7-29-2009 National:
Parental Controls Being Used To Monitor Teens' Cell Phones
NEW ORLEANS -- Concerns are rising as parents are becoming more aware of the conversations that their children may be having through text messages.More than 80 percent of teens surveyed in a Hearst Magazine poll said they do text. Twenty percent say they take it a step further by "sexting." This latest trend has alarmed parents enough that they are now looking for ways to monitor their children's conversations.Mike Gibbs and his daughter, Kelli, have a understanding that there is to be no texting.
Like some other parents, Gibbs has chosen to remove texting from his daughter's cell phone plan altogether."She doesn't even have texting. She has the ability to, but she has to pay for it if she does," said Gibbs.Parents may not have to go as far as removing texting from their plans, however. Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, said all mobile carriers now have basic parental controls free of charge.
Several carriers such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless have additional controls that cost about $5 a month."There are new programs that will alert you if there are certain types of texts or questions being asked of your children," said Balkam. "'Where do you live? How old are you? Will you come and meet me?'"For iPhone users, there are now ratings for age-appropriate applications and restrictions to block explicit content.Marisa Nightingale from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy reminds parents that nothing is foolproof when it comes to texting and sexting."You have to remember, the teens are the ones who have mastered this technology first," said Nightingale.
"So chances are they are going to find a way around it if they really want to."Nightingale also reminds parents that they do not need to be an expert on technology to monitor their children."You are an expert on being a parent, so remember that," said Nightingale.There are several Web sites with more information on helping prevent sexting among teenagers.
- Family Online Safety Institute
- National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
- Filtering Software programs/Web sites:
textguard.com
safeeyes.com/iphone
tangle.com
