Parenting and Children's Social Networking

Common Sense Media has released the results of a national poll of teens and parents on social networking behaviors. The poll, conducted by The Benenson Strategy Group, illustrated that kids increasingly connect with friends, classmates, and people with similar interests through social networks - and that parents are out of the loop.

According to the article, "Teens are using social networks to share information, make connections, and develop their identities in new, exciting ways. But when teens communicate either anonymously or through a disguised identity, the doors are left wide open for them to not be held accountable. That kind of communication also leads to a disconnect between actions and their consequences, which is how irresponsible behaviors like cyberbullying become a reality."

It goes on to say, "Parents are the first line of defense when it comes to helping kids use the same senses of responsibility and self-respect in their online worlds as they do offline. Common Sense Media urges families to keep up regular conversations about life in a digital world and what it means to be safe, smart digital citizens."

To gain broader insights on how parents can relate to their kids involvement with the world of technology see my book, The Positive Parent: Raising Healthy, Happy and Successful Children -- Birth through Adolescence, for relevant guidance (http://www.positiveparent.info/).

Also see a wonderful book by my good friend, Dr. Larry Rosen, an expert on Internet Psychology, wrote recently. It is titled http://ciccparenting.org/catalogitem.asp?ci=709&cid=&c=1Me, MySpace and I: Parenting the Net Generation. It is not only full of good advice for parents but also contains the results of numerous studies Dr. Rosen has conducted himself.

To read the entire Common Sense Media article, click here.