Tricky Teen Technology

Today is just going to be a short post on the junk that technology brings to our teens.  Since I have teens of my own, I am on the constant look out for what could be dangerous for our teens to come across on the "interwebs".  The biggest fear for parents is that our teens will encounter sexual predators online.  Unfortunately, there are so many other harmful ideas, thoughts, and situations out there.  For instance, Snapchat is a simple app for kids to take pictures and send to their friends.  The teen can determine how long the picture lasts (5, 10, 20 seconds) before it disappears.  Teens are using this as a "safe" sexting tool thinking that the picture will not be accessible after those few seconds of viewing.  However, one the receivers end, there is another app that takes a picture of the snapshot and then they have the picture forever.  Another site, ChatRoulette, is a dangerous site on the internet.  The idea is that you video chat with a random person online.  This isn't supposed to be a sexual site but, as you can imagine, often goes in the direction.  And yet another site is called Thinspo.  This is another website that is pro-anorexia.  It teaches girls how to get super skinny.  They have diet tricks, visuals, and inspiration quote.  The quote that stood out for me was "When I see my first bone, I'll feel happy."  Keep a sharp eye out for these types of apps and websites that might seem harmless on the surface.  If you take a deeper look, they are not what they seem.

Stay on your toes, parents!