Online Friends

[RibbonedandLaced]

I was shocked to discover DD (14) has been chatting openly with older looking teenagers on social medias. I'm not familiar with them myself but I believe I was Kick?? And Skype which I was aware she had but thought she was using just for friends.

It appears she had been talking to them for a while and met on some sort of silly children's game. I'm out of my wits here as I'm not very tech savvy and have never had to come across this issue with DS (18), does anyone have any similar stories or advice to stop this nonsense?

[ashtrayheart]

Is there anything worrying you about the content of the chat or the fact she is chatting with older teenagers?
I think this is normal for this age group. You could tighten controls or ban her but you could also make sure she is aware of the risks of online chatting and keep the lines of communication open with you.

[bigTillyMint]

I think it's Kik (not that my teens have mentioned using it - they both seem to use Snapchat/Insta/FB messaging and group chats!) - not sure how it works but lots of teens do.

Have you had a chat with her about the dangers of chatrooms, etc? Or have they done it at school - I know DD's year had a very good workshop day on the dangers of Social Media.

Remember, we are effectively in a chatroom!

[noblegiraffe]

It astonishes me how many school children think it is fine to add people that they don't know as friends and contacts on social media, and how many parents have no idea who their children are talking to.

There's lots of good advice and resources on the CEOPs website:
www.thinkuknow.co.uk

You need a proper talk with her about online safety and an agreement about how to proceed from here. She should not be chatting to randoms, she should have tight privacy settings and she should know not to post personal identifying details.

[cingolimama]

noble, thanks so much for that link - really helpful!