Social media is a big and confusing world for most of us. Even though I use social media frequently to share ideas, communicate with other dads and keep track of family and friends, I am hardly an expert. That is partly because the world of social media is changing so rapidly; there are new outlets and tools regularly, and literally hundreds of apps for smartphones and computer that help manage our social media presence and consumption.
Often I think our kids know more about social media than we do; it has become the primary way a lot of kids communicate with their friends and sometimes with us as parents. And while there is so much to appreciate about the opportunities that tools like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram bring to the table, there is a dark side to these tools as well. Cyberstalking, cyberbullying, sexting and other scary things lurk in the social media world. How can a dad help his kids be safe and make smart decisions about their social media involvement?
After chatting with dads (and some teens), I prepared a guide to what dads need to know about the various social media tools and apps and how they can protect their kids (and themselves) from the dark side of social media. Take a look and then share your thoughts about what you are doing to make social media better for you and your family.
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What Dads Need to Know About Social Media Apps originally appeared on About.com Fatherhood on Tuesday, April 29th, 2014 at 12:37:18.