Do you know what your child’s profile looks like? Going through demography a good amount of the audience on social networks are youths. They spend a considerable amount of time hooking up and catching up with friends on their favorite social sites. It is not uncommon to post interesting content that is shared among real friends and “acquired online” friends.

Unfortunately most teens have gone beyond the boundary to post very personal details on their profile. Unknowing most teens have shared very personal information that could be used for probable abuse. Researchers concluded that almost 54 percent of the profiles they scanned on MySpace contained information on risky behavior, with 24 percent referencing sexual behavior, 41 percent referring to substance abuse and 14 percent posting violent information.

Social networking isn’t unsafe in it’s self but as safe as social sites might seem its use should be cautioned. Information posted over the internet is visible to public viewing and not left out are profiles on social networks. Further research has shown that unguided use of these trendy services could lead to a lot of dangers. Guardians and parents should guide their younger teens on appropriate use of social networks to reap great benefits than sorrows.

-Paulette