Douglas Irish's Profile

The best advice I ever give to parents is one of conversation. On more than one occasion parents have asked me where should they start. My answer is always the same. Start with your own children. Grab a pen and piece of paper and really care about these spaces. Have them walk you through their Facebook account. Try and learn and understand what they do there. If they won’t let you see their account, then you have an issue. Facebook is not a private space. If they are willing to share that information with their friends, they should be willing to share it with you. Have a conversation about what you see. See a picture that upsets you? Talk about it in an adult fashion. Ask the questions:

• What do you think this pictures says about you?
• Do you know all (number of friends) of your ‘friends?
• Can you trust everyone on your ‘friends’ list not to download that picture?
• What does that update say about you as a person?
• Is that who you want to be known as?

The best advice I ever give to parents is one of conversation. On more than one occasion parents have asked me where should they start. My answer is always the same. Start with your own children. Grab a pen and piece of paper and really care about these spaces. Have them walk you through their Facebook account. Try and learn and understand what they do there. If they won’t let you see their account, then you have an issue. Facebook is not a private space. If they are willing to share that information with their friends, they should be willing to share it with you. Have a conversation about what you see. See a picture that upsets you? Talk about it in an adult fashion. Ask the questions:

• What do you think this pictures says about you?
• Do you know all (number of friends) of your ‘friends?
• Can you trust everyone on your ‘friends’ list not to download that picture?
• What does that update say about you as a person?
• Is that who you want to be known as?