Millions of people “meet” online each year via chat rooms and dating sites. With people having little time to venture out to meet singles, online dating is growing larger and more popular each year. However, there are many risks associated with online dating.
Of course, there are just as many risks associated with going on a date with a complete stranger from a bar you frequent as well. If you or your teens are interested in online dating, be sure to follow these safety tips!
Whenever parents worry about protecting their children from online dangers they will instinctively gravitate to protecting them from potential sexual predators who are seeking to set up clandestine meetings with your child for sexual encounters. While these fears are most certainly grounded in reality, it is vital to understand that online danger is not just sexual in nature, but may also deal with harassment of different kinds.
Parents always have the best intentions of keeping their children safe while online, yet unfortunately many a parent unintentionally makes a lot of mistakes when it comes to kids’ Internet safety.
The seven deadly sins of kid Internet safety:
1.Placing a computer with Internet access into the child’s room is perhaps the most commonly committed sin of Internet safety for children. Kids clamor for this privilege and parents who need to keep access to their computers open for personal use are only too happy to comply. Yet a computer that is not locate din a high traffic area lends itself to unwise activities.
No matter your age or Internet surfing experience following safety tips while online can keep every man, woman and child safe. There are online predators who search for times and places where children will be for the worst of intentions. Scam artists and Identity thieves who prey on personal information such as names, birth dates, social security numbers and banking information.
As long as there are kids online, there will be predators targeting them. Parents must realize that their teens may start out using the Internet for homework help or research purposes, but before long they will get involved in the world of social networking as well.
Facts about kids and Internet safety reveal that many times neither the kids nor the parents understand truly how sophisticated online predators have become and how little software is actually going to protect a younger person.
The Web Safe Kid website, a premier resource for parents serious about keeping children safe while they are gradually beginning their online learning, studying, and socializing habits, advocates that a safe child is an aware child. The reality goes even further than this; catching online predators requires awareness as well: those of parents, caregivers, law enforcement, and of course the child her- or himself! In some cases, such awareness might even permit one child to save another’s life!
