“Protecting your Child’s Privacy Online” by Janet Li.
- Charlotte W
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
As people become more and more attached to their phones, concerns over the role of social media in the lives of children has been the center of attention among many parents. While social media can be a way to share updates with friends and family, there are also many safety risks when sharing information online. Specifically, a person’s activity online—their digital footprint—is permanent. Even if a post is deleted, it may have been shared, downloaded, or reposted prior to deletion. This is becoming an increasingly important topic as a survey revealed that more than half of 12-15 year olds want to be a YouTuber or social media influencer. At the same time, as more parents are posting their children’s photos online, this blog aims to provide ways parents can protect their child’s privacy.
Parental controls and choosing the appropriate audience
Some platforms, such as TikTok, automatically set an account as public when it’s created, allowing anyone and everyone to access the images, videos, and other information posted on the account. It’s important for parents to be aware of their own privacy settings as well as their children's and take appropriate measures in protecting personal information. One way parents can protect their child’s privacy is through restricting who can see posts. In settings, parents can change accounts to private, allowing only friends and family to follow their account and see their posts. This will prevent any malicious strangers from seeing personal information.
Although it’s best if an account is set to private, if a child’s account is public, parental controls and other settings can also be toggled to prevent the child’s exposure to content that may be harmful to their development. For example, parents can choose to turn off messaging and turn off commenting on their child’s account. This can prevent unwanted comments and people intending harm from interacting with the child. Accordingly, parents are encouraged to set boundaries on social media with their children, which includes setting social media restrictions and managing their child’s social media account for them, especially when the child is very young.
Keeping personal information private
Especially for those who want to keep their account public, parents need to be cautious of how much is shared about their child online, whether it’s from their account or their child’s. While parents may be inclined to post a moment they think is cute or funny, sensitive content such as naked photos, information about relationships, and personally identifiable information should never be shared online. For example, parents should refrain from sharing their child’s full name, birthdate, specific locations such as their address and school, ID, and other information. This is to prevent identity theft and other unsafe situations such as stalking. Similarly, if a child is against or uncomfortable with a post, parents should not post it or take it down immediately. Posts that contain sensitive information can be set to “Only me” or shared with only close friends and family.
Keep yourself and your child educated
Educating your child on how they can protect themselves online is a powerful way to prevent sensitive information from being shared in the first space. This includes educating your child about their digital footprint, teaching them to think twice before they post something, and setting boundaries and rules about online behavior and social media use. Parents should seek to learn about the dangers, help their child set a strong password, and guide their child’s online activity, especially when the child is too young to fully understand the implications of posting online.
At the same time, parents should keep themselves educated on privacy protection, such as by staying up-to-date on new scams and making sure their child can identify them. Parents can also have open conversations with their children about social media use and online privacy. Open conversations are also great for when a child becomes more independent and starts managing their own social media use and account.
Additionally, it’s important that privacy settings are up to date to prevent hacking and personal information theft. Parents should routinely check to make sure their own and their child’s device and apps are up to date.
Takeaways
While these tips can increase protection of your child’s privacy, it’s important to note that instances of hacking and such can still happen, so the only way to completely prevent this is by not posting your child at all. However, because this can be difficult for many people, taking measures to reduce unwanted exposure is one of the most effective ways to protect your child.
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