It’s a question I get several times a year from anxious parents, either via a direct message, an email or even in line at the grocery store. It goes something like this: “What’s the one thing you wish you’d done better when monitoring your kids’ technology?”
Both of my kids are now young adults, and together, we survived a handful of digital mishaps. So, I tend to have a few answers ready. I’ll go into one of those answers in this post, and here it is: I’d physically pick up their phone more often and ask questions about the apps I didn’t recognize.
And here’s why.
There are the apps on your child’s phone that are familiar. They are the easy ones. We know what color they are, what their graphic avatars look like — the little ghost on the yellow background, the little bird, the camera on the bright purple and orange background. We may have gone through the app together or even use one or two of the apps ourselves. There’s Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp, Kik, and Instagram, among others. There are the mainstay photo apps (VSCO, Facetune, PicsArt) and games (The Sims, Fortnite, Minecraft). We may not like all the apps, but we’ve likely talked about the risks and feel comfortable with how your kids use them. With general recognition, it’s easy to have a false sense of security about what apps our kids are using.
Then, there are the apps on your child’s phone you know nothing about — and there are plenty. Rather than dismiss your concern because you don’t understand the app or because you may not have the energy to start an argument, next time, think about pausing to take a closer look. If you have concerns, address them sooner rather ..
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