Kids want to be connected on social networking sites and consequently parents worry about what their child is doing online. It isn’t just the child’s own actions that may be worrisome; it is the dangers posed to the child’s well being from predators and bullies that is a cause for concern.
Third party applications that help parents monitor what is going on with their child’s online activities are useful to allay these fears. Some applications developed by a software provider called Schakra are made specifically for this.
An application called Go Go Stat claims to help safeguard kids by letting parents monitor their kids’ activities on Facebook, their contacts, photos, text and behavior. Parents can enable settings to receive alerts about abusive postings, if their children have any undesirable contacts, and also offer information about the geographic range that they may be originating from.
Applications such as these help parents establish ground rules to guide children and help prevent misuse of social media by them or others.
Episodes such as the tragic case of Phoebe Prince have highlighted the dangers that lurk and the grave consequences that bullying can have, alerting parents to the need for greater knowledge and control over a child’s behavior.
