How to know if our child is prepared for social networks?

Today, the social networks they are almost essential in the lives of people. They solve distances, help maintain friendships and can even help find a job. However, when is the time for a person to have a profile on these websites? This decision is a discussion that often happens in homes.

The smallest of the house see in the social networks Something interesting, especially to maintain contact with your enemies and share their tastes, photos, etc. However, as we all know, the Internet is not a 100% safe place and it entails too many risks that our children will face, which is why we have to know very well if it is time for a child to open a profile in these pages.


To consider

The first thing you should know is that a child under 14 years old legally you should not have a profile on social networks. If this is the case of your child, the discussion is over, you can not have a profile on these websites. Moreover, you should try to know at all times if the child is not using these pages and, if so, to make them understand all the dangers that the internet entails.

Age is one of the points that must be taken into account because at around 10 years, minors think that They are capable to have a profile in social networks. However, in general, they would not know how to deal with certain situations, for example, when a stranger suddenly asks for an intimate photo. Before they reach the appropriate age, we must make them understand certain rules of use of social networks.


Perhaps the youngest thinks he is capable of being able to manage his profile in social networks, but the truth is that probably not. Ultimately, we are the adults who decide when they are ready and the rules they must meet once we have allowed them to access these profiles. We must also take into account what they want to have their profile for and what use they will give it.

Minors may use social networks to stay informed in the case of Twitter or to be able to create study groups through platforms such as Skype. In these cases it may be understood that these tools are necessary for them, however if you want to use them to meet people, you have to explain that this it is not the best means for it.

Set standards

If we have decided that the child can finally have a profile on social networks, a regulation will have to be established to make a good use of them and navigate securely:


- Computer in sight. Allowing minors to access the internet and social networks alone in their room may mean that they face some problem that they can not solve on their own, or that they are the target of someone working in anonymity. You have to make them understand that the fact that the PC is in a common site is to help them in these cases and not to assault their privacy.

- No to strangers. We do not have to accept requests for friendship from people we do not know, no matter how much we know people in social networks is dangerous because it can mean that someone with bad intentions can take advantage of the innocence of the little ones.

- Privacy first. No, no matter how much someone wants to ask you something intimate, you should never answer them. Familiar people already know all this data, strangers do not have to. In fact, you should always choose those options that most restrict access to content in the profiles.

- Add it to your friends list. Another way to know what your child is doing on social networks is to add it to your list of friends or followers. It is not a bad thing as long as this does not translate into a constant visit to your profile to spy on it. It is one thing to control and another to invade your privacy.

- Create dialog environment. It is important to make your child understand that he can come to you in case of facing a problem such as harassment by other people, that a stranger is bothering him or any doubt in this regard. For this, the best thing is to be close and remind you that in case of any problem, there will always be an adult who wants to help you.

Damián Montero

Video: Parents Create Fake Profile To Catch Out Their Teenage Daughter | I Catfished My Kid


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