Is Teens Online Privacy is Larger Than Their Lives?

Internet-connected teens share a wide range of information on social networks. However, every website encourages users to share information to expand their online networks. We know that data does not remain private, and companies worldwide sell their data to other companies for many reasons. The question arises, why are people still debating about teens online privacy? Teens always desire more privacy when they grow up. The young generation requires autonomy and individuality. So, it is a tough call for parents not to supervise teens’ online activity. The secret lives of teens could become a red flag because it is somehow necessary for teens to ask for more privacy and space. You have to provide privacy to your teens at some point to raise them as healthy, independent, and trustworthy.

Do you know social networking platforms connect to teens’ privacy more than anything else? Teens have become digital citizens, digital natives, and members of the humming world. They are still growing and have grown up with sexting, texting, Facebook, Snapchat, Tinder, and Vine.  But they forget about privacy, but they remember to get more privacy from their parents.

• 91% of the teens post photos ages 12-17 years old
• 24% of the young teens share their videos
• 90% of teens are happy to share their names
• 60% of the teens share a relationship status
• 71% of the children share the town name & location
• 20% of teens share mobile numbers on social platforms

In the U.K, teens have to awareness of what consequences and impact of privacy sharing they may come across, says Andy Phippen, professor of social responsibility at Plymouth University.

It is necessary to provide space and privacy in the digital world. Young teen does not always follow their parents’ decisions. Your child needs your supervision one way or the other because they don’t realize what aftershocks they may face because of their own choices.

Young teens’ brains are impulsive and don’t make decisions for their online privacy. So, keeping tabs on them online has become necessary for parents.  Teens should have parental advice whenever they spend time online. You have to communicate about what is good and bad for them online. Parents have to make teens responsible for their privacy.

Parents should avoid giving too much time to their teens to spend online without supervision because it causes problems. You should find a way to balance their privacy and supervision to protect their online privacy and safety.

Hidden fantasies of teens are responsible for pushing teens to have a desire for more privacy from their parents. The dark and hidden side of teens’ social media and web browsing activities forces them mentally to have privacy. Moreover, parents must know that plenty of internet dangers can pop up. Online threats are real, but parents should have a realistic mind. They should respect teens’ privacy unless they are luring themselves for the following things:

Teens go for a blind date with strangers they met online on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Tinder pushes teens to have privacy, especially from parents. Young teens are more likely to create more than one social media account to fulfill their hidden fantasies. It happens when a teen is shy or less confident in their parents. Parents who are always busy in their businesses and offices are likely to ignore teens. So, teens find some online as their significant other to spend quality time with.

Online predators catch teens online to be friends with them. Further, they start grooming teens by sending sex messages, chats, and photos to lure teens into sexual thoughts. So, teens could become sexting addicts and often become victims of sextortion. Online predators and their online lovers blackmail teens for sexual motives and money. Therefore, parents must supervise teens online.

Adult content is everywhere on the web, and young teens could become porn addicts using their phones as X-rated theaters. They use cell phones for visiting porn websites and do not permit anyone to access their browsing activities. Parents should respect their teens’ privacy but always take care of red flags because their privacy is not larger than their lives.

Cyberbullying is one of the factors that teens are more likely to keep under the carpet because of fear. They don’t discuss with their parents that someone has shamed her body. Privacy of teens keeps bullying them online. Few signs, like depression and anxiety, can alarm parents that something terrible is happening to their children. Supervising teens’ social media activity is necessary, and protecting them from online bullying is not a privacy breach.

Teens install live broadcasting apps on their cellphones, such as TikTok, Bigo Live, and others, to create short videos and share them with the public. They saw popular teens who got fame and money by sharing their semi-nude and compromised videos. So, they start copying trendy profiles to be famous by sharing nudes on live broadcasting apps.

Some parents become insecure whenever they come to know about internet dangers. So, on the first attempt, try to invade the teen’s privacy, which is not a good thing to get done. Parents who came to know about teens’ sexting activities are more likely to check their teen’s phones secretly. So, they get their hands on their teen’s phones to read text messages and access social networks manually.

Teenagers are always requiring some space or a logical dialogue. Once they come to know that her parents have breached their privacy without consent, they suddenly react impulsively. Parents always have good intentions to check their child’s phones, but teens don’t understand them. So, checking their phones manually and getting caught would have negative consequences. Parents could break the element of trust, and teens try risky things to have their privacy.

Young teens are more tech-savvy than parents, and they can get to know whenever you access their phone manually by checking their last activity on the phone. So, prevent yourself from backfiring on yourself, and find another way.

Teens’ privacy is your goal? There is a time when you invade their privacy because he/she seems depressed, aggressive, and has unhealthy sleeping patterns; you have to dig out the rabbit holes to know what makes them so violent. It is your job being a parent to keep your kids safe. Teens’ online privacy is necessary, but it is not larger than their lives. So, bring parental control software at your disposal and monitor what they do online with TheOneSpy:

Parents can install TheOneSpy on their cellphones, having one-time physical access on their phones carefully, and log in to your separate online dashboard. It will bring insight into the following things and allow parents to protect teens from online predators and potentially risky activities.

Set limits on cell phone screen time by blocking several inappropriate apps that make your child spend all day long on cell phones. You can block apps from 1 to 12 hours to protect teens from accessing violent porn websites, online dating sites, and social media networks.

You can record live cellphone screens into short-time videos in a series and send the data to the dashboard. Parents can download the videos and watch shared privacy on social media profiles, such as real names, locations, mobile numbers, emails, and school names. Further, catch sexting, photos, and video sharing with strangers.

Decode teens’ sexting codes with strangers, and read text messages and chat conversations with strangers. You can use the keystrokes logger to capture keypad strikes to record chats, messages, passwords, and email keystrokes.

Parents can block text messages using the TheOneSpy dashboard at the time teens do sexting on cellphone networks. You can prevent teens from inappropriate chats.

Block incoming, random calls on any cellphone device to prevent teens from talking to strangers that lure them to blind dating.

Your teen may have plans to meet someone in person after meeting a stranger online. You can track your child’s GPS location and location history and set Geo-Fence to get email alerts.

Parents can monitor social media logs such as messages, chats, voice messages, and media sharing and listen to one-sided live VoIP call logs on Facebook, WhatsApp, Line, Vine, Viber, Skype, and many more.

Use TheOneSpy as a parental monitoring app to safeguard your child online and in real life. Parents should not spy on teens and snoop into their phones to read about a fight with a friend, boyfriend, or peers. Always reserve your checking for a time when their behavior changes and you have no other way but to invade the teen’s Online privacy. Don’t be suspicious unless teens show signs of depression, anxiety, excessive cellphone use, and the internet.