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.