Today on Fox News Channel, we're taking another look at social networking sites. We know kids are talking about themselves & other kids on their social networking pages, but ever wonder what they're saying about YOU & YOUR FAMILY? Family secrets aren't so secret anymore.
Scanning profiles you'll see everything from "my parents are in debt up to their eyeballs" to "my dad is worried about the acquisition." The first is probably not something you want the whole neighborhood to know & the second is confidential business information. And those are the tame ones. Its gets more personal & embarrassing, including lines like describing dad's girlfriend as "skanky" and speculating "my mom is addicted to plastic surgery."
For more, check out the Sept issue of Smart Money magazine with article titled: WEB NIGHTMARE/What Your Kids Are Saying Online About You.
Why so many slip ups? There seems to be something about the anonymity of the medium that prompts people to tell all. But, on a lot of these profile pages, it's pretty clear who the real "Jennifer" is to the people who know her since, while only 10% of teens include their first & last name with their profile (bad move), 80% include a photo. (Source: Pew survey).
I think you need a family strategy for this modern-day family issue. Maybe tell your kids your family doesn't say disparaging things about each other in this format. Ever. Also, on the work front, they don't always get why repeating some of the things overheard in the car or kitchen, could be damaging. Pending acquisitions can be material information. Explain this. Tell them you might lose your job if something like this happens. I told my kids if they didn't get in the car at 6 am this morning, I might lose mine. They are troopers about morning TV & often join me on weekends. Thanks guys:)
Do the sites have policies against these things? Social networking sites are all about the First Amendment, though if you can prove your child is under 18, there's more wiggle room when it comes to requesting posts be removed. Some sites also have terms of service, including deleting profiles of anyone who misrepresents their age, or posts defamatory or personally identifiable information. So something like "My mom is a nightmare" doesn't qualify cause it's not personally identifying. Of course, if you know Jennifer from her pictures, you could probably go out on a limb & guess the woman she is calling a "nightmare" is the one who packs her lunch.
Every time we tackle this topic, I get asked. "When you erase something is it ever really gone? If you decide to delete to quit doing the social networking thing on a particular site, delete the profile before you terminate the account. Some sites will save the last version of your page, so it's there if (or they hope, when) you join again.
If you want to make sure you're getting this right, Google your child's web address (the one in the search box at top when you're on their profile page) & see what comes up. If there's information there it's probably been cached (a tech term for caught/kept/logged).
You can ask Google to remove them. See:
You can ask Google to remove them. See:
And, if you're really in a bind. It gets mixed reviews, but you might want to try www.ReputationDefender.com. For a "destroy fee," they'll take this on for you.
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