You won't believe what kids are doing with other friend's passwords

Some kids love to share everything — from food off each other’s plates to pictures of themselves, and apparently even their passwords. My teenage daughter just ended a relationship with a friend that lead to an unfortunate event that could have easily been prevented. He logged into her Instagram account and changed her password and then posted some not so nice remarks in her profile for everyone to see. How did he get her password you ask? Easy. She gave it to him when they were "dating". Because she ended the relationship, feelings were hurt and this was an easy way to "get back" to try and hurt her feelings, but more importantly...get her attention again.

Unfortunately, it worked and her feelings were hurt, not because of what was changed on her accounts, but because she never thought he would do something like that to her. Kids don't always think before they act. My daughter was foolish enough to give out her passwords to her social media accounts to her boyfriend because I did not talk to her enough about the importance of not sharing this information and she learned the hard way. Her boyfriend understood what he was doing from the standpoint that he was going to get her attention, but he did not think about how it was really going to affect her. While this incident was relatively harmless, it was an opportunity to talk to our kids, not only about the dangers of sharing username and passwords with anyone but their parents, but also the dangers of logging into someone else account and posing as that person and putting slanderous messages out there.

It’s not that surprising to me that kids do this despite the obvious risks. Many kids are trying to prove they have nothing to hide from the other person. A recent Pew Internet study reported that 30 percent – nearly one-third of teenagers have shared an online password with a friend, a girlfriend, or boyfriend. The study concluded that “while some passwords may be guarded by some youth, password sharing among peers can be a sign of trust and intimacy”.

Most people, especially kids, don’t see anything wrong with sharing that social media login information. No one ever thinks they are going to break up, get divorced, or meet someone new, but it happens all the time. If a disgruntled person has your email, online banking or social media passwords, they can do major damage too daunting to even think about.

Remind your kids that it is illegal to access someone’s emails, online instant messages or social media profiles using their password or login details without their permission. If you access this information without a person’s permission and you plan to use it to commit a serious crime, like identity theft, you will face more serious charges. It is also illegal to change someone’s password or login details for an online site without their permission.

It’s important to keep your passwords private. It’s also up to us to explain to our children the importance of this, as well as the possible repercussions if they don’t. Let your children see you taking responsible steps to protect your own identity. Download a password manager like Dashlane, LastPass to keep all your logins, passwords and personal information encrypted and safe, and encourage your child to do the same when they get their own Snapchat and other social media accounts. It’s important for them to learn from the start that they, and they alone, are responsible for safeguarding their personal information.

Have you ever shared your password?

#password #sharingpasswords #dangers #dontsharepasswords