Location tracking and social media.

It’s late and your teenage child hasn’t come home. Do you find out by tracking the GPS location?

Should you be monitoring your child’s activity on social media?

An expert says this is fairly common, and perhaps not a bad idea at least while they’re still young, but it’s also a balance between need to know, and privacy.

Sam Fiorella, Marketing author, director of Sensei Marketing firm, a Professor of Social media marketing at Seneca College, and father.

Professor Fiorella is in favour of sometimes tracking your child, especially pre-teens and young teens, because the mobile device and internet present so many new and unpredictable risks.

Sam Fiorella, marketing expert, author, professor, and creator of “friendship bench” movement (CBC)

There are any number of cases of child luring through the internet, and of bullying, which has led to suicides in more than one case.

But the balance has to be to allow them to learn about responsibility which comes through leaving them a measure of privacy.

A surprising number of parents track their child’s movements through gps locating, but this could cause tension. Fiorella suggests a heart-to-heart talk between child and parent about responsibilities, the need for parents to know child’s whereabouts and activities and the privacy needs of the child (CBC)

He points out, that just like the “sex” talk of parents to teens, perhaps parents should now also consider a serious “mobile phone/internet” talk.