It is important for you when working with parents to advise them that Social media networking sites are seen as being very ‘cool’ by children and they may be pressured by their friends into joining them.

The sites don’t actually present any threats that don’t already exist elsewhere online. The danger is that the threats exist in a new online environment you or your child may not be familiar with.

As with most potential online dangers, the problems can start if the child doesn’t look after their personal information properly. The risks parents need to be aware of are:

• cyberbullying (bullying using digital technology)
• invasion of privacy
• identity theft
• your child seeing offensive images and messages
• the presence of strangers who may be there to ‘groom’ other members

Parents and carers can access advice and information on social media platforms popular with their children and their friends by doing some simple research and talking to schools.

It is important to stress that the internet offers young people amazing opportunities to connect and learn, but it can also expose them to content that is both age and developmentally unsuitable.

Content on the internet is not sorted into age or appropriate areas and without supervision and guidance, a child can either unintentionally or purposely find content that is sexually explicit, extremely violent or inappropriate. Most internet users will at some stage come across confronting content online and in the majority of cases this will not cause long-term harm. Problems can arise when this exposure is constant and is not discussed with a parent who can provide a balanced view.