Protect Your Kids girl looking at computer
Protect Your Kids 4 minute read

5 Commandments of Adolescent Internet Safety

Last Updated: May 31, 2024

The Internet is both a blessing and a curse. It brings so much of the world immediately to your fingertips. But unfortunately it brings both the best and the worst the world has to offer. This is especially true for today’s adolescent. Internet safety is something every parent should teach to their teens.

1. Teach teens about the permanence of what they share.

When 18-year-old Jesse Logan sent a nude picture to her boyfriend, she had no idea he would show the pictures to others after they broke up. As a result, Jesse was the target of vicious comments at school, and the harassment never stopped. So troubled by the abuse, she eventually took her own life. Other women have had similar humiliating experiences.

According to a survey by MTV and the Associated Press, 18% of those who receive a sext from someone else end up sharing it with others.

Once something is shared online—an embarrassing photo, a hurtful word, and rash statement—it is sometimes impossible to get rid of. As many as 42% of teen girls are concerned they won’t get accepted into the college of their choice or they will miss a job opportunity or they will get in trouble with parents or teachers, all because of the things they’ve said and shown online.

2. Teach teens how to react to slander.

Johnny Cagno was an eighth grader whose bullying problems gave Birchwood Middle School a wake-up call. The bullying, online and offline, became so bad, he eventually attempted suicide. Later, CBS filmed Johnny for 48 Hours special called “Bul•ly•ing: Words Can Kill,” to tackle the subject of bullying.

One in five teens says “people are mostly unkind” on online social networks, and a third of teens say they personally have been targets of annoying or menacing online activities.

Teens need to be taught about how to react to bullying, both done to them and done to others. In many instance, simply ignoring bullying behavior is best. Bullies often only want to get a rise out of someone, so teens shouldn’t give them the satisfaction. If the bullying is persistent, teens should save any evidence of it, and when necessary, involve the proper authorities.

Nearly nine in ten teens who use social media say they have seen someone being mean or cruel to another person on a social network site. Teens should be taught about the importance of standing up for others, to never be just an innocent bystander.

3. Teach teens about the allure of porn culture.

Despite the Internet filter on her computer, Natalie Ornorf stumbled across erotic literature on the online. What she thought would be just a one time thing turned into a habit. Then it progressed to pornographic videos. Mere months after her first exposure, unbeknownst to her parents, she was watching and reading porn for hours every night. Slowly it was starting to warp her mind.

Pornography and porn culture is everywhere. Today, more than half of guys and a third of girls see porn before they even turn 13. Porn stars are becoming the new crossover artists, regularly turning up on shopping-mall movie screens and prime-time TV. Additionally, pop culture now mimics pornography. One only needs to watch music videos of performers at the top of the charts or see the latest cover of Maxim to find evidence of this.

John Carr of the Children’s Charities’ Coalition on Internet Safety says many adults are now talking about how much pornography has a grip on their minds and effects their relationships. “If adults are having problems coping with this new mass availability of these types of images, then it’s not unreasonable to deduce that children, who are exposed to exactly the same images, in exactly the same way, must be getting into all kinds of difficulties.”

Parents need to have honest discussions with their teens about not only why porn is damaging, but why it is an imitation of something that is very good. Teens need to be shown the contrast: porn bonds you to fantasy images that leave you empty, but sex in marriage connects you to a person in an intimate way.

4. Create a culture of accountability in the home.

When Richard and Leila Hoffman found out one of their teenagers was looking at porn on the home computer, they spoke to their son-in-law who worked as a computer programmer. He recommended they try using Covenant Eyes Screen Accountability to monitor the computer.

Richard and Leila decided not to simply monitor their children—they monitored everyone, including themselves. They used Covenant Eyes as a teaching opportunity about the importance of lifelong accountability. In this way their teens did not feel targeted but part of something the whole family was doing.

5. Empower them to be their own watchdogs.

When Jacqueline Anderson was a teenager, her dad installed Covenant Eyes on computers at home. She loved the freedom it gave her. No more annoying Internet filters that smothered her or required her parents to always plug in a password so she could do the simplest task. “This program allowed me as a young adult to make my own decisions about what I allowed into my mind through my eyes, while ensuring I had accountability,” she writes. “This empowered me to make my own wise decisions.”

