prevent cyber bullying, I'll share a few links here to get you started in your research. Share your newfound knowledge here with a comment to this post. Ask your kids to share some ideas of how they can prevent cyber bullying.

Cyber Bulling story on GMA
Cyber Bullying from CTParenting

Facebook

Your kids are going to tell you that "ALL" of their friends are on Facebook and they want to create an account, so they can keep in touch with their friends. Do your homework!

Check it out yourself. Create an account for yourself and pay close attention to the default settings. Read the privacy policy and go to the Help page and read the FAQs. After you create an account log out and ask a friend who has an account on Facebook to login and show you what information shows up about you before you are "friends" in Facebook. These setting are changing constantly in Facebook, so you might be surprised that more information is shared with "everyone" by default. Now that you see the default setting change them to share with "friends only". This may also be a good time to search Facebook to see if you child hasn't already created an account. If you don't find them in Facebook, Google them just to be sure.

You should have discovered by now that Faceook is for users 13 years old and older. If your child is a teen (not a tween) and you feel they are mature enough to be a responsible user of Facebook, help him or her setup an account. Set their privacy settings and then be sure they "friend" you.

Here are some helpful links to get you started!

Facebook
Using Facebook
Welcome to the Safety Center

Welcome!

This blog has been created as a resource for parents that want to guide their children safely through today's wonderful world of social networking. My goal is to share the pros and cons of the activity that is quickly becoming the new way our tweens and teens are using to communicate with their peers. Just like any other world, this virtual world has a lot to offer including some dangers that parents need to be aware of before letting their children explore.

Let this be your travel guide for a rich new world that many of us didn't grow up with, but our children will.

Social Networking in Plain English from YouTube
Eluding Internet Predators Tip Sheet from iSafe