Keep an Eye on Your Kids' Social Media Accounts this Summer
Monday, June 10th, 2019 -- 7:39 AM
(WRN) -Parents should be keeping a closer eye on their kids' social media and phones this summer, and make sure they're not being scammed.Summer's here, and you might be tempted to let your kids spend their vacation on the internet or their phones. State consumer protection administrator Lara Sutherlin says parents should be doing frequent checkups on their kid's social media and what sorts of apps they are using.
"Keep a close line of communication so this is not unusual that you ask them to look at their phone and look at their instagram and look at their profile."
Sutherlin says children can be scammed just as easily as adults, despite being perhaps a little more computer savvy.
"They're fishing for your personal information, they're fishing for financial information. One thing that we're particularly concerned about with kids are these dating apps."
Sutherlin says that despite today's kids being raised in an age of modern internet, they can still be easily taken advantage of.
"It's also a risky place for kids, and the more informed their are, and the more parents are engaged with their activity online, the safer they're going to be."
One particular sticking point is keeping your kids off of dating apps. Some off-brand websites don't have a good track record of barring teens from their sites, and they could be used to track or groom your children.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.