Steve Siler has noticed the same thing with his son. At first, his son wasn’t so sure about being monitored all the time online, but over time he started to become more proactive about the “gray areas” online. His son now comes to him to tell him about the choices he’s making online to avoid sexually explicit material. “I’m glad for the open dialogue [Covenant Eyes] has created for me and my son. I’m also glad it has helped him to be come his own watchdog.”

Photo credit: mislav-marohnic
  1. These are all great tips. Today’s teenagers are growing up in a different world and need to be taught how to react to dangerous and negative online situations. Thanks for sharing.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related in Protect Your Kids

Editor's Picks

Family using the internet.

Protect Your Kids

Christian Internet Filters

The internet is awash with pornography and other undesirable content. How can…

6 minute read

Read Post

Editor's Picks

Phone and a computer configured to block porn sites.

Protect Your Kids

How To Block Porn Sites

The amount of pornography available online can be disheartening. But here are…

8 minute read

Read Post

Editor's Picks

Close-up of parent holding a child's hand.

Protect Your Kids

How Churches Can Rescue This Generation From Pornography

Culture is always changing. And there are things in our culture that…

4 minute read

Read Post

Editor's Picks

Female student writing a scholarship essay.

Protect Your Kids

5 Eye-Opening Revelations From 850 Scholarship Essays

Each year, Covenant Eyes holds a scholarship contest for current members who…

4 minute read

Read Post

Editor's Picks

Silhouette of a man walking through a tunnel.

Protect Your Kids

The Sound of Freedom and the Problem of Pornography

The Covenant Eyes Podcast recently sat down with Operation Underground Railroad founder,…

2 minute read

Read Post

Editor's Picks

A group of three young computer programmers working on laptops.

Protect Your Kids

Porn and Artificial Intelligence

When Chat GPT launched in November 2022, artificial intelligence took the world…

4 minute read

Read Post

Related in Protect Your Kids

Family using the internet.

Protect Your Kids

Christian Internet Filters

The internet is awash with pornography and other undesirable content. How can…

The internet is awash with pornography and other undesirable content. How can Christians engage with the digital world while protecting themselves and their families? If you’re a Christian, especially a Christian parent, you need to…

6 minute read

0 comments

Phone and a computer configured to block porn sites.

Protect Your Kids

How To Block Porn Sites

The amount of pornography available online can be disheartening. But here are…

The amount of pornography available online can be disheartening. But here are some practical steps you can take to block porn sites on your computer or mobile device. Porn-blocking software makes it easier to block…

8 minute read

0 comments

Close-up of parent holding a child's hand.

Protect Your Kids

How Churches Can Rescue This Generation From Pornography

Culture is always changing. And there are things in our culture that…

Culture is always changing. And there are things in our culture that take us away from Christ. Every generation tends to feel doom and gloom at the rate of change. Ours is not different in…

4 minute read

0 comments

Female student writing a scholarship essay.

Protect Your Kids

5 Eye-Opening Revelations From 850 Scholarship Essays

Each year, Covenant Eyes holds a scholarship contest for current members who…

Each year, Covenant Eyes holds a scholarship contest for current members who are enrolled as full-time students. This year, we had over 850 applicants! These amazing students answered questions about integrity using today’s technology, their…

4 minute read

0 comments

Silhouette of a man walking through a tunnel.

Protect Your Kids

The Sound of Freedom and the Problem of Pornography

The Covenant Eyes Podcast recently sat down with Operation Underground Railroad founder,…

The Covenant Eyes Podcast recently sat down with Operation Underground Railroad founder, Tim Ballard. Tim’s story has been dramatized in the new blockbuster movie, The Sound of Freedom. In our conversation with Tim, we learned…

2 minute read

0 comments

A group of three young computer programmers working on laptops.

Protect Your Kids

Porn and Artificial Intelligence

When Chat GPT launched in November 2022, artificial intelligence took the world…

When Chat GPT launched in November 2022, artificial intelligence took the world by storm. And with good reason—the wide array of AI tools now available to the public offer truly breathtaking capabilities. At Covenant Eyes,…

4 minute read

0 comments