To my friends and all those who have children under the age of 18 with smartphones and access to all other electronic devices, many of you have been asking or posting many questions on Facebook about how we can possibly know everything that’s going on in the tech savvy world our kids are living in. Are we really on top of it? I urge you to PLEASE read this and WATCH the news video link below.
Just recently, I was watching KTLA’s morning news and watched an interview with *TeenSafe’s co-founder, Ameeta Jain, who spoke about how this app is one of the most helpful tools out there to help parents keep up with what’s going on in our children’s digital world, and keep track of their social interactions, both online and off. At first, I thought, “This is just another app that allows parents to monitor their children’s online activity, but then I found out that TeenSafe also lets you see text messages or chats that were previously deleted. You might say to yourself, “I don’t need an app like TeenSafe. I don’t need to monitor my kid, or pry for that matter. My kid is a good kid. He/she is an “A” student, a great athlete, has good friends, and most of all, I trust my child.” While that’s all positive, this has nothing to do with your child being a good kid or trustworthy for that matter. This has to do with what’s lurking behind all the text messages, group texts and chats that your son or daughter is, or could be a part of, and just social media in general that your child is exposed to.
I’m curious to also know what you, as parents, think of all the controversy out there about using apps that allow parents to log in, monitor and track all of their children’s calls, texts, emails, and web browser activities on their electronic devices? Some say this is considered spying on our kids, and if it comes down to spying or checking on them, then something must be wrong. While I personally trust my two daughters, and the choices they make, when it comes down to it, it’s not them I don’t trust necessarily, it’s what they’re exposed to on a daily basis. It’s about us as parents opening up our eyes and detecting problems early on, before it’s too late. Now seriously, no matter how “good” we say our children are, it’s the direct messages or even underlying messages that could involve peer pressure, sexual content, or things in general that are beyond their understanding or comprehension.
Did you ever ask your sons and daughters how many friends they have on Instagram or Snapchat? What about chat rooms? Or, how well they even know all those friends that are on their Instagram or Snapchat? My guess is that you’re lucky if you even know half of them. Go ahead, ask your kids how many total friends they have on their social apps. You may hear some numbers that are well over 100 or 200! Or, what about the pictures they’re taking and sending to someone? Is that “someone” passing those pictures on to other friends?
What’s even more serious and frightening, according to the FBI, is that the online predator’s face has changed. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, watch the video from this NBC link below. It will send chills down your spine!
To find out more information on TeenSafe, go to http://www.teensafe.com/media/