How to Protect Kids from Perils of Social Networking

As social networking use is increasing among children, parents must be worried about their online safety. So, organizations world over are offering solutions for parents to ensure cyber protection of their kids.

SocialShield, an online monitoring service for kids’ social networking activities, has announced upgrades to its product, allowing parents to protect their children on Facebook, Twitter, Formspring and other social networks, now including Google+.

SocialShield informs parents about concerning activity and potential dangers their kids might face. These may include contact by strangers, cyberbullying, revealing their physical location and reputation damaging posts.

With parental controls, social network monitoring, and Internet filtering, Trend Micro Online Guardian also gives parents the tools they need to keep up with their children’s Internet and social networking activities, says the Internet security company Trend Micro. 

So they can take action to keep children safe while they are using their cell phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops. (Read: Saving Kids from the Dangers of Social Networks)

Also, in an effort to educate teens about how to be smart about what they post and share online, the Ad Council had embarked upon a new collaborative initiative, the Internet Safety Coalition. It is developed to provide research-based messages to teens and their parents. (Read: Leaders Join Hands for Online Safety of Youth)

“Parents need a simple yet comprehensive solution to know when their kids are at risk of things like cyberbullying, online predators and damaging their reputation,” said George Garrick, CEO of SocialShield.

SocialShield’s technology identifies questionable and potentially dangerous, illicit or inappropriate social networking activities. It alerts a child’s parent to items that may need to be addressed.

With the child’s approval, SocialShield tracks social network activity such as, friend requests, wall posts, photos, videos, group messages, event posts, and others in order to identify the items that parents need to be aware of.

SocialShield’s new release is available via subscription and can be purchased from the SocialShield web site for $10 per month or $96 per year if paid annually.

Customers will be able to generate a complete historical report of their child’s social networking activities and current risk levels immediately upon activating their account. It was announced today, Oct. 11.

Photo courtesy: SocialShield