As a parent, you know how important it is to monitor your kids on social networks.  With things like  cyberbullying and child predators, there’s plenty to worry about and plenty to protect your children from.  That’s why monitoring your kids on social networks is not just a must, but the norm!

According to a study done by market research firm Lab 42, more than 70 percent of parents check their children’s Facebook profile at least four to five times a week, with 43 percent checking daily.  Friending your child on Facebook is standard—92 percent of parents surveyed are Facebook friends with their children.  Perhaps most surprising, however, is the high majority of parents who have their children’s passwords—72 percent!

Social media usage is not without parental concerns, of course.  56 percent are worried about Facebook’s distraction from important activities such as homework or chores, 45 percent are worried it takes away from time with friends and family, and 41 percent are concerned about the potential of their children meeting strangers via Facebook.

Raising your kids in the 21^st century means that social media will undoubtedly be a part of parenting for years to come.  If your child feels uneasy about giving you their Facebook password, try out Everloop—you can supervise their social media usage through the Parental Dashboard without making them feel spied on, AND they’ll be protected by three levels of moderation and anti-bullying features.  With Everloop, keeping a watchful eye on your kids on social networks couldn’t be easier.

[Statistics from Lab42 study blog post--http://blog.lab42.com/parental-discretion-advised]

Gamification will be a big trend this year. You may have heard this already and wondered, “what does that mean for me?” Gamification means using game mechanics to make everyday tasks easier to understand and engage with on a more interactive level. If you use the web or your smartphone for daily activities like shopping, managing doctor’s appointments, and helping your kids with homework, gamification is probably already a part of your life.

This year, some of the biggest gamification trends are expected to grow even more in healthcare, education, and e-commerce. Below are some recent examples of gamification in action to give you a better idea of expected trends in 2012.

Healthcare

At the International Consumer Electronics Show CES last week, droves of health gadgets made their debuts. From items like the Smart GlucoMeterwhich may encourage those with diabetes to keep better tabs of their blood sugar via their mobile devices, to a Wi-Fi enabled scale that allows for effective healthy weight-tracking online. These are just a few examples of how gamification is empowering everyday people to take better control of their health—we expect to see more gadgets like these in 2012.

Education

As developers tune into the increasing demand of “gamified” education apps—mainly for mobile devices, these days—more educators and parents are beginning to see the value in using gadgets like iPads in the classroom because they offer a fun, interactive approach to certain lessons or after school studying. Take the iPad textbook company Kno’s latest digital flashcard feature, for example. It may be best suited for older kids, but can really help make studying more fun and interactive.

E-Commerce

We recently noticed effective campaigns that encourage online shopping through gamification. The first is a partnership between Best Buy and CityVille, the “Sims”-esque social game from Zynga. In addition to placing houses and roads, users can also choose to place a Best Buy location in their city, which adds seamlessly integrated branding. Another campaign involved a partnership between online retailer BlueFly and  Badgeville which aimed to make the online shopping experience more rewarding. For example, the more involved customers got on BlueFly’s site by writing product reviews or reading the blog, the more access they received to special sales and other rewards. Fun! Due to their effectiveness, we will likely see more widespread use of gamification campaigns in 2012.

Fact: most kids under 13 can’t remember a time before the Internet. So, naturally, the Internet and social media are comfortable and expected parts of life—so much to the point that it’s where kids spend a lot of time during their growing-up years. Like the soccer field and the lunchroom, social media sites are where kids socialize with peers, develop a sense of independence, and learn appropriate ways for expressing themselves.

Many worry that social media has more negative effects, though, especially with the myriad of surveys and polls centered on statistics about cyberbullying. A recent poll from Reuters claims that cyberbullying is a worldwide phenomenon, where 26% of parents were aware of kids in their home or communities being victims of cyberbullying.

Years of worrying and research have gone into determining the risks and dangers of social media, yet all the while kids have been signing up, logging on and learning how to use it on their own.

