Sonal Powar has been working in the digital media industry for almost a decade. She has seen the way internet has evolved in last few years. After noticing the time her nephew spends online- and alone- she decided to figure out a way to safely monitor children who spend too much time in the world of virtual reality. So she started Wise Netizen just for this reason.
Nowadays all teens love to be on Facebook, it has become part of their real life. According to a recent survey, children as young as seven are spending so much time on technology than with family that it is affecting the relationships between parents and kids. You should know what your child is doing on Facebook and other social media platforms. Do they chat, play games, likes pages? There are no firm guidelines about how many hours a teen should be on social media, this can change from parent to parent. The real question is whether time on the site is interfering with your child’s daily life, and is negatively affecting his/her life.
Wise Netizen is a non-profitable initiative. At Wise Netizen, you will see a large variety of tools to help your tween and yourself. A netizen is defined on the site as a citizen of the Internet. And a wise one knows how to protect himself or herself from the dangers that lurk in every e-nook and cranny.
As a parent, you should ask yourself these questions concerning your children:
-Are they spending more time alone so that they can log onto Facebook?
-Are they spending a lot of time in the bedroom by themselves?
-Are they irritable or staying up too late for no apparent reason?
-Are they doing worse in studies because of too much of studies?
-Are they avoiding him hobby or going out with friends to be on Facebook?
Some teens spend excessive time on Facebook because they might be facing issues like stress, depression, low self-esteem or loneliness. Parents need to explain their kids about the pros and cons of internet and help them to use it wisely.
If you think your child is under depression, talk to them about what is going on in him life. Try to solve their problem. Tap into your child’s interests and find an activity they will enjoy.
After that, the site sets out a few simple guidelines to ensure your child’s safety. The few steps which you can take are:
1) Set family internet rules. Example: computer should be placed in family area like living room, usage time. Make sure that these rules are followed seriously by everyone in your family.
2) Make sure that your child understands that he/she needs to think before they post any content online.
3) Join the social media websites and stay active on it. Keep a watch on your child’s profile.
4) Don’t threaten to take away your child’s computer if he comes to you with a problem. This only forces kids to be more secretive.
As parents we are always concerned about thier kids entering into the world of internet, but with a little parental control, internet can be a very useful for your child.
Check out the site and encourage your child to take a look at it, as well, so as to maintain their safety and teach them about being careful online.
