Parents now have a step-by-step guide to help keep their teenage kids safe from the dangers lurking on Facebook.
On Nov. 8, the online safety and advocacy group CoonnectSafely.org, along with the iKeepSafe Coalition, released "A Parents' Guide to Facebook." The 35-page booklet contains hands-on instructions for parents on how best to help their kids navigate safely through the massive social networking site, which currently has more than 500 million users.
Tips for safe social surfing include how to optimize privacy settings, and how to stay secure when using new Facebook features such as Groups and the location-based service Places. The guide also provides detailed instructions on how to block invites, what information is okay to share, and what should always be kept private. The guide can be downloaded and printed at ConnectSafely.org.
“Many of our recommendations are stricter than Facebook’s default settings for teens but, fortunately, Facebook provides excellent tools for further customization,” wrote ConnectSafely co-director Larry Magid. “This booklet helps parents and teens customize those tools for teen-appropriate safety, privacy, and reputation protection.”
"A Parents' Guide to Facebook" comes amidst several scams and high-profile privacy breaches on the social networking site, including one in which Facebook was shown to be sending user data to third-party advertisers.