I know how teens think. Having this type of application installed, they consider their liberty in danger, the intimacy invaded and these are not things to get used to. These can bring frustration and children might become introvert and could even see you as an enemy.

I remember I have talked with my sister about this fact… she is 10 years younger and spends hours online. I am also an Internet addicted and I know how many risky but also inappropriate materials are available online. So I told her that there are too many unsecured websites available and I do intend to install Internet filtering software on the computer in order to protect her. But that was not the best approach because the next thing she told me was:

“If you are installing an Internet filter on the computer I will not speak with you again”.

In that moment I knew there was nothing more to say because she is a very stubborn person and I don’t want to take the risk of a “fight”. I ended up the conversation and decided to survey her online activity and habits. Better this way. I regularly check the Internet History and see what websites are visited. For my own piece of mind there are only proper web sites visited. So I guess in my case this was the best decision to take: on one hand she did not felt attacked and I was relaxed knowing she is browsing only safe websites.

I gave you this example to make sure you understand that choosing a way to control the online activities of your child, depends very much on his character and on how well you know him. There is no point I should tell you that an Internet filter is better than an Internet monitoring or vice-versa. But if you were already in this situation I would like to hear your opinion and to know what methods did you applied.