Know Your Kids' "Friends"

A "Friend" in Web 2.0 lingo is any person allowed to interact with your child. This can range from anyone your child knows IRL (in real life) to a complete stranger or marketing company. It's a bit of a game for most kids to try to get as many "friends" as they can. Some often have over 1000 friends. What children don't understand is that their home pages can be used to track them and gain inside information about their likes and dislikes, making it easier for a predator on the Internet to get closer to them.

The great part about the web is that it's all about words and connection. If a person appears to be interested in what you are, they can gain your trust faster. With children, this is even more so the case, because they lack experience.

You will some day hear about how wonderful a particular person is on the Internet who they've never met. Just be weary that information is dangerous thing and something as simple as filling out a survey telling someone what your favorite movie is can be a good lead in for an Internet predator.

Your best defense is to know your kids' "friends." You should have your kids passwords (but that's a different topic), but either way, sit down with your child and have them give you a tour of their friends. I would do this once a month with them at least to make sure you stay on top of who they are interacting with.

Privacy - On the Web?!

One of the hardest concepts to understand for parents today and is so easily brushed off by pre-teens and teens is the notion of privacy. When the Internet first came about, there was a notion that you could browse these sites, do these things, and you did it all while in your pajamas in your bedroom and no one would ever know.

Well, the part about no one knowing that you're in your bedroom and your pajamas is true, but on the Wild Wild Web, there is no true notion of privacy. There's all sorts of technical mumbo jumbo for things that track you, but that's not the part to fear the most for your kids.

Kids have a tendency to disregard the importance of anonymity and privacy. They post and list all sorts of information about themselves, thinking "how harmful can that be?" If you're a parent and think that listing or passing some of this information on the Internet might be harmless, here's a small tutorial in how dangerous it can be.

Your children might give someone their phone number, post it in a message, or write it somewhere on their personal web pages. They're thinking "what's the big deal in that?"

Now, go to http://www.anywho.com/. Click on the Reverse Lookup link. Type in your phone number. If you're listed, this service almost instantaneously gives your name and address.

Well, now go to http://maps.google.com/. Type in your address in the format of "111 MyStreet Way. MyCity, MyState 11223". Now click on Satellite. You can zoom in and see your house very nicely. My address even shows our cars. The pictures are about 6 years old right now on Google, but periodically get updated.

Make it a rule for your children to never enter anything more personal than their city and state on the Internet.

About "The Web"

"The Web" is my blog about the wild wild web and what is means to every parent. Lacking technical savy when facing a new generation raised on the Internet can not only be intimidating but also dangerous. Kids can text, message, and post well before they know the dangers and implications.

I believe that the best defense we as parent have against the dangers of the Internet and Web is knowledge.

In this blog, I hope to inform and educate parents like myself on what it means to be living in the digital age.