Making friends is important, but the experience not always positive.
Young people are going online more than ever before, and many are using social networks.
eMarketer estimates that in 2009, 15.5 million US Internet users ages 12 to 17, or 75%, will use social networks.
As an addendum to this story, I would highly recommend that parents sit down with your teen or pre-teen child and explore their social networking page, if they have one. Teens are getting into trouble at school and at work for information and pictures that are showing up on their social networking websites, and I think a lot of that could be avoided if parents took the time to discuss the benefits and dangers of social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook. Even in my high school days, stupid decisions were only known to those who participated in them. Now, teens are showing a tendency to post their stupid decisions (often via picture form) on their Myspace or Facebook pages, available for all to see. There are potentially deleterious effects on scholastic and employment pursuits for posting lewd or otherwise inappropriate behavior online. Admissions departments at various universities are now starting to peruse prospective students' social networking activities as an aid in determining the student's suitability for admission, and employers are doing the same. A Philadelphia Eagles employee was fired last off-season for making disparaging remarks on his Facebook page about the organization for not re-signing fan favorite free safety Brian Dawkins.
Be involved in one of the most important aspects of your teenagers life! Check their social networking pages and read their text messages. You aren't being overly intrusive if you do so, regardless of what they may say in protest. You are simply parenting, which is what you signed up for when you decided to bring new life into this world. Don't feel like a secret service agent for investigating what is going on in your teen's life. Your primary responsibility as a parent is to provide for and protect your children, not to give them autonomous freedom. This especially applies to younger teens, who often lack the experience and judgment to make proper decisions without parental involvement.
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