Editorial: Teach kids to behave online

If you have a child under 18 living in your home I'd recommend a deal - that Mum or Dad, at any time, can pick up their phone or iPad/tablet/laptop, and have a look.

Talking to girls - ugh!

It was a rite of passage that many teenage boys underwent.

You wanted the best possible outcome, so you thought about how your words would be interpreted, what you would do if you asked her out and she said "yes", or "no".

We used to do this face-to-face.

No more.

Awkward teenage boys ravaged with hormones don't have to think too much about what they are going to say or what the impact of their words will be.

They just text. Or message girls through Facebook.

Yep, awkward teenage boys become quite suave via text and Facebook. And blunt. And disgusting. As many parents, including the mum quoted in our cyber bullying story yesterday, have found out.

I do not recall approaching a girl when I was a teenager and asking her to send naked photos of herself.

Yet this is a common request nowadays.

Based on my experience as a parent, if you have a child under 18 living in your home I'd recommend a deal - that Mum or Dad, at any time, can pick up their phone or iPad/tablet/laptop, and have a look.

Get ready for the "it's my phone", "you're invading my privacy" and "I hate you" conversations.

It's worth it. Our kids need to understand that if they talk to someone on Facebook or via text, they should "talk" just as if they were face-to-face.

And yes, it's not just boys bullying girls. It's boys v boys and, possibly worst of all, girls v girls.

Personally, I would like to see companies like Facebook invest more money in education and prevention of cyber bullying.

The reality is that the bulk of the problem is left to parents to deal with.

If we are challenging our kids to behave online as if they were "face-to-face" then we owe it to them to talk with them in the same way.

Netsafe is an independent, non-profit organisation that has great advice on this sort of thing. See www.netsafe.org.nz.

I recommend getting all the advice you can when you tackle the issue with your teen, face-to-face of course.

-Craig Cooper is the editor of the Northern Advocate.