Experts offer tips, instructions for parents to protect young people from cyber bullying, dangerous uses of social media

The following are some tips from the experts (E. K. Pettis, May 21, 2010, personal communication) for parents about protecting children and youth from the dangers of the internet:

• Educate yourself and your children about social media.
  Use parental controls to prevent your children from accessing undesirable websites.
• Do not allow your children to set up social media accounts, such as Facebook, unless you manage the accounts. Request their passwords so you can view the sites.
• Make sure their accounts are set to provide as little personal information as possible.
• Join your children’s “friend lists” on Facebook and take note of their friends and the comments and photographs posted.
• Be present when your children are online to help them navigate any potential negative influences. Having computers in their rooms makes keeping an eye on them extremely difficult.
• Do not give children phones with Internet-browsing capabilities.
  Create family time, such as dinner time, when phone use is not allowed.
• Do not allow children to take their phones to school. If you do allow it, make sure their phones aren’t equipped with text-messaging or Web-browsing capabilities.
• Require that homework and other duties be completed before phone use is allowed.
• Remind children that cellphones and other technologies are privileges, not rights. In this regard, cellphones and technology can be great tools for discipline.