“While ignorance can sometimes be bliss, social media provides insight for parents into the day-to-day activities of their children” (Qualman, 2012).

As a parent, I have a love hate relationship with social media. I love that I can connect with my children, see what both they and their friends are doing. It definitely allows a stronger connection and understanding of their “social” lives. I hate it because, like most every other human being I know, it consumes them. Their whole world revolves around social media sites like facebook. They have a constant need to check who’s online, what the latest gossip is, who’s dating who, who just broke up, the list goes on and on.

 In a study conducted by Liberty Mutual's Social Media and Personal Responsibility Benchmark it,”revealed that the vast majority (73 percent) of parents believe it's acceptable for their children to have Facebook or MySpace accounts. However, those same parents claim they will monitor their children's social media profiles until they are 18 years old” (Qualman, 2012). I do allow my children to have facebook accounts, but I must know their passwords so I cannot only monitor what they post but also what conversations go on privately. They do not like that, I “invade” their personal space so much, but in the past, it has proven to be necessary.   

Qualman, E. (2012). Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business. (2nd ed.,). John Wiley & Sons, Inc: Hoboken,NJ.

http://gabeweb.tumblr.com/post/7829095368/more-than-half-of-parents-use-facebook-to-spy-on

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/most-parents-monitor-kids-on-facebook/story-fnet085v-1226663531756