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Social Networking
Technically speaking…
Watch Out!
Top concerns for social networking
- Never put your phone number, home or school address on your site. Talk with an adult you trust about what information should be private!
- Check your account/privacy settings! Only people you know in the real world should have access to your site.
- Think twice about what photos you post and don’t post photos of others without their permission.
- Check your friends’ pages to make sure they’re respecting your privacy too.
Social networking allows users to personalize a web page that’s dedicated to their lives and then share that information. Facebook, My Space and Live Journal are big networks of connected personal profile pages that allow you to send email, post photos and express your personal thoughts in a blog or on a message board.
Popular social networks
| Bebo |
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| My Space |
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| Live Journal |
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| hi5 |
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Why it’s great
Social networking can be an easy way to stay connected with friends and family! A quick visit to a friend’s page can get you up to speed on what’s new with them fast. Plus, it’s a space that’s all about you and how you want to express yourself.
The not so great
A person’s social networking page is online and can be accessible by essentially anyone surfing the Internet. Photos, messages and personal details are easily passed around from page to page, meaning you need to think twice about what personal details you post on your page.
It’s easy to get carried away and post too much personal information in a profile. Sites like Facebook were originally made for university students and have areas to enter which school you go to and the type of people you’d like to date. You should not fill these areas in.
Privacy settings on your account are important! Who can see your page is something you control. Set your account to require your approval before someone can see your full page.
Remember! There’s no taking an online post back. Photos and messages are easily copied by other uses without you knowing it. Even if you delete something off your site there’s no way of knowing who already saved the picture or message to their computer.
Set it up together!
If you’re creating a personal page for the first time, have a trusted adult help you. That way you’ll be sure to have all the right privacy settings turned on. This adult can even help you decide what kinds of photos and information about yourself are safe to post.
Already have one? Share your profile and privacy settings with a trusted adult so they can double check that your page is set correctly to protect you and friends.
Parent P.S.
Get more tips on how you can make social networking safer for your kids
- Safe Surf Home
- What's Online
- Social Networking
