Tampa, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/03/2013 -- As cyberbullying reaches epidemic proportions among our nation's youth, an increasing number of school districts around the nation are adopting a new strategy to manage their students' behavior: They are hiring firms to monitor their students' social media behavior. By nipping concerning behaviors in the bud before they get out of hand, schools hope they will be able to curb the growing number of incidences of cyberbullying, tween and teen suicides and other antisocial behaviors.
The idea of schools hiring firms to monitor their students' social media use is not without its detractors, as many critics say social media monitoring is little more than spying on kids. Snooping, they claim, is an affront to children's right to privacy.
An article at DigitalTrends.com, for example, argues that "the Internet is full of nightmares for parents and educators worried about safety. And it probably always will be. But does that make it appropriate for a school district to hire professional social media snoops to digitally tail their students’ moves online?"
The team at MamaBear Family Safety App frequently hear this concern from parents worried that social media monitoring – whether at school or at home – is an invasion of a child's privacy. The issue is complex, which is why the MamaBear team recently posted an article addressing the question of social media monitoring. In the post, they draw a distinction between spying and monitoring and offer suggestions to parents who don't want to violate their children's privacy but want to ensure their safety in the social media environment.
About MamaBear
MamaBear is a cutting-edge, worry-free parenting app for Android phones and iPhones that provides real-time GPS child monitoring, email-based location alerts, driving alerts and a powerful set of social media monitoring tools. Since its initial launch in 2012, MamaBear has received extensive media coverage in the U.S. and has been downloaded all over the world. The app is available in the Google Play Store for Android phones and in the Apple App Store for iPhones.
The makers of MamaBear Family Safety App are a group of parents, digital visionaries and experienced technology entrepreneurs with a passion for fostering family unity and worry-free parenting. Their mission is to create tools that provide parents a peace of mind while giving children needed freedom. Their core values are to protect children and honor families, encouraging trust and respecting privacy.
The MamaBear team regularly blogs about a variety of issues affecting parents and their children, especially when it comes to family safety. Read the blog at MamaBearApp.com/blog.
The newly updated MamaBear app is available for Android users on the Google Play store and for iOS users in the Apple App Store.
Learn more about the MamaBear Family Safety App at MamaBearApp.com or follow MamaBear on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube.