" "

I hate to be the one to bring this news, but, your teen has probably banged internet strangers.

Yes, they’re at it again. They’re loose on the internet, doing dumb things. We thought that this was bad, but at least that was just making them a little sad within themselves. This one’s a bit more serious, and could actually leave you being a grandparent to a sociopath’s child. Worse still, it could leave you holding their hand in the clinic whilst they wait to have that acidic drip taken care of.

Before you start emailing me, threatening to murder my family and putting bombs on buses until I tell you what the little bastard’s names are, I can assure you, I know no more than you, about their identity.

He could be a new-ish Twitter follower, a tenuous Facebook friend, or even someone who once liked her photo of a plate of chips on Instagram.

Regardless of the identity of said stranger, if you haven’t had the Internet safety talk with your daughter yet, please put down 2Angry Birds”, practice your best caring-parent-face, and have it right now.

A study conducted at the University of Cincinnati in the U.S. claims that 30 percent of teenage girls say they’ve hooked up with a stranger they met on social media.  I’m not saying everyone you meet through Bebo is secretly a teen-hunting sex-fiend.  But, they could be.  The problem is, you just can’t be sure about someone you only know through your computer screen.

Jennie Knoll. It could be THE Jennie Knoll, or just A Jennie Knoll. Either way, she’ll do.

The study’s leader, Jennie Noll says, “Statistics show that the Internet is not as dangerous a place as, for example, walking through a bad neighborhood.  The vast majority of online meetings are benign… even if just 1% end up in a dangerous encounter with a stranger offline, it’s still a very big problem.”

So, how do you deal with this issue? I’m glad you asked. Researchers found that the most effective ways to keep teenagers safe while they’re posting their duck-faces on Tumblr is direct parental involvement and monitoring their online use.

In other words, when she screams at you, and says “Muuuumm, you’re totally encroaching on my rights to a fulfilling and truly authentic independent online experience,” they suggest you should just swallow all the anger she levels at you, and continue to destroy her internet esteem while ensuring you try not to snigger as she clicks follow on @hotboy98′s profile.

So, how do you handle keeping your teenager safe online?

Pediatrics