E-SAFETY for Parents

There are statistics for certain topics that will surprise and worry you. Not all teenagers will act the same but you might find similarities for one or two of the topics covered. The information we are providing are to advice and give tips of how to deal with these issues.

The video below is a true story of a 15 year old girl from 2015.

Teenage Behaviour

How long do they spend on social media?

An average of 9 hours per day!

How many apps do they use?

Probably not that many, they tend to stick to the ones their friends have.

Who are they talking to?

They will talk to anyone they trust, normally friends and relatives, but they are not shy to talk to strangers

Will they give their personal details?

They absolutely will, even when they know not to. They will give information to anyone that builds trust (Grooming)

Late nights or early mornings playing games and chatting

Lots of teenagers are awake way into the early hours of the morning. They are playing games and on social media chatting. Hard to get up in the morning?

Are they being cyber bullied?

Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying.
More than 1 in 3 young people have experienced cyberthreats online.
Over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the Internet.
Well over half of young people do not tell their parents when cyber bullying occurs

Are they sexting (sharing explicit images and videos)?

New research shows that 1 in 7 teenagers are sexting! The older they are the more likely they are to do this. Girls and boys participate equally.

Is sexting illegal?

Sending naked images of yourself if you are under 18 can get you a police caution and you can end up on the sex offenders register. The age of consent is 16 but the age of distributing indecent images is 18.

Is sending an indecent image of a friend to someone else illegal?

Yes, it is considered to be distributing child pornography. They can be prosecuted and go on the sex offenders register.

Safety Features on Social Media

Social media is the term used for any software that can be used to connect with someone else or a group of people.

Most social media apps/sites have their own safety features, the trouble is, these are not always the same. So you have to be careful of the settings - make sure they are private.

The main things to remember

Keep friends lists to a minimum (Most teenagers have in excess of 500 friends!)

Be aware that friends of friends might see your posts

If you have 50 friends! and your friends also have 50 friends then 2500 people could possibly see your posts!

BUT! If you have 200 friends and your friends have 200 friends then 40,000 people might have potential to see your posts. This depends on the settings.

Monitoring Software

If you are concerned or worried about any of these issues. There are software available on the market with the following function :

Filter web content and send reports of what has been accessed
Set time limits for internet access for all devices – Parents can still be online
Monitor Facebook
Block games and apps
Panic buttons that sends a GPS location of a mobile device
Call tracking and blocking Location tracking
Text message blockers and readers
Give a monthly usage report