Internet Safety

I seriously wobble the line, constantly, between being overprotective and being mellow, as a parent.  I'm more inclined to let my kid walk down the street to their friend's house or the library than I am to let my kid join Facebook.  Why?  Because I'd much rather deal with a predator I can see.  It's a tough job being a parent nowadays and education is half the battle. With that in mind, here are some little nuggets of information that might be helpful to parents of kids that are on social media.  Educate them and let them know these things BEFORE they start posting.

1.  If you distribute inappropriate photos, even of yourself, to someone else (when you're underage), it is distribution of child pornography.  Yup, it's that simple to be charged with a felony.

2.  If you ACCEPT inappropriate photos of your girlfriend/boyfriend or anyone else that is underage, you can be charged with possession of child pornography.  If you show it to others, you can keep on adding to that felony.

3.  Texting, messaging, facebooking, etc with threats and bullying to another child IS a crime.  Period.

4.  Deleting texts, etc does not remove them completely.  Police and such ARE able to find them.  In fact, they have devices that pull anything explicit from dirty words to dirty pictures from your device.  You are not going to outmaneuver the police by deleting things.

5.  If you are charged with a harsh enough felony as a child, it is NOT removed from your record as an adult.  I know everyone thinks it's scrubbed and sealed once you turn 18...such is not the case with certain felonies. 

Review the laws in your state and educate your child.  Educate them on what the laws are and how easy it is to brand your life forever.  If you have ANY concern about trust with them, do NOT let them have social media accounts.  If they have them, monitor monitor monitor.  Seriously, this is nothing to joke around about.  Internet safety is a huge deal.  Be safe, friends.