Cyber-Safety Resources for Parents and Families
Digital Literacy and Cyber-Safety and can make the list of top stressors for parents. Technology evolves so quickly that it is hard to keep up with the latest trends or how to get information on how to best parent in a technology-centered society. Below find a list of some potential resources that may help.
Parent Resources from Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) at Bridgewater State (BUS)
- MARC Center for Parents
- Elizabeth Englander’s Website
- Cyberbullying and Social Networking (Elizabeth Englander)
- Electronics Changes How We Talk (Elizabeth Englander)
- Tips About Texting (Elizabeth Englander)
- Common Sense Media’s: Family’s Ultimate Guides
SOCIAL MEDIA
When looking at safety, it is important for parents to consider:
- Who can see and communicate with my child through a social media account?
- What content can my children see through social media?
- What data is collected and used by the company about me, my child, my computer?
Social media sites have a section to help parents understand the product and offer safety tips. They explain why it is illegal for students to sign up on their own before age 13, but also provide important safety tips for parents. Here are a few:
On the company website, parents can also find privacy policies of social media, for example, this link from Vimeo explains what they do with personal information and how they track users.
There are also a variety of parent-friendly sites dedicated to helping educate families about online social media safety.
- Connect Safety (they review many products, including their parent guide to Snapchat)
- Common Sense Media (they rate a variety of popular media and give parents talking points to help guide decisions about media use; they also have an important section on cyberbullying)
Screenagers Parenting Apps (a review of various supports for parents to monitor their children’s online activity)
Topical Resources from the Keeping Children Safe and Secure Online: A Project Safe Childhood Presentation for Parents from the US Attorneys Office – September 2022