Is your child safe on the internet?

Technology is moving at what might seem like a blinding speed, and even if we might struggle to keep up our kids certainly don’t seem to be.

But the more they can use, the more they can do, both harmful and good.

In a world full of digital dangers, is your child protected?

“Beyond everything you really have to monitor what your children are doing.” Said Travis Fisher of Inacom Information Systems in Salisbury.

According to study from the National Cyber Security Alliance 74%o f parents surveyed said they did not monitor their children’s online activities.

As for the kids themselves, the study found 46% would be willing to change their online habits if their parents paid attention.

Which is why the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland is warning against parental negligence when it comes to kids and the web.

Jody Thomas, the VP of Communications with the BBB tells 47 ABC, “We don’t have a whole lot of history teaching our kids about safety online. It’s really come to the forefront in recent years.”

Whether it be surfing the web, participating in online chats, or creating accounts on social media, there’s not much of a barrier preventing children from doing so.

For example, to create a Facebook account after entering a valid email address all you have to do is create a name, a password, and enter a date of birth saying you’re 13 or older.

And yes, kids lie about their age.

An estimated 38% of all kids on Facebook are actually younger than the required age of 13, this according to minormonitor.com.

Meaning for them and kids over 13, the door is open to post sensitive or revealing content.

It may be considered invasive but the only way to be 100% sure about what kids are posting is to access their accounts.

Fisher says, “If they have their sharing profile set up so that you can’t see certain things you may miss them, so by all means make sure you have their username and password for all their different social media accounts.”

And whether it’s your kid’s account, or yours, be especially wary when there’s an update…

“Whenever there are major updates of Facebook it seems like your privacy settings get reset to the default wide open.” Fisher tells 47 ABC.

You can also hide things that are already up by choosing hide all previous posts.

Here are some tips from the BBB serving Greater Maryland:

Monitor Your Child’s Social Media Presence

• Know what sites your child has an account or profile on.
• Monitor the information they are sharing.
• Set family rules and ask for log-in information.

Check Privacy Settings

• Websites change privacy settings from time to time.
• Check to see if your information is being shared with marketers or strangers after each update.

Verify Apps and Games

• Are the apps your kids are using free? If you’re unsure, find out.
• Make sure the downloaded apps are from reliable sources.

Set Sharing Parameters

• Explain to your children the concept of not sharing inappropriate information about themselves or the family.

Explain Instant Messaging and Chat Features

• Have your children understand that if they don’t know someone in real life, they don’t need to chat with them online.