Should parents secretly monitor their child’s text messages, phone calls and social media activities in order to keep them safe?
That’s a dilemma confronted by parents as they try to balance safety with honoring their child’s privacy and independence.
A recent Pew Research Center survey of parents of 13- to 17-year-olds found that 61 percent of parents check the websites visited by their teens, 48 percent review phone call records or text messages and 56 percent follow their kids on social media. It’s unclear whether such supervision was done covertly or with the knowledge of their teen.
Apps such as TeenSafe allow parents to secretly monitor their children’s text messages, phone calls, browsing history and Instagram posts.
Those in favor of such spying make a strong argument. Safety trumps privacy. The dangers of the digital world are too overwhelming for most teens to navigate without parental guidance.
The margin for error is small. A sexually explicit photo sent impulsively can have lifelong consequences for a child. Parents have an obligation to help their kids become responsible digital citizens. They can only do so if they know what their kids are doing.
Just as we wouldn’t give our teen permission to … Read More... “To Spy or Not to Spy on your Child’s Internet Use”