Teaching parents to be aware of what kids do online: ‘Those things are permanent records.’

Horry County, S.C. (WPDE) —  In the wake of last week’s school shooting in Parkland, FL, authorities are paying increased attention to kids’ online activity.

Last week, police investigated reports at multiple schools, several of which were online.

“It is scary that we need to worry about our kids going to school, and that they need to be safe,” Raydean Averitt said.

Averitt was one of a few dozen parents attending a seminar Tuesday night that brought adults up to speed on their kids’ social media use.

There was one particularly important takeaways the presenters spoke about–once a post is published on Facebook or another site, it’s online forever.

“What the kids don’t understand is that all of those things are permanent records and permanent documents, and they’re all things that can be seen later,” Myrtle Beach Police Department Detective Tiffany Whitmire said.

Whitmire explained that when police seize and search a phone using special equipment, text messages that the user deletes show up in a different color, allowing police to see what the person wanted to hide.

She suggested that parents take time to learn about the apps and websites their kids are using, and who they are interacting with.

“Not so much to police them online, but to keep them safe from what and who is out there,” Whitmire explained.

Averitt said social media use could also harm a teen’s confidence, since what is posted online is usually just a snap shot of someone’s life.

“I think that can get into kids’ mindsets and they can become depressed or, ‘I’m not good enough,’ and it spirals out of control from there,” Averitt explained.

Whitmire said keeping an honest conversation going about a child’s online life is important, and it’s a parent’s right to have access to that information.

“If they don’t want to provide you that access to their accounts, then they don’t need to have them,” she said.