How to Monitor Teen Chat Rooms
Online chat rooms can give your teen the ability to converse with other teens all around the world. But with the thrilling freedom of this technology comes certain dangers that parents should be aware of, such as online predators, foul language and even cybersex. By carefully monitoring these chat rooms, you can help to protect your teen from the darker side of the Internet.
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Instructions
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Monitor Chat Rooms to Protect Your Teen
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Educate your teen about the dangers of giving out personal information in an online chat room. Details such as her real name, address, phone number should never be given out in an online chat room, even in a so-called "private" chat room, where two people can enter a protected chat area and speak one-on-one.
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Warn your teen about sending or posting any photos of himself that may include more information about his identity. This may include photos of automobiles where the license plates can be easily seen or the exterior of your home where the house number or other distinctive characteristics can also be viewed. Pictures of local landmarks or even his school should also be avoided.
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Familiarize yourself with some of the chat room lingo, acronyms and codes that are commonly used on teen chat rooms. While such terms as "LOL" (lots of laughs), "BRB" (be right back) and "ASL" (age/sex/location) may be obvious, teens have become much more sophisticated in the way they communicate on the Internet. Find free software downloads such as the Teen Chat Decoder, which may help you to decipher the online activity of your teen (see Resources below).
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Install spyware, such as PC Tattletale, to monitor all of the keystrokes on your teen's computer, including all instant messages, email responses and chat room activity (see Resources below). While some parents may view this as invading their children's privacy, others consider it as a vital and important way to protect their children from online predators.
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Communicate constantly with your teen about her online activities, and listen to her comments. If you seem interested and engaged about her online presence, she may be less likely to misbehave.
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Tips & Warnings
Consider instant messaging, also known as IMing, as a safer alternative to online chat rooms. With IMing, your teen will be able to filter out strangers and undesirable individuals by blocking out unwanted messaging.
