Archive for August, 2011
An Easy Way to Introduce and Teach Your Children Responsible Texting
Update 1/23/2013: The Text Free application now allows for picture messaging. I recommend that parents keep a close look at the content of their children’s texts just to make sure they’re talking about age-appropriate content. At what age is it OK for your child to have a cell phone? Better yet, a smartphone? If your [...]
Social Networking Linked to Teen Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Researchers at The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (Columbia University) recently released a study where they found that teens who regularly use social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are twice as likely to smoke marijuana and three times are likely to drink alcohol. As well, the study points out that cyberbullied [...]
An Easy Guide to Teaching Online Privacy to Your Child
The online privacy risks that our children face increase as they get older; and this is for several reasons: they’re getting more involved in social networks (as are their friends), they’re using the Internet more often for school research, and they’re growing more curious about the world around them. And if you’re like me, I [...]
Five Very Good Reasons Why Kids Need Their Own Social Network
A Five Part Series Introduction Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
Social Media Clean-Up in 5 Easy Steps
After the Social Media Background Check article, I received a significant amount of feedback from readers and parents asking if there’s a way for them, or their teen, to “clean up” their social media profile. As I pointed out in the original article, a person’s social media profile officially consists of “up to seven years” [...]
Mary Kay is a nationally-recognized Internet safety expert and the founder of 
