Parents are a joy when you’re a teenager, aren’t they?  Always asking you where you’re going, when you’ll be back, who’ll be there, on and on, blah blah blah blah.  And now, with the rush of internet safety stories in the news, they have something new to freak out about:  what you do online.

When I first started playing around online (I was about twelve), my parents wouldn't let me have an internet computer in my room and insisted on looking over my shoulder at everything I did.  They got bored of that pretty fast, and instead tried to install tracking software and a keylogger so they could keep tabs on where I was going and who I was talking to.

I talked to my parents about it. I told them what sites I went to and what they were for. We talked about who I chatted with online, and they gave me some kids-only sites where I could meet people my age. Yes, I had a blog, and yes, they could read it. I didn't post anything dangerous on it anyway.

My parents admitted that I was being much more mature than they had expected, and though they thought that some things online weren't appropriate for how young I was, they decided to trust me more and more.  When I turned 18, I got a brand new laptop that I could take to college.

Talk to your parents about the internet.  Tell them the kinds of things you do online and the steps you take to keep yourself safe.  Pass on this booklet so they know you’re dealing with online dangers in a responsible way.  Mostly your parents are just worried and want to make sure you’re alright.  This makes them overreact sometimes when they’re trying to protect you from something they see as a threat, but the threat is real.  Do your best to convince them that you are aware of what’s going on, and you’re handling yourself responsibly.

And if they still come down on you hard and banish the internet from the house, or whatever, you just have to suck it up and do what they say.  They are your parents, after all.  And how long do you have to wait before you go away to college, anyway?