I want my kids to be safe on social media. What do I need to do?

Have you have blown hours trawling the internet Googling ‘how do I keep my kids safe on social media?’ and been frustrated at how hard it is to get some straightforward advice?

If this article has caught your eye, chances are you’re a concerned parent looking for sound, clear and up to date information – and rightly so! It’s a minefield out there. You want to do everything in your power to keep your kids safe on social media.

Why is social media so important to our kids?

Firstly, everyone knows that social media is forever in the news with concerns raised over negative effects. These include factors such as mental health, cyberbullying, FOMO (fear of missing out), poor sleep and addiction.

BUT, if used correctly, it helps our kids develop awareness and improves social and communication skills. It’s an enormous source of inspiration and information, or platform to showcase creativity and technical knowledge. Plus, it allows them to stay connected with friends and family. They may even end up building a career out of it!

Recent figures produced by Ofcom indicated that 70% of 12–15-year-olds have a profile on social media. These statistics suggest that parents need to accept that social media is here to stay and support their kids to keep safe on social media.

So why not build those foundations to keep your kids safe on social media right now?

What apps might by my kids using on social media?

The regular apps you may have heard of might be Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Twitter.

According to The Independent in January 2019, the top 8 apps most used by teens that parents may not have heard of were: Kik Messenger, TikTok, Houseparty, Live.me, YouNow, Whisper, Monkey, and MeetMe – the list goes on and will be forever changing….….

So how do you keep your kids safe on social media?

Here are Delivered Social’s top tips to help you keep your kids safe on social media.

Educate yourself

Find out which apps may be suitable for your kid’s age group, what they do, how they could benefit your kids and what the potential risks to your kid’s safety might be.

Discuss the dangers and consequences

Sit down and have regular conversations about social media and the internet from an early age. Stress the importance of why you want to help them use it appropriately to keep them safe.

Social media can have benefits for kids and teenagers if it’s used properly!

Walk through the basic rules to follow

Help them set up private profiles and privacy settings correctly. Teach them how to keep personal details private, appropriate photos and videos to use, strong passwords, and to only accept real friend requests.

Get back-up

Look at your parental controls on your home wifi and gadgets to help prevent them from accessing unsuitable content, such as Safeguard for PlusNet, Virgin Media Web Safe and Sky Shield.

No gadgets in the bedroom

This will not only ensure a better night’s sleep, but it will remove the temptation to chat with friends and play games and means your children are visible to you when using their gadgets, so you can look out for any unusual behaviour.

Lead by example

If you would like your kids to be safe on social media and use it responsibly – make sure you are too! Why not try some of these apps yourself and see what risks you feel they may pose to you kids or maybe you will find how useful they could be?

Finally, if you’ve found this informative, why not do what social media is made for……share! Sharing this with friends and family could help them keep their kids safe on social media too.

If you want more tips and advice on using social media, why not visit our blog page?