What should I warn my child about social networking sites?

What should I warn my child about social networking sites?

Ward Leber (CEO) gives expert video advice on: How do predators use Internet personal profiles as lures?; Are all social networking sites dangerous?; What should I warn my child about social networking sites? and more...

What I would warn a child about social networking sites is that people don't always tell you the truth. They'll lie to you about their age, they'll lie to you about their race, they'll lie to you about anything they can lie about because you don't really physically see them, so it's very easy for people to pretend they're somebody else. More than that, I would warn them about giving out any personal information that can identify them. So if you're going to take a photograph of yourself, don't have a photograph of yourself in front of your street address. Make sure you're looking at the background of the photograph, not just what's in the foreground, because a lot of times people will use that information to find you, or they'll know where you hang out. So not giving out personal information, anything that can identify you: where you live, where you go to school. Those are the types of things that I would warn kids never to post on their profiles.