Blogs & Twitter

What are blogs?

A blog (short for “web log”) is an online journal made up of words, photos, videos and music. It’s usually written with the latest entry at the top and can either be private (ie only people you choose to invite can read it) or public (ie anyone online can see it). There are millions of blogs on the Web.

Blogger.com describes blogs as “…a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world.”

What is Twitter?

Micro-blogging – where you publish brief status updates online – has become very popular. One of the best-known micro-blogging sites, Twitter, asks one question “What are you doing?” and answers must be fewer than 140 characters in length.

You can choose who sees these status updates, which are known as “tweets”, and decide whose tweets you’d like to follow. If you choose to follow someone on Twitter, you’ll get their updates on your Twitter homepage when you log on.

As of September 2010, Twitter had 175 million registered users and around 95 million tweets were being posted each day.

As internet access is now available on many mobiles and other portable devices, it has become even easier to blog or tweet while you’re on the move.

What do I need to know about blogs and Twitter?

Your son or daughter might enjoy talking about stuff that interests them, expressing their opinions and staying in touch with friends on their own blog or Twitter page or they might take part in a blog or Twitter page run by their school or another organisation. They might also read other people’s blogs or Twitter updates (written by their favourite author or band, for example) as a way of keeping up-to-date.

As well as blogging websites like Xanga and LiveJournal, social networking providers like Bebo and MySpace offer blogging tools.

Whilst part of the fun of blogs is that you become a “published” writer, the fact that other people can read about your life could present some risks. Younger bloggers and Twitter fans need to understand the potential threats to their online safety and privacy, such as:

  • Cyberbullying – someone could read your child’s blog or tweets and send offensive or threatening messages to them…or your son or daughter might post rude comments about someone else
  • Identity theft – if your child reveals information about themselves in their blog or on their Twitter page, they could be vulnerable to identity thieves
  • Inappropriate and harmful content – if your son or daughter follows other people’s blogs or tweets, they need to understand that some content might not be appropriate for their age or maturity
  • Online grooming – someone could get your child’s personal details, such as their name, age, school or email address, from their blog or Twitter page and contact them with the intention of establishing a sexual relationship
  • Damaging their reputation in real life – anything your child publishes on the Web now could be there forever and seen by anyone

What can I do about blogs and Twitter?

  • Regularly remind your son or daughter that the internet is a public place and that their online safety and privacy should be a priority
  • Talk to them about the potential risks, such as cyberbullying and identity theft
  • Some blogging sites have a minimum age limit to help protect younger users (Twitter users have to be 13, for example) so encourage your child to be truthful about their age when registering
  • Suggest that they use a nickname rather than their real name and a generic image rather than their own photo on their blog or Twitter page
  • If they already have their own blog or Twitter page, have a look at it and let them know you’re going to read/follow it to help them stay safer online
  • Suggest that they make their blog private – for example, on Twitter, they can select the ‘Protect my updates’ box so they can choose who follows them, making it easier to manage their online privacy
  • Talk to your child about the kind of blogs and Twitter updates they read and agree whether they’re appropriate
  • Explain to your son or daughter that they should be careful who they trust online and they shouldn’t give out personal information (like their mobile number, address or name of their school) to strangers
  • Remind them that anything they publish in their blog could be read by anyone (if it’s public) and could remain on the internet forever – would they want fellow students/teachers/strangers/university admissions tutors/future employers to see it?
  • Encourage them to come to you if they feel uncomfortable about comments about their own blog or Twitter page or something they’ve read on someone else’s – it’s all part of helping them to stay safer online
  • If your child takes part in a school blog or Twitter page, speak to their teacher about the guidance they’re given. Teachtoday has lots of useful information about technology in schools
  • Report anything you think might be a violation to the blog host / Twitter
  • Read our articles about cyberbullying, identity theft, inappropriate and harmful content, online grooming and other topics related to blogs and Twitter

Where can I go for more information and support when it comes to blogs and Twitter?

How old are your kids?

What you need to know to get started

  • 5-7 years old

    Technology is part of your child's life before they start primary school. They're probably using the computer, the internet and interactive TV for fun - watching programmes on the CBeebies channel and website or taking part in the Club Penguin chat rooms...but they still need adult guidance and supervision.

    Read more

  • 8-11 years old

    If you have 8-11 year old children, your house is probably full of technology - PlayStation, Nintendo, iPod...the list goes on. In fact, research shows that 8-11 year olds in the UK have an average of four media devices in their bedroom.

    This is a crucial age for young people to embrace new technologies and develop their ICT skills both at home and at school...and it's a crucial time for you to take control when they start exploring the digital world as well as the real world.

    Read more

  • 12-14 years old

    They're at secondary school and growing up fast. It's a time of change and their digital world might seem as important as the real world to them. They might spend their evenings on Bebo, Facebook or MySpace ; watching videos on YouTube and uploading their own for others to watch; or doing research for their homework.

    You want to encourage their technology and social skills, of course, so it's useful to understand what they're doing with technology and to get involved with it.

    Read more

  • 15+ years old

    Once your children are teenagers, it might be tempting to think that they're tech-savvy and dealing with everything the virtual world can throw at them. You probably watch in awe as they switch from chatting with friends on Facebook to updating their Twitter profile; playing against someone on the other side of the world on their games console to downloading music on their mobile.

    It's all great fun but, as they get older, the things you need to help them to cope with in their digital world are ever more challenging. Far from leaving them to it, you really need to keep communicating with them.

    Read more

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