Social media has become an integral part of teenagers’ lives these days as they use it to stay connected with each other and get their daily fill of entertainment and updates. To appease their interest, multiple social networking platforms have also been introduced, e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Now that these social networks have become such an important part of teenagers’ lives, it’s about time you as a parent teach them the etiquettes, or netiquettes as some call it, of using it.

Be Polite

Social media has a lot of advantages, but its biggest disadvantage is cyberbullying. People, mostly kids, who believe they are superior to others insult and make fun of any complacent soul they come across. They pick on their peers at every chance they get, which affects the victims in many ways. You as a parent certainly don’t want your kids to be the perpetrators of cyberbullying, which is why you need to teach them to be polite, respectful, and empathic.

Teaching your teens to be polite can help them in a lot of ways. For starters, they will begin to make some real friends who will actually care about them. Secondly, people they come across online would actually want to talk to them because they will know that this kid will not flip out on them. There are countless other benefits of being polite, and you as an experienced life-veteran know it. You know how being polite can completely change the overall impression of an individual. Therefore, it is advised that you teach your children to be polite both on and off the internet.

Don’t Be Too Chummy with Strangers

Teens start chatting up complete strangers without even knowing who they are or what they are up to, and end up getting themselves in a whole lot of trouble. Such conversations can lead to a bunch of problems, none of which may end well for you or your child. The best course of action here is to tell your teens about the strangers that lurk online in search for easy prey so that they don’t become their victim.

Tit for Tat

This quote applies in real life as well as on social media. If you want your children to be treated right, then they will have to treat others right as well. If they are treating someone nicely, then the niceness would definitely be returned. However, if they are abusive towards someone, then that abuse will also be returned. You have to teach your kids that tit for tat is not something that they just read in books, it actually happens in real life. Every single thing they say or do on social media will have a reaction, be it positive or negative.