If you don’t know the answer to that question, now is probably a good time to check the privacy setting of your teen’s Facebook account. But first, here’s the back story.

Last night Peter was viewing our teen’s Facebook page and noticed a comment from one of her friends. He didn’t know this friend so he decided to check him out. To his surprise, we discovered that he was able to see a lot of information on her friend’s Facebook page including wall posts, photos and contact information. He checked the pages of a couple of the other friends and noticed the same thing! Keep in mind, for most of these kids, he is not connected with them as a friend. So, the explanation is this: either their info is open to friends of friends, or to everyone.

After some discussion, Peter and I both posted status updates in our Facebook accounts to advise parents to check their settings. I also did this on my Twitter feed and asked others to please RT (retweet/share) the information with others. We learned last night that one of our friends’ son’s Facebook page was wide open for all to see. It occurred to me tonight that many parents may not know exactly how to check settings and what to look for, so I’ve written this post with those parents in mind.

Six Settings You Should Review With Your Teen

1. Once in your teen’s Facebook account, have them click on the “Settings” tab and scroll down to the “Privacy Settings” option. Select that.
2. Then do a step-by-step examination of the settings listed there, starting with “Profile Information.” Pay special attention to birthdate/year (consider implications for possible identity theft as a valid concern). Many kids list their schools and graduating year, and hobbies/sports – making it easy for predators to find unsuspecting teenagers, particularly those tagged in photos or videos that everyone can view. (I don’t want to sound like an alarmist. Rather, I simply think it’s important that parents have these discussions with their teens and choose the option that best fits your family preferences.) Be sure that your teen’s “Profile Information” settings reflect what you’ve discussed.
3. Next view your teen’s “Contact Information.” What information do you want available to friends, friends of friends, everyone, etc. Is your teen emotionally mature enough to discern how to share contact information appropriately? If yes, doing so on Facebook makes it easy for friends to keep in touch. If not, you may want to keep that option completely private or make it customizable. Discuss this with your teen to make sure you both are on the same page.
4. It is important that your teen understand the “Applications and Websites” settings. Every application they select gives the creator of that application access to some parts of their data. In theory, everyone plays by the rules and uses the data in accordance with Facebook’s Terms of Service. Reality is sometimes a different story. Simply stated, be aware. Until recently our daughter was a fan of far too many pages and had signed up for countless applications. Within the last week we asked her to review her groups/pages and delete any that were not legitimate brands. (Some deleted examples could have included: I’m a fan of “Making Snow Angels” or “Today is Backwards Day.” I don’t know if either of those actually exist, but hundreds and maybe thousands of fan pages exist that are nonsensical, giving veiled creators access to a lot of information.)
5. There are two “Search” settings and you should review both. The first is the “Facebook Search” setting, which allows other Facebook users to find you if they type in your name. It may make sense for you to make this setting less restrictive, if you want your teen to be found by other friends/relatives, etc. Again, determine what works best for your family and adjust your setting accordingly.  The second search setting is “Public Search Results.” This option allows search engines to access your teen’s publicly available information as well as any information set to “Everyone.” Parents note: There is an option to “Allow” this or not.
6. And finally, there is a “Block” setting. Should your teen face problems with Facebook users, or if you know in advance that you don’t want certain people to have access to your teen’s account, you have the option to block those users by typing in the person’s name or email address.

Facebook is a wonderful way for teens to interact with others. Discuss privacy and safety with your teen now, in a way that is both informative and proactive. If you still feel intimidated and want some help, send me an email to cheryl at culturesmithconsulting dot com. I’ll be happy to provide you with a 30-minute online review of your settings for a nominal fee.

What am I missing? And if you’ve done this with your teen, what have you discovered (either favorable or unfavorable)?