Your Aunt Contacted You Last Night Your Cousin Who Is 14 Wan

Your Aunt Contacted You Last Night Your Cousin Who Is 14 Wants A Fa

Your aunt contacted you last night. Your cousin, who is 14, wants a Facebook account. Your aunt has heard lots of stories of how difficult it is to protect your privacy on Facebook, and she wants your advice. Research the privacy and security settings on Facebook and create a “User’s guide” for your aunt to work through with your cousin. Make sure you include information on how to remove your cousin from Facebook search results, make contact information private, keep friendships private, adjust Wall posting visibility, set up photo album privacy, customize photo tagging, and explain what personal information should and should not be included on your cousin’s profile.

Paper For Above instruction

Introducing a young teenager to Facebook requires careful consideration of privacy and security features to protect their personal information and online presence. As social media becomes an integral part of communication for teens, it is essential that parents and guardians understand how to navigate privacy settings effectively. This guide aims to assist your aunt in guiding her 14-year-old son through the process of securing his Facebook account, emphasizing key privacy features such as search result visibility, contact information privacy, friendship privacy, Wall post visibility, photo album privacy, and photo tagging controls. Additionally, it highlights important dos and don'ts regarding personal information shared online.

Removing Your Cousin from Facebook Search Results

The first step in safeguarding your cousin’s privacy is to prevent his profile from appearing in Facebook search results. To do this, navigate to the Privacy Settings and Tools section. Under the "How people find and contact you" option, select "Who can look you up using the email address you provided?" and "Who can look you up using the phone number you provided?" Changing these options to “Friends” or "Only Me" limits visibility to acquaintances or just the profile owner. Furthermore, disable the option "Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?" to prevent search engines from indexing his profile on platforms like Google.

Making Contact Information Private

The next important step involves controlling who can see your cousin’s contact details. Within the Privacy Settings, there is an option to review and customize who can see his personal information such as phone number, email address, and address. Ensure these are set to "Friends" or "Only Me," depending on comfort levels. It’s advisable to keep this information private to reduce the risk of unwanted contact or identity theft. This can be managed through the Profile and Tagging settings or directly on the profile under “About” sections.

Keeping Friendships Private

Most teenagers connect with numerous friends on Facebook, but revealing the full list may compromise privacy. To hide this, go to the Privacy Settings and find the option "Who can see your friends list?". Set this to “Only Me” or “Friends except...” if some friends should be hidden. Doing so helps maintain confidentiality about the full scope of connections and limits online stalking or unsolicited contact.

Adjusting Wall Posting Visibility

Controlling who can see and post on your cousin’s timeline is critical. Within the Timeline and Tagging settings, there is an option "Who can see posts you're tagged in on your timeline?" and "Who can post on your timeline?" Set both to "Friends" or "Only Me" to restrict viewing and posting privileges. Additionally, enable the option "Review posts friends tag you in before they appear on your timeline" to maintain control over tagged content.

Setting Up Photo Album Privacy

Photos can reveal a great deal about an individual. Limit privacy of existing albums or create new ones with restricted access. When uploading photos, select the audience for each album or individual photo, choosing "Friends" or "Only Me" as appropriate. Use the "Edit" option on each album to manage privacy settings, preventing strangers from viewing or commenting on photos.

Customizing Photo Tagging

Photo tagging introduces the risk of unwanted identification or sharing personal details. Adjust tagging settings to review tags before they appear on your profile. Enable the "Review tags people add to your posts before the tags appear on Facebook?" option to control what gets posted under your cousin's name. Encourage careful consideration before approving tags, especially those revealing location or other sensitive information.

What Personal Information Should and Should Not Be Included

It is crucial to guide your cousin on sharing information responsibly. Personal details such as full name, school, phone number, address, birth date, and family details should be limited. Avoid sharing information that could be used for identity theft or stalking. Instead, encourage sharing only general interests and hobbies, and using privacy controls for any personal data that must be included. Educating about the permanency of online posts is also important, as once information is shared, it may be difficult to fully remove.

Conclusion

By understanding and utilizing Facebook’s privacy and security settings, your aunt can significantly enhance her son’s online safety. Regularly reviewing these settings as privacy policies evolve is necessary to adapt to new risks. Educating her son about responsible online behavior and privacy awareness will help him enjoy social media benefits while minimizing potential dangers. Ultimately, proactive management of privacy settings, combined with open communication, creates a safer social media environment for young teenagers.

References

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