Five Dangers of Facebook - Author Diane Griffin

Diane Griffin:

Diane Griffin is the founder and President of Security First & Associates. Ms. Griffin works with a variety of clients throughout the Security industry. Ms. Griffin has also worked in a wide array of fields to include training, facilitation, communications, human resources and industrial security management and Ms. Griffin is the current Chapter Chair for National Classification Management Society (NCMS), Chapter 26.

Diane's expertise in the security field and her experience as an author of books on Security Clearances helped her make a natural transition to security issues for teens and their parents.

According to Ms. Griffin, Social Media is the way to communicate with teenagers today. Parents have a lot to learn when it comes to  the behaviors of their children online.   To help parents and teachers understand today's teenager, Diane Griffin has written several books on the topic of Social Media and your teens.  She also has a helpful blog that gives good advice about the subject and valuable resources for parents
and teens on the subject of internet and phone safety on her site http://www.protectyourteens.com.  Take advantage of a security expert to help you manage this important process in your child's life.

5 Dangers of Facebook You Might Not Have Considered

Sure, you're aware that online predators scour Facebook looking for teens they can exploit. But have you considered that there are other dangers lurking in the mega popular social networking site that have nothing to do with luring your child into a park somewhere, or following them to a local restaurant? Here are five things you also need to take into account as you set ground rules for your teen's use of online sites such as Facebook.

1. Admission to college. If your teen goes online and posts lewd or crude photos of herself or others, undisciplined profanity, racist remarks or other taboo comments, it could hinder her chances of getting into her college of choice. While not all admissions offices take the time to search online for an applicant's profiles, many do. And those who do may very well refuse admission to students who don't present a mature or socially acceptable persona online.

2. Employment opportunities. In addition to colleges and grad schools who are concerned about the image a teen presents online, it's becoming much more common for prospective employers to view an applicant's, or employee's, online profiles. You've probably heard the stories of people being fired because of derogatory remarks posted on Facebook. It happens, as does never being hired in the first place for the same reason.

3. Personal relationships. While your teen may think it's all fun and games to go online and call their grandmother an old fogey, if someone lets it slip to Grandma what's been said, it can cause relationship problems your teen probably never imagined, not to mention the undue hurt and embarrassment from such actions. Teens don't always think of the consequences of what they do, but it's important that you remind them of possible issues that could arise from what they post online.

4. Legal complications. Today, it's common practice for an attorney to search online to find anything they can find on someone involved in a law suit. If your teen has to go to court for any reason, it's highly possible that any negative photos, videos or statements they've posted online, or a friend has posted of them, could come back to haunt them when they stand before the judge.

5. Serious charges. In addition to minor complications relating to lighter offenses, serious charges could be raised for such issues as threatening a classmate, or posting sexually suggestive photos online. Some teens have been charged with child pornography for posting or sending nude photos of themselves to their friends, and if that happens after an 18th birthday, it could result in your teen being labeled a sex offender for the rest of his life.

While Facebook and other social networking sites can be a fun online hangout, the potential dangers need to be addressed. The best precaution is to sit down and talk to your child about these dangers and help ensure he or she avoids these issues for their own safety, and for your peace of mind.

This is the first book in a series to help parents protect their teens from the dangers of technology and the Internet. Not only does the book describe the dangers and legal implications of texting, but also gives tools and information how to dialog with teens about the dangers of texting. This is a very practical book. Also, there is a project to go with the book on Diane's website that is based on best practices in education to help teens understand the dangers and how to deal with them. This project will include lesson plans for teachers and parents who home school their teens based on national educational standards and learning targets. There is a video book review on the Amazon purchase page for Safe Text.  Click on the link below to learn more about the book and view the review.

 This is the second book in a series of books to help parents protect their teens from the dangers of the Internet, texting, and social media sites. This book is about Facebook. Not only does it spell out the dangers of Facebook for teens but also the positives. It describes the problems and actually tells parents what to do about them. The book gives links to a good amount of useful resources.

Have a teen planning to go to college? This is the book for you. It is a book to help parents and teens use Social Media to help the student get into college.  It describes the traps that might have an adverse effect on admittance into a college.  The most popular social media sites are described as well as some newer sites that a becoming more popular. This is a must have book if you want to help your teen capture an advantage in being accepted to the college of their choice. There is a video book review on the Amazon purchase page for Social  Media Secrets. Click on the link below to learn more about the book and view the review.