Facebook/Twitter & Children

Facebook & Twitter & Children


Twitter is similar to Facebook in that users can express their thoughts — from the most simple to the most earth shattering — for the world to see. But there are a few key differences from Facebook:

• On Twitter, users are limited to just 140 characters per post.

• On Facebook, users have to mutually agree to be “friends” before they can see each other’s profiles. On Twitter, each profile is public to everyone else unless the user decides to make it private. Twitter users have “followers,” or people who can see each tweet they post on a homepage.

• Remember that anything online is there forever. I suggest you have a joint account with your child but if separate accounts subscribe to your child’s sight and monitor it.

• Make sure you ok any photos your child wants to send or upload.

• Your child should only follow people she knows in real life and similarly, when it comes to her own followers, she shouldn't let anyone follow her who she doesn't know outside of the web.

• It's important for your child to keep users from seeing her tweets unless they've been given specific permission. To do this, click on “Settings” from your account, click on “Account” and check the box saying “Protect my tweets.”

• Your child should avoid tweeting her name, address or phone number. It's also important that she doesn't tweet where she is– like places in Facebook.

• Only you and your child should know her password.

• Make sure your child knows not to click on any link promising a quick way to get rich, a free prize or anything else that looks too good to be true. These tweets could be a scam to charge everyone who gave away their phone numbers a monthly fee without their knowledge.

• You can set up a Twilert. http://www.twilert.com/ and follow whatever is said about your child on line.