Teens' Guide to Safe Blogging

Blogging is great. Just be smart about what you share.

Unlike the articles we write for parents and teachers, we don’t have to give you a course in blogging basics. As a teen, you’ve probably visited your share of blogs or “spaces,” and there’s a good chance you may have your own blog. If so, congratulations. Even adults like us who have some concerns about bloggers’ safety and privacy applaud the fact that teens are increasingly taking advantage of the Internet’s great communications tools. Millions of teenagers maintain their own blogs. In fact, a study done at Georgetown University shows that more than half of all blogs are maintained by people 13-19.

So let's talk about safety and privacy. As you know, when you're online you're out in public, and that's definitely true if you have a blog that's accessible to anyone on the Net. We don't need to tell you that there are creeps out there who might want to jeopardize your personal safety or steal your or your family's money. It's just a sad fact of life on the Net. Federal law-enforcement people confirm that online predators are very interested in teen blogging. That's why some of the blogging services have privacy features that let you control who can access your blog. And that's what this is about - giving you control. Check with your service to see what types of restrictions you can put on your blog and use them. In most cases it is possible to communicate with your friends or your friends' friends without having to open yourself up to the entire Internet.

One of the nice things about blogs is that you can post just about anything. But just because you can post anything doesn't mean you should. Remember, anything you post can not only be seen by others but can easily be copied and stored. So, what you post can be held against you. Something that seems very cool right now may not seem so cool two or three years from now, when you're sending around applications for schools or jobs. So think just a bit about your future before you post that incendiary comment or that inappropriate photo. Besides, what may seem appropriate or even funny to friends right now can be used against you when there are disagreements, breakups, etc. - in blogs, email, IMs, and even file-sharing networks.