Dear Parent,
I am sometimes very alarmed when teens tell me they have friends in other states that they have never met! These are their online friends. Yes they Skype and have “seen” them face to face over the computer, but have never met in person. I’m just not sure how strong these kinds of friendships really are with no in person interaction. Is the person really who they think they are? You really can be anyone you want to be on a computer screen. There are just too many unknowns. As parents, you absolutely positively need to be monitoring who your teen is talking to online. It is not an invasion of privacy, it’s about protection. If it’s a real friend, then you should be able to call the parents of the friend and make a real connection. If it’s a real friend, then there should be nothing to hide. If your teen refuses to help you make that connection, then close down the computer and start having a real conversation with your teen. Let them know why you are so concerned. Your job is to make sure they are safe and healthy and happy. You may trust your teen, for the most part, but if they don’t get that this can be very risky, then you need to teach them why it is not a good idea. I know many teens will not want you to invade their online space, but remember who bought the computer and pays the bills. You get to set the rules around it’s use. And above all, your job is to keep your teen safe. That means when you give them devices that open up the world to them you also need to educate your teen on appropriate use of those devices and all that can happen in the computer world.