Youths who are on social networking sites are surprisingly vulnerable to predators and should be aware of the ways to protect themselves from falling victim to these predators. These social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace have the ability to allow the youth to make new friends and strengthen their bonds with current ones, but it also has the ability to ruin their social lives, allow them to be bullied, and leave them open to identity theft. However, according to Tedeschi (2009), there are five mistakes that most youths typically make and if followed, it could be a safer experience for them.
The first mistake made by users, not only youths, is broadcasting personal information to the entire internet. If your privacy settings are not strict, it leaves you open to the whole internet being able to know everything about you. Before engaging in your social networking sites, youths should fine tune their privacy settings so that it is only possible for their friends to see their profiles. Experts advise using the strictest privacy settings (which are now automatic for those under 18 years old) Tedeschi (2009). Generally, if you Goggle your name and you are able to find your profiles, your privacy settings are sub par.
Mistake number two is sharing your password with anyone. Youths may think that they could trust their friends, but typically relationships change and those once trusted can ruin social lives. Parents have a responsibility to remind their children how important their password is and how disastrous it could be if someone else knows it. Tedeschi (2009) suggests that parents monitor their child's site and if they suspect that someone else has their password, punish them offline to prevent them from doing it again.
The third mistake youths typically make is befriending strangers. According to Tedeschi (2009) privacy settings mean absolutely nothing if you befriend complete strangers. Most youths want to have as many friends as possible so they result to adding complete strangers. Youths can form worthwhile friendships with strangers, but usually that is not the case. These strangers can be sexual predators, identity thieves, or marketers. Regardless, it is not beneficial to befriend complete strangers. Tedeschi (2009) also recommends that youths go through their friends regularly and adjust them because "last semesters BFF may be this semesters frenemy".
Another common mistake is baring their souls on their profiles. Now because of features like the News Feed on Facebook, all your friends could easily find out who you are talking to or what you are talking about. When youths get in the habit of broadcasting their personal information and problems, this can result in the magnification of social dramas (Tedeschi 2009). When youths are too open, others can see this and prey on them. Bullying, ridiculing, and being socially excluded are typical results when youths are too open online. To prevent this, once again, privacy settings have to be strict or youths need to only talk about personal situations in private messages.
The last mistake, and possibly the worst of all, is forgetting about their futures. According to Tedeschi (2009), 54% of 18 year olds on Myspace post about behavior such as sexual activity or substance abuse and 49% of teens are unconcerned that what they post will negatively affect them in the future. Most youths don't realize that photos or messages about parties or illegal activities can hurt them in the future. Tedeschi (2009) states that 21% of colleges use social networking sites to gather information about their applicants and if they find something negative, they could drop the appellant from consideration. Youths typically do not think that far ahead in the future, but they should be aware. A general rule Tedseschi (2009) brings up is "The web never forgets" and if you wouldn't want anyone to see something you post in the future, don't post it at all.
Social networking sites have the ability to do wonders for youths or they have the ability to ruin their lives. It all depends on how they use the sites. If youths follow safe practices on the sites the experience can be enjoyable; however, if the youths have no regard to their own privacy, the results are never favorable.