A recent New York Times article by Perri Klass, M.D., weighs that, “we should not view social media as either positive or negative, but as essentially neutral…it’s what we do with the tools that decides how they affect us and those around us.”

Dr. Michael Rich was quoted in the same New York Times article with similar thoughts on the topic: “Social media are the new landscape, the new environment in which kids are sorting through the process of becoming autonomous adults — the same things that have been going on since the earth cooled.”

We know that there are risks with social media (which is why we made our site so safe), but there are risks with almost all aspects of adolescence, from body changes to learning how to drive a car. At Everloop, we believe it’s important to embrace the social world as a part of growing up—while being cautious and aware of possible dangers, of course.

How you act online is just as important as you act offline. Everything you email, text, post or instant message, affects what people think about you.

Here are some suggestions for New Year’s “Netiquette” resolutions for 2012:

1. Start your message with the right greeting.

“Yo” might be cool with your BFF, but not with your Math Teacher.

2. Choose your words carefully.

Readers cannot see the smile on your face or see your body language, so stuff you type can lead to misunderstandings.

3. NEVER USE ALL CAPS IN YOUR MESSAGE.

It looks like you’re yelling.

4. Don’t write if you are angry or upset.

Wait till you calm down to write anything – then send your message.

5. Posture, Posture, Posture

Good posture and sitting upright while on the computer is just as important as brushing your teeth, eating healthy, exercising and getting a good night’s sleep.

6. Respect other people’s privacy.

Do not share embarrassing photos or personal messages.

7. Treat everyone with respect.

Remember, people receiving your messages have feelings.

We published a blog post a few weeks ago when a Pew Study released the statistics of how teens treat one another on social networking sites, and we just came across this eye-catching infographic that illustrates many of those stats – and some new ones!

The infographic also highlights how teens 12-13 spend their time on social networking sites: the study found that only 73% of the 12-13 set post status updates compared to the whopping 90% of teens 14-17 who regularly post status updates.

We can learn a lot from the information displayed below, but one of the biggest observations is that kids 12-13 will inevitably become even more active on social networking sites as they enter high school—and with that, the level of unkind online interactions will also likely increase. With the right amount of involvement and guidance from parents and educators, we hope that the kindness among teens on social networking sites increases by the time they reach the 14-17 range.

What do you think we can do to stop unkind treatment among teens on social networking sites? More classroom sessions addressing cyberbullying? Better publicity of support groups?

If your holiday shopping list looked like any of ours, your home will likely welcome some new tech gadgets this holiday season. Every device is different and most come with detailed manuals on how to make them more kid-safe, but here are some quick tips and reminders on how to make some of the most popular tech gifts more kid-friendly.

1. The iPod Touch

One of the biggest caveats with iPod Touches is the in-app purchases—these can rack up easily because they look like part of the game. Be sure to turn in-app purchase to “Off” in settings. You can also set explicit music and podcasts to “Off” and decide on the proper movie ratings depending on your kid’s age. Apple even offers restriction settings for downloading apps based on age-appropriateness.

2. The Kindle Fire

The Kindle Fire is a little trickier—there isn’t a way to block inappropriate content from this device. However, you should hold control over your home’s Wi-Fi pass code. If you have time to monitor your child every time he or she needs to access the web to download a new book or game, you can sign on and off the Wi-Fi network for them and supervise your child while he or she downloads new content. Once your kid is offline, he or she can read all of his books, watch downloaded movies, and play many offline games.

3. New Laptops

Getting your kids new laptops? If it’s his or her first personal computer, show your kid the sites that are safe to visit and warn them of the ones that are dangerous—but still be sure to block access to all dangerous and inappropriate sites. If the laptop has a webcam, only enable it for supervised video chats with trusted friends and family.

Once you’ve set up restrictions on your kids’ new devices, remember: a talk with your child about what’s OK and what’s not when using social media, downloading content, and surfing the web can have a positive impact on your kid’s tech-gadget habits.