Regulating teen internet usage in time of COVID

Now, more than ever, parents may be asking themselves difficult questions about whether or not they should be monitoring or restricting their teenagers’ internet usage. Harmful content, cyberbullying, phishing scams, and general digital overload are all serious concerns, particularly with so much extra time being spent online while social distancing. But the internet also offers all of us a crucial lifeline to the outside world right now.

Social media apps like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat are at peak popularity right now among younger generations. These services can fuel adolescents’ creativity and encourage them to develop their own videos and shareable content. This all plays a big part in teens leading a full life, making it easier for them to find common ground with their peers.

However, increased use of online apps and services can also bring challenges for some teens — as well as their parents. Getting the balance right between online and offline activities can be hard to achieve. Too much time spent on the internet could limit how much time they spend on other important activities, such as quality time with family and friends, school work and physical exercise. And less savvy or vigilant users can fall victim to online scams, potentially compromising their private information.

It’s only natural for parents to want to protect their children from such threats and from becoming over-reliant on online services. Only by understanding the problem can they propose effective preventive measures, without the need to stop their children using the internet altogether. So parents may ask themselves a legitimate question: is it worth establishing technical or other restrictions on internet usage or can my teenager navigate the potential pitfalls on their own?

Many parents feel anxious about what their children are doing online, worrying that they might ignore or underestimate the risks. Some platforms, like TikTok, have introduced special rules for family safety, but there are still many places online where children could stumble across inappropriate content.

Teens are often considered old enough to go it alone and use the internet without supervision. As children get older, they spend more time with friends than family, and if their friends have risky habits, there is a higher chance that teenagers will do the same.

So how can parents address this issue? One way is to constantly monitor teenagers’ online activity. This could include viewing their browser history after each visit, if they’re using a shared family device, visiting their social media accounts, or even manually checking their mobile devices.

According to a Pew Research Center survey, about half of parents have taken this approach. A smaller number have opted to use parental control software that is intended to ensure control without affecting a child’s usage experience on the web.

Many teens are likely to see any of these efforts as an invasion of privacy or an attempt to control their life, in which case it could be doing more harm than god. But what are the alternatives?

There is a middle ground that ensures parents do not step over the boundaries of teen privacy or spoil the fun of growing up. Open discussions between parents and teenagers are a good first step toward ensuring a common understanding is met and boundaries adhered to, while maintaining a sense of freedom.

When trust is formed in this way, the installation of parental control measures can be more easily justified. If a parent notices that something is not right with their child, they might cross the agreed boundaries, on the condition that such scenarios have been discussed and accepted by the child.

After parents have established the rules for using the internet and explained the necessity of limited parental control, most teenagers will understand that if a parental control application blocks a site they need to access, then they can always ask a parent to add the site to the list of allowed sources, if necessary.

It is also important to keep in mind that teens learn more from what their parents do, rather than necessarily what they say. It’s therefore crucial to be a role model when it comes to using the internet responsibly.

For instance, if parents agree on what restrictive measures they are going to put in place with their teenager, they too must adhere to these established family rules. If parents tell children to turn off all of their devices, but they themselves are constantly behind a screen, any conversation or restrictive measures may look hypocritical and end up ineffective.

Quality time is also an important piece of the puzzle. If parents increase the amount of time they spend offline with their teenagers, they will be able to establish greater trust and learn firsthand about anything that may have happened to their child while using the internet.

Parental control is just one way to prevent potential risks, but it is not a silver bullet. The best parental control is an active parent that openly communicates and is there to help with their children’s decision making.