Social Networking Sites

Social networking is a phenomenon that some parents may not be familiar with.  There are numbers of these such as Facebook, MySpace, Stumbleupon, etc. Many young people use these sites to find new friends and keep connected to old ones.  We all have heard about a teenager committing suicide after being told that she should not have existed in the world from someone who pretended to her friend.  Not all teens will go that extreme with these social networking sites.

One important thing that teens should know is that their prospective college admission officers may be looking at their profiles and pictures on these social networking sites.  College admissions officers may want to look into these social networking sites to get a glimpse into the personal and private side of their applicants.  So, teens need to be careful not to post pictures of them being drunk or doing silly things, or comments with bad languages or ideas that are dangerous.

I do not know whether college admissions officers do search and look up their applicants on these social networking sites.  But it is certainly a possibility.  I heard that some employers look up their prospective employees on these sites.  So, sit down with your teens and have a talk about this issue.  You can not monitor everything they do on the internet, but they will listen to your concerns if you present the issue in a caring way.  One more thing…  Have your teen use e-mail address something else than ninjamonkey@—–.com or any of that sort. You know what I mean.