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SALT LAKE CITY — Do you always know what your children are up to on their smartphones and computers?
Children often leave their parents behind technologically. So, parents do not always know how to monitor their children online.
Granite School District leaders know that's a challenge, so they met with parents and students Wednesday at Matheson Junior High School to talk about potentially problematic apps.
"We want to use smart devices in a smart way, and not be dumb about it," said Ben Horsely, spokesman for the Granite district.
Horsely said apps like Yik Yak, kik or Poof It's Gone (a.k.a. "Poof") are being used by teenagers for sexting, pornography or cyberbullying.
"As this problem has evolved, we've decided that we need to get parents more involved and help them understand the implications of that," he said.
School leaders were not telling parents what to do, but giving them frank information about what's out there, what their children are doing on their phones, and how parents can talk to them every day about tough topics.
"This is an important conversation that needs to be had in the home," Horsely said.
Noah Johnson, a ninth-grade student who attended Wednesday’s meeting, said he doesn’t want too many restrictions, but he also understands more about dangers online.
Related:
5 apps parents should know about
Approximately 78 percent of U.S. teens have cell phones. Five new apps are growing in popularity and important for parents to know about because many come with maturity warnings and are rife with problems."There could be a predator out there,” Noah said. “That could be scary if they are saving my photos and stalking me or something."
"A lot of those apps I hadn't even heard of," said Cindy Johnson, Noah’s mom. She feels like she and her son have good rules and a good relationship, but knows there’s room for improvement.
“I feel like I'm consistent with him at times, and look at his texts and his stuff for a week or two, and then I get lazy; and I realize I need to be watching more,” Johnson said.
School leaders urged parents to set boundaries, monitor their children's activity online and talk openly.
"You have to establish that relationship with your child and have that trust there; start having the conversations early,” Johnson said.
"Some of my friends have more restrictive rules, and others have free access to whatever they want," Noah said.
