You know your child may be on the big giants of social media
websites: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr. But there’s another
social networking site that’s skyrocketing in popularity, especially
among kids under 18: Ask.fm. This popular social networking website
allows you ask anonymous questions of any user, and answer others’
questions on your own public profile.
Start Monitoring and Protecting your Kids Online: Read Details/Guidelines Here!!!
If you have heard of Ask.fm, it’s probably due to all the media
attention it’s been receiving lately: Ask.fm was linked to a suicide
case in Florida recently, where a young girl was anonymously bullied on
Ask.fm.
British Prime Minister David Cameron called Ask.fm “vile” due to several similar cyberbullying cases, and schools in Britain have advised students not to use it.
The social network has become known as a haven for cyberbullies, and has been
linked to suicides
around the world. That’s because its users, who are required to be at
least 13 years old, are allowed to ask questions of specific users
anonymously, and content is not monitored. The official Ask.fm website
states that they have “no liability to you for content that you may find
objectionable, obscene or in poor taste."
Start Monitoring and Protecting your Kids Online: Read Details/Guidelines Here!!!
Because of all the risks associated with Ask.fm, and its
skyrocketing popularity among kids and teens, it’s important to know how
to find out if your child is using it and how they can keep safe.
Here’s how you can protect your child from dangerous cyberbullying on
Ask.fm.
32 Internet Acronyms & Slang Every Parent Should Know
Just a few generations ago, it was normal to let your children walk to school alone or play ball in the street unsupervised.
But the world has changed since the days parents let their children
freely roam the neighborhood. Today, most parents know where their
children are 24/7 thanks to the advent of technology, and many wouldn’t
dream of letting their children wander around without adult supervision.
While technology may make it easier to keep tabs on your children, it
also opens up a whole new world of risk. Thanks to the ubiquity of the
Internet, staying indoors can be even more dangerous than wandering the
streets unsupervised.
Children and teens now have access to limitless information and can
chat with anyone around the world through their computers, tablets, and
smartphones.
Besides the obvious danger of strangers with malicious intent, there
are also the risks of your child accessing dangerous or inappropriate
information, chatting with friends about illegal drugs or underage
drinking, or even being cyberbullied or participating in the bullying of
others.
It’s tempting to assume that your children are too smart to get
caught up in these kinds of activities, but peer pressure and impulsive
decision making can put even the smartest of children at risk.
And children and teens are often experts at keeping secrets from
their parents, so you may not even realize that anything’s wrong before
it’s too late.
It’s important to have an open dialogue with your children, trust
them with privacy to live their own lives, and grant them the space to
learn and grow through experience. But one of a parent’s hardest tasks
is balancing this with the need to keep your children safe and not make
mistakes they can’t recover from.
You can give your child the space and privacy they need while still
keeping an eye on their Internet activities for hints of dangerous
behavior. One of the most effective ways to do so is by familiarizing
yourself with current slang and acronyms.
While most of their slang is harmless, some of it can hint to
dangerous behavior that could get your child into trouble or hurt. Check
out the list below to see some of the latest Internet slang and
acronyms used by children and teens today.