How to Monitor Your Child on Social Media

Oversharing on social media puts your child’s identity and reputation at risk.

Because children are 51 times more likely to have their identity stolen (link to “Can Children Have Their Identities Stolen?” article) than adults, monitoring your child’s online presence is more important than ever. Your child’s identity can be used for Medical ID Theft, opening credit cards and bank accounts, applying for loans and more.

Does your child understand that what happens in a social network, blog, or chatroom can have real-world consequences? Before sharing anything on social media, remind your child to think twice. Here are three gut check questions to discuss with your child:

1. Is this something that should be private?
   Personal information including your Social Security number, address, names of family members, and bank account numbers should not be shared.
2. Do you really want to share it with the whole world?
   Even under the highest privacy settings, a stranger may be able to see what you post on social media for any number of reasons—like through a friend of a friend. Once you post something, the digital evidence may be there forever. Even if you delete the information from a website, you don’t have control over older versions that may exist on other browser histories or computers. And, someone else may have already shared it by that point.
3. Do you know who you’re talking to?
   Unfortunately the Internet is an easy place for predators to attempt to make contact with kids. If someone initiates a conversation that makes you uncomfortable, don’t hesitate to block them, tell an adult, and call the police.

Our digital identities are formed by the information we share. Even what may seem like unimportant information can put your identity and reputation at risk. Data as simple as your mother’s maiden name could be the key that an identity thief uses to steal your identity and do serious damage.

As a parent, here are some things you can do to limit your child’s risk:

• Regularly review their “friends” list. It’s a good idea to make sure their friends are people they actually know.
• Make sure their screen name is safe. A good screen name won’t reveal much about their age or location, and should not be the same as their email address.
• Talk to them about online etiquette. 91% of hiring managers screen job applicants’ social networking profiles during the hiring process, so remind your child to avoid using profane language and even social “rants.” Check out their privacy settings. Most social networking sites have privacy settings you can adjust and restrict who has access to their profile. Talk to your child about your expectations for who should be allowed to view their profile.
• Have a social media monitoring protection in place. Social media monitoring can stop an identity thief right in their tracks.

In addition to protecting your child’s digital identity, ReliaShield’s Social Media Monitoring services include alerts for activity on your child’s page that may indicate cyber bullying, references to weapons, contact with potential child predators and more.

As we share more and more information online, it’s important to protect your children from criminals who may be lurking behind a keyboard or smartphone. Contact ReliaShield and keep your family safe today!