Why Parents Must Consider Social Media Monitoring of their Kids

Thanks to modern technology, we are blessed with numerous advances and conveniences that we enjoy every day. Since the evolution of the internet and social media sites, we feel connected to our friends, peers, and family members more than ever before.

Besides providing us with numerous benefits, advanced technology has also brought unforeseen challenges for us that we are still trying to figure out how to deal with. Among these challenges, the most demanding is to make sure our children are using the internet and social media sites in a healthy and productive way. Concerned parents ask themselves one question every day: Should they monitor their kid’s internet usage and social media activity? The possible answer to this question could only be yes. Social media monitoring has become a necessity in today’s digital age, and parents should always keep tabs on their kid’s internet use.

You may not realize but the internet, especially social media sites are laden with potential online dangers for children, exposing them to inappropriate content, sexual predators, sexting, and cyberbullying.

Young children and teens could become involved in relationships with dangerous people, especially pedophiles who pretend to be their friends online but in reality, have gotten closer to them for evil reasons. 

Other than becoming involved with sexual predators on social media sites, children can also be subjected to various forms of harassment, bullying, and negative interactions. Parents should make it a point to help their children understand how they should interact with others on the internet without hurting someone’s sentiments.

As per an article published on a popular parenting blog, Parentology, a small study featured in the Journal of Child and Family Studies told us that parents pay more attention towards monitoring their kid’s online usage and not on what their kids are watching online. 

As much as it is important to monitor and control your child’s internet use, it is also equally important finding out what sort of online content they are viewing. One of the best social media monitoring apps out there to help you remotely monitor your child’s online activity is Mobistealth.

Why Parents Should Consider Social Media Monitoring

No doubt monitoring your kid’s internet usage as well as their social media activity is a lengthy and arduous process. Parents need to show a lot of commitment and persistence while performing this job because they cannot miss any important aspect of monitoring.

To make things easier for you, we have provided you a comprehensive list of reasons why social media monitoring is important and why every parent should consider it.

Everything is Permanent on the Internet

One thing your children need to understand and remember all the time is that everything stays permanent on the internet. Whatever they post or upload on the internet becomes a permanent part of the internet database. Even if you remove something from your social media account, it will remain stored in their database.

Sometimes, children make poor decisions. They only become better at it by learning from their mistakes. They may end up posting an inappropriate picture or video of them and then later regret posting it. They may take down the picture or video from their account but it will be still out there somewhere. Your children need to realize what they should be posting online and what online so they do not have to face any implications at a later stage.

Your child is not going to remain the same person forever. They are going to grow up and attend a college or an organization. If a potential principal or employer finds something of your child online which they don’t like, they can reject their college admission or job. Your child’s actions today can jeopardize their future opportunities. Therefore, parents must regulate what their child is doing online.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is a real thing and is very much present on social media platforms. To help your children from getting bullied online, you need to be first aware of the problem. By monitoring your child’s social media activity and reading what sort of messages they are sending and receiving on social media sites, you can protect them from impending danger or a damaging situation before it goes out of your hands.

Gone are the days when bullying was only restricted at schools. Children have always been mean to each other in schools. Before the internet, when a child got bullied in school, he’d eventually get a break when they went home. However, today’s kids do not get that break.

They are present online all the times and become a victim to cyberbullying quite easily. Any person can send them mean, abusive, and offensive comments, shattering their self-confidence. To prevent your child from becoming a victim of cyberbullying, you need to monitor their text messages and instant-messaging apps.

Sexual Predators

Sexual predators are basically strangers who target young children and teens on social media platforms and try to begin a relationship with them with the intent of committing child sexual abuse or selling their inappropriate photos/videos to the dark internet at a good price.

They begin talking to children in an appealing manner and prove them to be their well-wishers and best friends by gaining their trust. They get in touch with them on social media because it is easier for them to locate children on such public platforms. Online chat rooms, social media sites, video games, and instant-messaging apps are all public online platforms where they can easily establish contact with children.

Sexting

Sexting involves children and teens to send and receive sexually explicit text messages with each other. Just like regular text messages, these text messages never fade away. They lack enough life experience to understand how negatively sexting can impact their lives.

At the time of sending inappropriate messages to someone else, they may fail to understand how their gullibility and inexperience can compromise their online and real-world reputation. As a result, they are exposed to greater risks in the form of sexual predators, bullying, and blackmail. In most severe cases, children may also be subject to legal action and may face court charges that are going to stay with them forever.

According to an article published on Strategies for Parents, Dr. Patrick Capriola has explained to us how to keep your children safe on the internet and to protect them from social media. He says that parents need to get involved in their children’s online lives. They should limit their internet access and place their devices in a location that will allow them to monitor their social media activity easily.

Moreover, he also suggests parents have a healthy relationship with their children and that only begins with communication. For children to be more open and honest about their social media lives, they need to have a strong connection with their parents.