3 Tips for Smart Digital Parenting !

One of the most important seeds of understanding analog parents need to plant in their tech-centric children is an awareness around their digital footprint. Your digital footprint consists of all the information about you that exists on the internet as a result of your (or your family members, friends, and acquaintances) online activity. But we’re talking about my kids here. Why do I need to Google myself? Simple; because we can’t teach what we don’t fully understand.

Google any of the following: your full name, your full name and maiden name, your name and where you went to high school, your name and an old address, you and your spouse’s’ full names together, your name and your ex’s name (yeah…I went there). In all likelihood, you’ll be shocked by what you find. Once you understand the reach of the internet and the connectivity of your relationships in the virtual space, you can then help your kids understand what’s at stake for them. Because what’s at stake is bigger than they may realize.

Here are the big teaching points: Your digital footprint does not have to be something you fear. Embrace the idea that potential employers, your first-choice schools, and even next week’s date will likely be scouring the internet to learn more about you. This is your opportunity to make a great first impression even before you walk through the door. When you acknowledge your digital footprint exists, you can and should do the leg work necessary to make sure people learn something great about you. You don’t always control your digital footprint. Make sure you know what others are writing about you.Cultivate healthy habits around online communication. Take a beat before you tweet. Nothing worth saying online can’t wait a few moments for you to decide whether or not it really needs to be said at all.

Be Vigilant and Authoritative About Tech at Night: It’s no surprise that kids are most likely to run into trouble online at the same times they’re likely to encounter it in the real world. Nighttime is when the majority of kids are most active on their devices. Consequently, it’s the time that they are most likely to make poor choices. Removing tech from bedrooms also removes the temptations. Furthermore, it’s just a healthier habit relative to sleep and readiness for the day ahead. In a 2015 study, researchers from Seton Hall uncovered some concerning behaviors:

62% of kids reported using their smartphones after bedtime.

57% reported sending texts, tweets, snaps, etc from their beds.

Even more troubling, 21% said they wake up and respond if a text comes in after they’ve already fallen asleep.

That’s just unhealthy. These are the kind of behaviors that not only disrupt circadian rhythms in the short term; they evolve into long term unhealthy habits that can lead to a lifetime of interrupted sleep and poor overall health.

Stay Involved. Do Your Best to Stay Current:It is not our job to like what our kids like. It is our job to know what they like. Then and only then can we work to safeguard them from some of the digital pitfalls that exist online. Here are two examples which best illustrate why it’s important to stay current:

Yik Yak: One of the most concerning social media platforms in existence has already come and gone, and you may not have heard a whisper about it. Yik Yak is a social media platform whose hook was based around users’ complete anonymity. It worked by setting up a 1.5 mile virtual perimeter around the user. Once online, users could communicate to anyone else on the platform in a completely anonymous setting. And while you didn’t have to share your own information, you could certainly speak about others by name. As you can guess, it was a cyber bully’s paradise. At one point, the company had raised nearly $75 million dollars from investors. Only lately did it lay off 60% of its employees. The company might go away, but rest assured the concerning behaviors won’t.

Ghost Apps: These are apps whose icons look completely innocuous, while actually hiding a more sinister function. In many cases, kids will download apps that appear to be additional calculators or calendars. But a click and a closer look reveals they are actually hiding an application children probably don’t want Mom or Dad to see. Be on the lookout for duplicate apps. It’s a dead giveaway for ghost apps.

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