How To Find Out About Your Teen’s Online Activities

Are you a mom whose teenage son or daughter uses the internet? With sexual predators targeting kids online, identity theft, and online bullying, you may be concerned. As a parent, you should be. What can you do to calm your fears? Find out about your teens online activities.

So, how can you find out about your teens activities online?

Ask. Many experts claim that parents need to be more involved in the lives of their teenagers, so strike up a conversation. If you and your teen aren’t known for having personal conversations, avoid the internet subject right away. If you are too pushy when asking about their online activities, your teen may feel anger and resentment.

When asking your child about their online activities, gauge their responses. In most cases, if teenagers have something to hide, they will lie. You may get a vague response or a loud “it is none of your business.” In these instances, you do have reasons for concern and more investigation.

Ask other parents. Just because your teenager does not divulge their online activities, it does not mean that other children are the same. Are you friends with someone at your child’s school? If so, start a conversation about internet safety. Not only may you hear through the grapevine that your child has a MySpace account, but you may learn other investigative techniques from parents just like you. After all, most parents are concerned about their kid’s online activities.

Check the computer’s internet history. By reviewing your computer’s internet history, you can see what websites your teen is visiting. If your teen uses a family computer, be sure to check the history immediately following their use. Otherwise, you may confuse websites your husband visited with those your teenager did. Also, make sure the internet history is not cleared. If it is, this is a sign that your child may be looking at something bad online, such as pornography.

Perform a standard internet search with your child’s name. To search online, visit Yahoo or Google. Hopefully, you will find a few news reports where your child was mentioned for their good grades or athletic ability, but you may find much more. You may be surprised to see how many teens use their real names when writing a blog or when using a social networking website. In addition to real names, perform a standard internet search with any known screen names.

Find their MySpace profile. If your teenager attends school, they should have a MySpace page. In some circles of friends, it is considered “a crime,” not to have one. Visit MySpace.com and search for a member by name. When searching, use your child’s full name. If that doesn’t produce any results, opt for nicknames.

Watch them on the computer. Many parents are afraid to take this step, as they consider it to be spying. No parent wants to spy on their children, but some instances do call for it. If you suspect your teen may be targeted by an online predator or feel they are divulging too much personal information online, carefully monitor their use. This may involve watching them use the computer or setting up a hidden video camera.

Install a keystroke logging program. A keystroke logging program, also known as a keylogger, is a software program that doubles as a helpful investigative tool. The program runs in the background, but is hidden from users. It records each key typed on the internet. This means that you can read emails or instant messages your teen typed, as well as see what websites they visited.

So there you have it, 7 easy ways to monitor your teen’s activities online. Now that you know how to see what your teenager is doing online, what should you look for? Anything that causes you concern. Do not let your teen share personal information with other internet users, such as your address, do not let them communicate with strange adults, and do not let them post damaging pictures of themselves on a social networking website.