A lot of teens enjoy using the MySpace community to communicate with their friends, meet new friends or just to express themselves. Individuals who are over the age of 14 are eligible to use MySpace so there is a large congregation of young people who are creating and maintaining MySpace pages. However, teens that use the Internet to meet friends are possibly more at risk than adults who use the Internet for socializing and networking. This is due to a number of factors including teens being more trusting of others and unaware of the potential of harmful consequences and predators specifically looking for teenagers on the MySpace community.
Parents Need to Stay Involved
One of the best ways parents can help to protect their teens on MySpace is by staying involved in the child's life. Parents should be aware of whether or not their teen has a MySpace profile and if the teen has created a profile the parent should let the child know they will be reviewing the profile frequently.
Then parents should follow up on their vow to check the profile periodically to ensure the teen is not engaging in questionable activities or interactions. Teens who know their parents will be viewing their MySpace website are less likely to make poor choices when designing their website. Also, parents who view their child's MySpace website regularly will see the friends the teen is making and can put a stop to any potentially harmful relationships such as budding romance with an adult member.
Teens Should be Taught Internet Safety
Although the Internet is a great resource for teens and they can learn a great deal through socializing with others online, teens should understand the Internet can also be full of predators. The Internet allows users to disguise their identity if they wish to do so and as a result those who use the Internet might be putting themselves at risk when they befriend these predators.
Providing teens with basic Internet safety rules can help to protect them. Some of the rules parents should enforce for teens include the following:
* Do not give out personal information such as full name and address.
* Do not send photos of yourself without your parents? approval.
* Do not agree to meet someone in person without your parents? approval.
* Do not respond to threats or other forms of harassment. Instead report these occurrences to your parents or Internet service provider.
* Do not enter online areas which require additional fees without your parents? approval and do not give out credit card information without your parents? approval.
Offline Meetings Should be Chaperoned by a Trusted Adult
Teens who meet friends online may want to meet with their online friends in person. Meeting online friends in person can be a wonderful experience but it can also be dangerous especially in situations where the online friend has deliberately concealed his true identity.
The previous section mentioned offline meetings should not occur without the approval of the parents. Parents should not only approve all such meetings but should also accompany their teen on these meetings. Personal meetings should be arranged to take place in a busy, public location during daylight hours and parents should accompany their teen to these meetings to ensure their online friend was honest about his identity.
Teenagers often have skin problems, thanks to the raging hormones that cause some pretty drastic changes in their bodies, including the skin. With acne and oily skin being the most common skin issues faced by teenagers, there are a ton of products out there designed specifically for teen skin care. It's always handy to offset some of the problems ahead of time, though, so here are a few tips to get you started:
Choosing Skin Care Products
- Look for organic, natural ingredients that won't irritate already sensitive skin. Most teens have sensitive skin for at least a while and harsh chemicals can actually aggravate conditions like acne. - Skin care products that are designed for teen skin will probably work best, so look for these rather than products that are meant for adult skin, which tends to be more stable. - Avoid using only products with astringent properties. Despite the appearance of your skin, it needs moisturizing, too. The best moisturizers are ones that have a non-oily base. - Find skin care products that offer soothing herbs in combination with other active ingredients. Lavender, aloe and chamomile are just a few of the natural ingredients available that can soothe irritated, sensitive skin.
Daily Skin Care Tips
- Washing your face is a good way to eliminate bacteria that can cause infections and worsen acne. However, don't wash too often and avoid scrubbing, since this can cause excess oil to be secreted by the skin and will tend to irritate it, as well, causing more problems. A good foaming cleanser is a good way to go and can be rinsed gently afterwards. - Try not to rest your chin on your hand and keep fingers away from the face, since this can transfer excess oil and bacteria and cause zits. When you do need to touch your face, wash your hands first. - For very oily skin, blotting papers can be useful. To avoid excessive face washing, just blot away the extra oil. If you don't have blotting papers, tissues work well, too. - Avoid popping zits. This spreads bacteria and though it can be very tempting to get rid of an obvious blemish this way, you'll be better off in the long run if you use a topical treatment instead of popping it. - If you wear makeup, never leave it on overnight. It's important to let the skin breathe and this means washing the makeup off at night. Using a lighter application or makeup that is specially formulated for sensitive skin should help, too. - Long hair also plays an important part in skin care. If your hair hangs in your face, it can transfer even more oil to the skin and tends to cause breakouts wherever it usually hangs. This is often the cause of "backne", hair hanging down the back, even over a tee shirt, can wick a lot of grease into the skin. Tie long hair back and keep it nice and clean to avoid problems.
Not all teens will have skin problems, but it's a good idea to start early with the right skin care to ensure that if you are prone to problems like acne, they will be minimized. It's also helpful to know what you can do once pimples and zits start to appear. Using a good quality skin care product that uses natural, organic ingredients will help a lot. It's tough being a teen, but you can ease the transition by taking good care of your skin so it doesn't have the chance to get out of control.
Both Haydn James Reilly & Amy Nutt are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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