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Sex Offender Targets Minnetonka Girl on Facebook

Authorities in Washington are investigating.

A registered sex offender from Washington is being investigated after sending sexually explicit messages to a Minnetonka juvenile. On Nov. 3, Minnetonka Police officers took a report from a juvenile female who received a “friend” request from an unknown male on Facebook. The juvenile female accepted the friend request and exchanged some personal information with the male. Shortly after the original contact, the juvenile began getting sexually related text messages and photos from the male, according to police. The juvenile reported the information to her mother who contacted police. Additional investigation revealed the male was an adult who lived in the state of Washington and was known by the local police department as a registered sex …

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Parents Talk: Does Social Media Increase Your Teens' Awareness?

A new study shows 55 percent of teens feel they are more aware of other people's needs as a result of social media sites.

I was one of the first of my friends and family members to jump on the Facebook bandwagon when it was launched for college students in February 2004. It was the talk of the campus. My roommate and I would peruse our pages for hours: chatting, poking, adding friends and checking out the latest gossip. Sadly, I remember the first time you were able to add multiple photos. It was thrilling. These days my use of social media has expanded to include Twitter, however my engagement in the sphere has definitely declined. But, I'm no longer a teenager, and I'm of the generation that remembers the Internet becoming the "new thing." While I may not be as engaged as I once was, this is apparently not the case for most teens. A new study from World …

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Caitlin Burgess

12:18 pm on Thursday, March 8, 2012

Another question: while teens may be more aware of things happening in the world through social media, does it make them want to make a difference? The survey also showed that 9 out of 10 teen surveyed believed it was important to volunteer. I think it would be interesting to know how many teens actually get out and do so. Anyone have any statistics or other insights?   more ›

Parents Talk: Millions of Tweens Lie to Use Facebook

A new study suggests their parents are helping them do it.

My husband and I didn't realize how valuable Facebook was until I gave birth to our daughter this past July.  My husband's parents and family live in Pittsburgh, and they check out our Facebook pages nearly every day to see new pics and videos of the baby. And while it's a wonderful way to keep so many people connected, Facebook is not supposed to be used by everyone.  Not according to its Terms of Service, anyway. According to those terms, you must be 13 years old or older to join Facebook, but millions of kids younger than 13 years old are Facebook users. That means millions of kids are saying they're older than they really are.  And according to a new study released this week by the University of Illinois at Chicago, parents are helping…

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Moms Talk: Setting Facebook Ground Rules

Before letting your kids dive head-first into the world of social media, it's important to first get a basic understanding of the technology at play.

When my son was almost 13, he wanted to join Facebook. Before allowing it, I signed up myself in order to understand how it worked and to provide some guidance related to his use of the social network phenomenon. Once I gained a basic understanding, I allowed him to sign up for Facebook subject to some basic guidelines which have evolved over the past two years into the following: These limits have worked well for us. I imagine some kids might not need rules while others might need more rigid ones. As parents, we cannot make that decision, however, without first having a basic understanding of the technology, which is evolving almost faster than we can keep up with it. I suspect that by the time they’re in high school, today’s sixth …

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Pattye

5:55 pm on Friday, February 18, 2011

Because I can't tell if the above link is correct, try this one: http://www.theonion.com/video/facebook-twitter-revolutionizing-how-parents-stalk,14364/   more ›