What can Children do to Stay Safe in Social Networking Web Sites?

There are some things you can do to stay out of harms way. 

• Check out the safety tips on the web site.  They are usually found in the footer and may give you some good ideas on how to stay safe.
  
• Make sure you keep you personal information private.  Set up passwords so only your friends can see your details.  Keep your password to yourself.
  
• Think twice before posting a comment – once something is on the Internet it may be there for ever.
  Only place general, non identifiable information in your profile.
  
• Don’t always believe what you see or what people say to you. Some people may display fake photos or tell you things that aren’t true.
  
• Be careful who you communicate with.  Be selective and make sure there are good reasons why you would like to have someone else in your network of friends.
  
• Be cautious of others you don’t know who invite you to join in their group of friends.  Why would they want you to join anyway?
  
• Find out what your friends are posting about you and talk to them if you see something you don’t like.  Make sure it is OK with them before you post anything about them online.
  
• If you see some content on the web site that is upsetting, report it to the Webmasters and tell an adult you can trust.