Cyber-scared straight!

I love Google.  I adore the WWW.  It is difficult for me to remember a world without having access to such vast information in an instant.  I know about SPAM, phishing, email scraping, identity theft, tags, cyber-bullying/stalking, etc.  I am also an adult.  

Ex hubs and I are about to deal with our first "situation" concerning online accessibility and The Kidlet when she returns from her trip this weekend.  I will not go into details in this post but I am now acutely aware of how effortless it can be for a child to view a site that is inappropriate or for a site to be shared among friends.  Kids are curious about things, I completely get that but there is an enormous difference in standard (age appropriate) facts and the endless trash that is all over the WWW.


It has me on high alert about her access to these sites when she is not with me or ex hubs.  Many parents allow their  children to jump on their PC/laptop/iPad without thinking twice.  I have always been nervous about allowing her to be at the homes of anyone that is not family or close friends.  I do not know what happens in homes other than mine and ex hubs.  I cannot keep her from attending birthday parties, sleepovers, etc.. but, my normal drill of, "no soda, no cats, no R rated movies" will now include, "ABSOLUTELY NO ACCESS TO THE INTERNET".


I am on board with social media.  I see the benefit for business and staying in touch with family and friends that you are not able to see often but I also am aware of the dangers.  I spew more on this blog about my personal life than I do on Facebook. For the most part, I post silly news stories, funny things that The Kidlet does, celebrity death notices and miscellaneous BS.  I do not post specific personal information about myself or my child.  I am not a fan of "checking in" using FourSquare as I don't need 1,000 of my closest friends knowing my every move throughout the day.  I don't post my phone number or address online.  I am an adult.


I can protect myself but we need to make sure that we are educating our children on protecting themselves and that while the internet is an awesome tool, it is also very dangerous.