Have you and your kids had “the talk”?

Parents, it’s time to have the talk with your kids.

Sure, that talk is important, too. But so is this one. It’s time to talk to your kids about the Internet. (Dun dun DUN!)

The Internet is a great place, agreed? It’s allowed me to easily stay in touch with friends that live hundreds or thousands of miles away; it’s a place to share knowledge and information; it can be great for fund raising; it can even help you find a job. And, to top it all off, you can even watch a video of an adorable puppy playing in the snow in slow motion .

But, with all of the great power of the Internet comes great responsibility. (Spiderman, anyone?) And I’m not just referring to the obvious dangers of the creepy-crazy people on Craigslist. Your kid can be his or her own worst enemy when it comes to what they post online. Here’s what I mean.

1. Colleges and potential employers check Facebook and Twitter

I read an article recently that talked about coaches in the ACC (Clemson, specifically, I believe) recanting about a dozen scholarships because of what those players posted online. Posts that reflect poorly on your character reflect poorly on you, and, in turn, reflect poorly on their program. Parents, college campuses are looking at your kids’ Facebook pages to determine if they get into school. And when that kid graduates, his future employer will look at all of his social media pages before he offers him a job as well, and lots of photos of someone in college with red plastic cups in his hand? It doesn’t help anything.

It works both ways, too. A couple of years ago, I was preparing for a job interview, and I looked up the interviewer on Facebook and Twitter to figure out more about him. It didn’t take long to discover — and the interview confirmed — that he wasn’t the type of person I wanted to work for. And I figured that out from his Facebook page.

2. The Internet is forever.

The thing about the Internet is that nothing ever goes away. Deleted tweets are still used as a source on the news. Sarah Palin’s “Don’t Retreat, Reload” page has long been removed from her website in light of the shootings on Tuscon, Ariz., but you can still find it instantly in a simple Google search. Here, I’ll show you. Start counting… one… two… three… and here it is. The Internet is always permanent and always discoverable.

3. The Internet is a great tool

I don’t want to communicate that you should stay away from the Internet. I don’t believe that at all. I spend too much a lot of time reading articles online, and I spend WAY too much a lot of time learning from and talking to people on Twitter and Tumblr. It’s a great place to network, a great place to learn, and is truly where the future of so many professions are heading. Encourage using the Internet as a resource, but also encourage caution.

Please, please, have the talk with your kids. Remind them never to post anything online that they wouldn’t want you, their boss, their teacher, preacher or coach to see. Of course, these rules apply to all of us, but kids especially need to understand the power of the Internet — for good and for bad. My safest rule of thumb? If you don’t want to see it as the headline of the newspaper with your name attached to it, don’t put it online. And remember that these rules apply just as much to parents as they do us kids.

[Photo credit: lukism]