Navigating today’s tech safely for kids and teens: Scams, location sharing, bullying and more

There are instances in our own community that expose the dangers of student information shared online through social media, gaming and apps. Last year right in Boulder County an individual was charged with forty counts, including twenty-one drug felonies for distributing psylocibin (mushrooms) to minors (some of the distribution took place within one-thousand feet of a school), sexual assault on a child, sexual exploitation of a child, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor for providing marijuana and alcohol to minors. These attempts and drug sales happened via social media platforms.

Below are key threats surrounding online safety and data privacy, features that increase risk, and what parents and children can do to stay safer.

Major Risks

Here are some of the main dangers children and any media user may face online:

• Grooming and sexual exploitation: Predators build trust over time, often under false identities, seeking to get children to share personal info, photos, or meet in person.
   
• Sex trafficking via deception: Offers of modeling, travel, work, or romantic attention can be used as bait. Once the child is isolated, documents might be obtained, or they may be coerced or forced into exploitative situations.
  Resource: How Human Traffickers Use Social Media to Lure Victims: The Avery Center
   
• Scams, phishing, identity theft: Strangers may try to get personal details (where you live, your school, etc.) to exploit or coerce.
  Resource: Keep Your Child’s Information Private: A Guide to Online Safety: Mobicip
   
• Bullying / harassment / sexting pressure: Kids may be pressured to send provocative photos (“sexting”), which can be leaked or used against them. Fear of shame can prevent them from seeking help.
  Resource: Apps Parents Should Know About: ISD 728 Prevention & Safety
   
• Exposure to inappropriate content: Violent, sexual, or otherwise age-inappropriate content may slip in through games, apps, or social networks.

Features & App/Game Design that Increase Risk

Certain features or design decisions in apps and games make risks more likely. Be aware of them:

Precautions parents and children should take

Here are practical steps parents can take, and things kids should learn to do, to reduce risk.

What caregivers can do:

• Delay and minimize your child’s access to devices
  Smartphones, tablets and immersive, fast-paced online applications (e.g., social media, video games, video streaming, etc.) should be regulated to allow time for healthy brain development. Digital media is most problematic when it steals time away from activities essential for well-being. “Green time before Screen time” encourages movement and other activities first.
  Resource: Tips for Managing Screen Time: Digital Media Treatment & Education Center

• Talk openly and often
  Encourage conversations about what kids are doing online. Ask about friends, apps, games, what they share. If they feel able to talk without punishment, they’re more likely to tell you if something feels wrong.
   
• Learn the platforms and privacy settings
  Know which apps and games your child uses. Understand their privacy settings, what permissions they ask (like access to location, microphone, contacts) and how “chat” or “friend” systems work. Set profiles to “private” where possible. Turn off location sharing unless necessary. Be careful with features like live maps. Ensure apps do not broadcast the child’s real‑time location broadly.
   
• Supervise/monitor but respect privacy
  For younger kids especially, keep devices in shared spaces. For older kids, negotiate some oversight (e.g. you check the apps, settings). Use parental control tools where appropriate.
   
• Teach critical thinking & boundary recognition
  Kids should know not to trust strangers online; be skeptical of too‑good‑to‑be‑true offers (jobs, romance); never share personal info (address, phone, school); know what constitutes a red flag (requests for secrecy, pressure for photos) etc.
   
• Review apps periodically
  App features can change. Sometimes apps add new location features, loosen settings, or change moderation. Periodically review what apps your child has, what permissions they have, whether new risks have been added
   
• Know the warning signs of trafficking/grooming
  Sudden withdrawal, secretive behavior, having a lot of new online friends they won’t talk about, being offered opportunities or gifts by people they met online, etc.
   
• Be a model for digital hygiene
  Set a timer for your use and mute apps when you need to focus or sleep. Mealtimes are a great time to disconnect from devices and connect with family.

What students of all ages can do:

• Protect personal info
  Don’t share address, phone number, school name, or daily schedules with people online, especially strangers. Be careful with tagging location or “checking in.”
   
• Be cautious with friend/follower requests
  Only accept people they know in real life, or whose identities they can verify.
   
• Be careful with photos/videos
  Think before sharing: can someone re‑share it? Or could someone misuse it later?
   
• Set communication boundaries
  If someone makes you uncomfortable (with what they say, ask, or send), tell a trusted adult. Report/block people.
   
• Know when to say no
  If someone asks to meet in person, share something private, or do something that feels wrong, it’s okay to stop interacting and tell someone.
   
• Practice digital hygiene
  Set a timer for your use and mute apps when you need to focus, study, or sleep

Summary of Takeaways:

• Always control who can see your child’s location.
   
• Turn off real‑time location when it’s not needed.
   
• Discuss explicitly with your child how location features work, when they should or should not turn them on. See online safety checklist for more information.

Resources & Support

• Nonprofit child safety organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Thorn have free resources for parents and children of all ages. Blue Sky Bridge, the local Boulder County child advocacy center, is also a resource for questions and education about online safety (303-444-1388 or training@blueskybridge.org).
   
• Digital Citizenship education (lessons on how to interact with technology safely, responsibly, and ethically) is offered to students through the school librarian and through BVSD Health-related classes.

There are no foolproof guarantees, but many of the biggest risks can be greatly reduced with awareness, communication, and proactive steps. If parents stay engaged (know what apps their kids are using, what settings are enabled, what their kids are sharing and seeing), and kids learn how to make smart, cautious decisions, online time can be much safer.