Digital Etiquette for Teens

Your tech-savvy teen always has her smartphone, tablet or laptop within reach. She might communicate with you and her best friends via technology more than she does face to face. With so many teen interactions taking place via phone and computer, prep your teen for friendly and civil interactions in this digital age. The last thing you want is a stressed-out teen who's obsessing over every cryptic email.

  1. Emails

    • Your teen might interact with friends, family members, potential employers or even their teachers via email. Thus, some basic rules of email etiquette are a must for your maturing teen. Talk to your teen about the elements of an effective email: a clear, concise subject, a friendly greeting, a direct message and a signature. In particular, focus on the tone of your teen's email -- innocent jokes or sarcasm might not come off appropriately in an email, resulting in some unnecessary drama in your teen's life.

    Text Messsages

    • Text messaging might be your teen's go-to form of communication, so prep your teen for appropriate and effective texting. Encourage short and to-the-point text messages. Challenge your teen to evaluate conversations and decide whether they'd be more appropriate over the phone or face to face. You don't want your teen to get into a texting war with a peer. Your teen surely knows about those frequently used emoticons -- explain to your teen that they can help convey tone in a text and, thus, are useful.

    Social Media

    • When your teen's not texting, he's probably on his favorite social media site to check out what his friends are up to, share his pics and interact with his buddies. Encourage your teen to interact with his friends -- and even strangers -- with the same respect that he would in person. Talk to him about the dangers of cyberbullying, which can leave teens at risk for anxiety or depression, according to KidsHealth. Monitor your teen's social media activity to ensure he's not being the bully or being bullied by his peers.

    Involvement

    • Staying involved in your teen's technological activities ensures that she's adhering to proper digital etiquette. While you want to give your teen some freedom, you also want to ensure that she behaves respectfully and stays safe online. Talk to your teen about what websites she visits and who she text messages. An open dialogue about your teen's digital habits can make monitoring her behavior easier.

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