Should You Monitor Your Child’s Online Activity?

We live in a tech-advanced world where it is common to find children on social media platforms. Although it may be normal, as a parent, you need to ask yourself, is it also safe? Is sharing details of their life on the internet okay for your child? Should you monitor your child’s online activity? It’s important to respect your child’s privacy, but at the same time, it’s also important to safeguard their privacy.

According to ExpressVPN’s survey, 54% of parents revealed to monitor their children’s online activity daily or even more than once a day. At the same time, virtually no one responded that they don’t monitor their kids at all. Given the ambiguity around the topic, let’s go over some points that should help you make the right decision for yourself. So, keep reading this article!

Should You Monitor Your Child’s Online Activity?

There’s no doubt that providing media literacy to your child is important. It can help them in deciding appropriate behavior and actions for themselves. And you will need to trust your child with the same. But, at the same time, it’s okay to want to be aware of what is going on in your child’s digital space and be a tad bit more cautious for those just-in-case situations. So, you see, there’s a very thin line between being concerned and being controlling.

The only way to answer the question of whether you should monitor your child’s online activities is by mentioning why it could be a good decision in the first place. These reasons are discussed below, so make sure to scroll to the bottom!

Cyber-Bullying

Although it is important to educate your child about bullying and the signs to look out for, there’s still a chance that your child may not be able to report it appropriately. They may continue to suffer emotional distress at the hands of their bully without being able to do anything about it. In a scenario like this, being aware of your child’s online activity can help save them from such situations and take appropriate action in case it happens.

Inappropriate Content

These days, teenagers are comfortable sharing private information, sensitive images, and other forms of inappropriate content with each other. At times, they are not even able to gauge the consequences of their actions. The situation can be even worse if they do this with a stranger they befriended on the internet.

But, if you already know who your child talks to or the kind of things they share, then a situation like this may not happen at all. You will be able to guide them correctly in case things take a turn for the worse.

Online Predators

In today’s world, it’s completely normal to be friends with someone you’ve met on social media but never in real life. However, try as much as you want to, but you can never truly know the person at the other end of the screen. They can be sweet and charming, but what are the chances that they are not trying to win your child’s trust before they show their true colors? They can surely try to gain your child’s sympathy before they begin asking for favors.

It’s not uncommon for child predators and pedophiles to play these mind games with naive people, and children cannot handle these situations appropriately or on their own. So, by monitoring their online activity, you can ensure that such things do not happen to your child.

Identity Theft

Let’s say your child posts their pictures on social media platforms like Instagram or Facebook, and they don’t have a private account. Anybody on the internet can easily look them up and learn more about them. If your child shares personal information like the school they go to, or the city they live in, it becomes pretty simple for someone to impersonate them and interact with other people pretending to be them.

As a parent, I’m sure you’re well aware of what this can lead to. But if you know what’s happening on your child’s social media accounts, then you might be able to prevent it.

Reputation

These days our social media profiles quite literally speak for us. You can judge a lot about a person by going through the kind of things they post and interact with on the internet. Let’s say your child posts TikTok videos of them doing offensive or inappropriate trends. And let’s imagine a reputable college’s admission department or a potential employer going through that. What do you think these people will think about your child?

Even though your child may think that doing certain things looks cool on the outside, sometimes, it becomes necessary to use your better judgment and stop them from spoiling their reputation. You will only be able to do this when you’re aware of what your child is posting.

Final Words

Alright, dear parents! You’ve scrolled to the bottom of this post! So, should you monitor your child’s online activity? As I said, that’s your call to take! In this article, I did share some benefits of doing it. Now, you can make use of the points listed above and do what you think is right!

Nanny to Mommy