My friends over at S2R Solutions just launched a new company and I want to help get the word out, because I think it is a great, timely idea and much needed in today’s internet environment. Take a look at ThirdParent.

As parents, we often ask ourselves what our teenage kids are doing on the internet and social media. It is undeniable that teens’ time spent online is increasing, on computers, tablets and smartphones.

Thankfully, most online activity is harmless – interacting with friends, doing homework, consuming media or playing games.

There are two types of online activity that parents should be concerned with:

• Private online activity – Teen behavior that may put them at risk if it becomes public
• Public online activity – Teen behavior that is public, and can cause long-term harm to reputation or prospects or subject them to some form of punishment

ThirdParent has built a process to audit your child’s public-facing internet footprint, and give parents the information to educate and make changes to avoid future problems. ThirdParent’s programs include:

• Free parent or school staff seminars covering student internet safety, conduct and privacy
• Full parent-directed audit of students’ public-domain internet activity 

From the ThirdParent website:

“What would happen if one of the following people took a look at your teens’s internet activity?

• High school administrator
• College admissions officer
• Future employer

Are you confident that there would be no negative results?

Most parents of teens are not aware of every website that their teen visits, or every social media network that they use. And it might not be the parent’s fault. According to a recent study by security software maker McAfee, 70% of teens reported hiding online activity from parents.”

If you are an educator looking for resources to help parents with teen internet issues, or the parents of teenagers and have concerns, check out ThirdParent today.