How to Find out if Your Child Is on Facebook

If you think your child might be using Facebook against your household rules, there are some methods that you might be able to use to find out. A recent USA Today poll found that approximately 30 percent of parents chose not to monitor their kids̵7; Internet activities, either because they didn̵7;t want to or because they didn̵7;t understand how to use social media. While it̵7;s important to keep your child safe online, it̵7;s equally important to allow him or her some freedom and to educate yourself about social media.

Instructions

    • 1

      Check your Internet browser̵7;s web history. This can be found at the top of your screen when you have the browser open, labeled ̶0;History.̶1; Click on it, and you will see a list of all recent websites visited. If your child hasn̵7;t cleared it, you might see Facebook on there. Of course, this is only conclusive evidence if other members of the household are not on Facebook and/or don̵7;t use that computer.

    • 2

      Google your child̵7;s name. If your child has made his profile public, you will be able to see a link to it in a Google search. There may be several profiles belonging to other people with the same name as your child, so don̵7;t jump to conclusions. If you click on a link to a Facebook profile and see your child̵7;s picture, it̵7;s probably his profile. It̵7;s important to teach your child how to control his profile settings so that his personal information isn̵7;t publicly accessible.

    • 3

      Join Facebook yourself and search for your child̵7;s name in the search bar. You can do an advanced search to look for people with your child̵7;s name living in your town. A profile picture that looks like your child might be on the list. If you can̵7;t click on it, or you don̵7;t find anything, it might be because your child arranged her privacy settings to prevent this, or it might be that your child doesn̵7;t actually have a profile.

    • 4

      Have an honest conversation with your child. No matter what you find online, the only way to know for sure that your child has created and maintained his own profile is to get the truth from him. Foster standards of honesty and respect for your child̵7;s privacy, and he is likely to tell you the truth.

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