Tech PSA for Parents

As a fairly techie lady myself, I fully support my own children utilizing technology to make their lives easier and more enjoyable. I encourage them to embrace social media of all types in order to communicate, connect, and stay informed, and I can honestly say that we are more connected as a family for it. In allowing my children this freedom, part of my responsibility as their mother is make myself aware of what is out there; to know what kids are using and how it works. My own children (and their friends) have graciously provided me with "PD" on apps like Snapchat and Musical.ly so that I can learn what kids are using. So when my daughter introduced me to Live.ly, I was all about learning about this tool as well. I often see Zoe video chatting with her friends and sharing her gymnastics skills on Lively. It's cute, really. A little more public than a regular FaceTime chat, but girls her age love it. Knowing that she engages in these video chats, I've had the discussion with her about appearing appropriately dressed when she is on Lively and things of that nature. Again, all my responsibility since I allow her to participate in using this type of communication. That being said, imagine my surprise when as my husband and I were discussing with Zoe possible gift ideas for her Secret Santa we heard a soft voice providing us with information about what this person might like. That's right, Zoe had carried her iPad into the room when we called her in and her Live.ly friend was listening to every word we were saying. Whoa! Count the reasons that this is a bad idea! Here's the thing, when we asked Zoe why she thought we were upset about this, she couldn't tell us. The issue of violating the privacy of our home had never occurred to her. Why would it? We had not discussed the need to disclose the presence of people visiting our home virtually.
So a PSA for all you parents out there: Don't assume that conversations that you are having in your home are private unless you have specifically had these discussions with your children. Live.ly is only one example of how technology allows for virtual visitors. There are many other options out there. I encourage you to take the time to layout ground rules for use of these apps/programs BEFORE you unknowingly give outsiders access to your private conversations. As parents of little techies, it's our duty.