Help children who’ve experienced violence to heal and thrive.
Have you ever looked back at a photo of yourself as a teenager and cringed at your haircut? Perhaps you’ve re-read messages sent to school friends and cringed at the things you thought were cool.
Our teenage years are a time of personal growth, discovery, and brain development and the online environment is where a lot of this now happens. Sure, this might seem different to your own experience – but different doesn’t always mean bad.
What it does mean is that your role in supporting your teen to grow safely, responsibly – and legally – requires you to understand a bit about what is going on.
Social media allows teenagers to connect with like-minded individuals worldwide, fostering the exploration of interests and passions. However, it's crucial to impart a few key tips to your teen:
Telstra Tech Talk
Social security: spotting scams and misinformation
Scams are booming.Every 12 months is a banner year for scams with Australians losing billions to investment, romance, and online shopping scams among others. While scams remain similar year-on-year, there is nothing preventing criminals from designing well-written scams, especially with AI tools freely available. Here are a few pointers when talking scams with your teens:
Trust, but verify. It is easier to trick someone on the internet than it is in the physical world. There is little to prevent a criminal from sending a phishing email that has perfect English and mimics the look and feel of a legitimate email. So rather than relying on tips to spot phishing, you will realise it is more useful to slow your response to unexpected communications and verify claims using official contacts like email addresses and phone numbers.
Don’t count on links. Many legitimate companies use mailing and marketing services that make legitimate links appear potentially dodgy. Malicious links can use techniques like homoglyphs to appear visually legitimate. Best practice is to largely disregard the links in communication as an indicator of trustworthiness and rely instead on whether the message itself appears unexpected or makes promises too good to be true.
As a parent of teens, you’ll know the power of hormones. Physical changes aren’t all that are impacted by your teen’s hormones – their minds and behaviours will also be in a state of flux for a few years!
This is going to mean thoughts about intimacy, relationships and sex will arise, and the online world can provide opportunities to explore these thoughts and feelings. One of the ways this can happen is through the sending of nude images – also called sexting.
You may not want to think about it, but ignoring the topic isn’t going to stop it from happening – in fact, it might mean your teen isn’t armed with the knowledge on how to look after themselves as they explore their changing identity.
So, here’s what you should know – so that you can appropriately equip your teen:
Don’t be put off by eye rolls or groans if you try and talk about these things – a bit of awkwardness now could make the difference.
Let your teenager know that you respect their need for independence and exploration but want them to avoid decisions that they’ll regret.
Encourage responsible online connections while emphasizing the importance of protecting personal information and promoting kindness and respect.
Discuss sensitive topics like sexting, emphasizing alternatives for exploring thoughts and the legal implications of sharing intimate images without consent.
Engage in open conversations, respect their independence, and provide resources for them to explore independently while instilling strong personal values.
Shift the focus from screen time quantity to purposeful tech use, considering factors like sleep, homework, physical exercise, and engagement in real-life activities.
Teach the significance of consent in all aspects of online interactions and remind teens to consider the potential long-term consequences of their actions before sharing personal content.
As your child grows there will come moments when you'll encounter certain behaviours or situations that may make you a tad uneasy. It’s important to be prepared for these moments by considering how you would act if they arise.
To help you navigate the thought process, we have created a worksheet that allows you to prepare conversations that suit your parenting values.
Keeping your teen safe isn’t something you need to do alone. Share this article with those who support you including grandparents, aunts and uncles and family friends. Download a PDF version to share the article with ease.
Growing up and maturing comes with greater rights and freedoms – be it choosing the subjects they study at school, getting a learner’s licence, or earning money from a part-time job.
Getting teenagers to talk about anything can often seem like a struggle, let alone when the conversation is about something serious, scary or embarrassing.
As the parent of a teenager, you may feel like your child inhabits two distinct worlds: the offline realm where you spend time with them, and the online gaming universe that they immerse themselves in.
