Lately, there has been some controversy over the question of social media. Is it really good for us? Has it made us better as a society and enriched our lives in a positive way? Or, is it working against us, taking time away from our family and friends who are there with us in person? Are we missing out on real life experiences because we are trying so hard to capture the moment so we can post it our Facebook wall, or send out a tweet to all our followers?
These questions are debatable, but one thing is certain: we all care about the safety of our children when they use the Internet to connect with friends. As parents, we are always searching for ways to monitor their social media usage and to keep them safe from cyber bullies or online predators. If your child is being tormented online, you should consider seeking legal services, such as those at www.devorelawoffice.com, to help deescalate the situation before it spirals out of control and results in a life-altering tragedy.
With the increased popularity of smart phones and tablets keeping our kids connected with the world at large, it may also give you some peace of mind to know that there are apps available to help keep your kids safe and promote a higher level of security when they are online.
Calls Blacklist, Blocker, and SMS Filter
There are several apps out there, and even services offered by your cell phone provider, that allow parents to filter their children’s phone calls. With a blacklist app, you can block calls from certain numbers. You can also block text messages from any number in your contact list, or you can manually add a number to be blocked from any further or future contact on all your mobile devices. Potentially, this can keep your child safe from any type of harassment or cyber bullying that might be sent in the form of text or picture messages, as well as phone calls from unwanted or unknown numbers.
GPS Location Services
Another way you can keep your children safer using their smartphones is with GPS apps that track your child’s location. Apps like Sygic Family and Life360 allow parents to check the real-time location of their kids to make sure they have arrived safely at a destination. These apps also have the ability to send alerts to parents’ phones when a child enters a preset zone (i.e. home, school, a friend’s house). This way you can make sure your child is always where he or she says she is, in a safe place.
Monitor Facebook Feeds
Apps like MamaBear have features that allow parents to monitor their children’s Facebook feed. With this app, you will be alerted to signs of bullying, use of crude language, photo tags and check-ins that they initiate, or when their friends tag them. When online safety is a concern, this app can help parents keep track of their kids’ Internet usage even when they’re not able to be there with them.
Apps can’t take the place of parent-child interaction, but they can certainly help monitor your child’s safety since you are not always going to be with them. In addition to using the latest online safeguarding technology, talk to your children about cyber bullying, predators, and the other dangers that lurk on the Internet so they will know what to expect and how to have a safer cyber-experience.
Writer and parent LaGeris Underwood Bell empathizes with other parents who face the arduous challenge of protecting their young charges against the extraordinary treacheries in cyberspace. She hopes this article will encourage them to take a proactive stance by logging onto www.devorelawoffice.com, a capable law firm which can help them fight the battle against online tyranny.
