Social networking Web sites, such as those hosted by services like Windows Live Spaces, MySpace, Friendster, and Facebook, are immensely popular with teenagers and even younger kids.

Often the services that host social networking sites provide several different ways for people to communicate with one another, including blogging- keeping a public “Web log” or personal journal online- and instant messaging features. With these services, kids can fill out profiles that can include photos, videos, and personal information such as their name, address and cell phone numbers.

These Web pages can often be viewed by anyone with access to the Internet, so kids use social networking sites to connect with kids who might live halfway around the world and with kids whom they pass every day in the hallways at school.

Social networking can provide a helpful way for kids to express their emotions or even to learn more about kids they’ve met and are considering being friends with.

Unfortunately, the information that kids post on their pages can also make them vulnerable to predators. Here are several ways you can help your kids can use social networking Web sites more safely.

Age Appropriate

Ensure your kids follow age limits on the site. The recommended age for signing up for social networking sites is usually 13 and over. If your children are under the recommended age for these sites, do not let them use the sites. It is important to remember that you cannot rely on the services themselves to keep your underage child from signing up.

Privacy

Educate yourself about the site. Evaluate the site that your child plans to use and read the privacy policy and code of conduct carefully. Also, find out if the site monitors content that people post on their pages. Also, review your child's page periodically.

Consider using a site that is not very public. Some social networking sites allow you to password-protect your site or set permissions for who can view your site, ranging from anyone on the Internet to only people you choose.

Personal Safety

Insist that your children never meet anyone in person that they've communicated with only online, and encourage them to communicate only with people they've actually met in person. Kids are in real danger when they meet strangers in person whom they've communicated with only online. You can help protect your children from that danger by encouraging them to use these sites to communicate with their friends, but not with people they've never met in person. It might not be enough to simply tell your child not to talk to strangers, because your child might not consider someone they've "met" online to be a stranger.

Ensure your kids don't use full names. Have your children use only their first names or a nickname, but not a nickname that would attract the wrong kind of attention. Also, do not allow your children to post the full names of their friends.

Be wary of other identifiable information in your child's profile. Many social networking sites allow kids to join public groups that include everyone who goes to a certain school. Be careful when your children reveal this and other information that could be used to identify them, such as where they work or the name of the town they live in, especially if it is a small one.

Be smart about details in photographs. Explain to your children that photographs can reveal a lot of personal information. Encourage your children not to post photographs of themselves or their friends with clearly identifiable details such as street signs, license plates on their cars, or the name of their school on their sweatshirts. It goes without saying that kids should not post provocative photos of themselves or others.

Share Your Information and Feelings Wisely

Warn your child about expressing emotions to strangers. You've probably already encouraged your kids not to communicate with strangers directly online. However, kids use social networking Web sites to write journals and poems that often express strong emotions. Explain to your children that these words can be read by anyone with access to the Internet and that predators often search out emotionally vulnerable kids.

Assume what you publish on the Web is permanent. Anyone on the Internet can easily print out a blog or save it to a computer.

Keep Lines of Communication Open

Communicate with your children about their experiences. Encourage your children to tell you if something they encounter on one of these sites makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened. Stay calm and remind your kids they are not in trouble for bringing something to your attention.

House Rules

Set up family contracts for household online activity. Use “tough love” policies if required, if you encounter behaviour that you feel puts your child at risk, in order to protect them from sexual predators. If your children refuse to abide by the rules you've set to help protect their safety, you can contact the social Web site your child uses and ask them to remove the page. You may also want to investigate Internet-filtering tools (such as MSN Premium's Parental Controls) as a complement to—not a replacement for—parental supervision.

For example of a Family Contract, see the family contract section.

Report Inappropriate Content or Communications

Remember there is a reporting link on every page of this website at the bottom left. If you encounter child pornography or any activity related to, inappropriate e-mailing or the sexual exploitation of children on or offline, you can report it.