In online relationships, parents should mix care with respect

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According to a recent entry in a series of reports on teenagers in the Youth Daily, some youngsters are none-too-happy about their parents' efforts to keep tabs on them via social media. In fact, some teens claim that this sort of digital monitoring violates their privacy and causes unnecessary domestic tension. Unsurprisingly, the use of such tactics has sparked a debate over how much freedom from parental authority teenagers should be entitled to online.One specific incident described by reporters at the Shanghai-based newspaper involved a young local woman nicknamed Wenwen, who alleged that her mother was using a phony Weibo account to monitor her. One day, when Wenwen's mother confronted her daughter about a recent exam mark, she reportedly blurted "I follow you on Weibo and see a boy often comments on your posts - is he your boyfriend? I've told you that puppy love is a bad thing and you must focus more on your studies!" Despite her protestations that she had no boyfriend and the boy in question was nothing more than a classmate, her mother was unmoved. Instead, she cited further "evidence" to support her conclusion that Wenwen's academic results were tied in some way to this boy, all of which was gleaned from Wenwen's Weibo posts."I have no idea how she knew my Weibo name, as I never told her," the girl reportedly grumbled. "She followed me without letting me know, which is just like spying on me. I feel very uncomfortable about that."Wenwen is not alone. Last month, a mother in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, told local media that she had long been "lurking" on her 13-year-old daughter's QQ contact list with a fake account name. "I always misidentified myself when I communicated with her," said the woman, surnamed Zhang, who added that she thinks it is necessary sometimes for parents to take such steps to learn more about their children. It's not hard to recognize the concerns that might have motivated these parents. After all, many parents feel that their teenage children are too young to distinguish between good people and bad people, especially online, and thus they have a responsibility to keep themselves informed of their kid's social media activity. And with many teenagers now more inclined to share their experiences and emotions online - rather than with their family members - it's understandable if parents turn to Weibo or other platforms for a glimpse into the lives of their children.In my own opinion though, Wenwen's mother, and other parents like her, should have followed her daughter with her real account, rather than furtively hiding behind an online alias. Parents who follow their children online should also take pains to explain that they are doing so out of care and love, not because they want to needlessly meddle in their children's affairs. Unfortunately, few Chinese parents relate to their children on such friendly terms. Instead, most believe that children should obey their parents in all instances. But as social media and digital communications platforms take on a deeper role in people's lives, my hope is that such tools can be used to strengthen the connections between parents and children - rather than driving them apart. Tags: Rapid Prototyping, Rapid Prototyping China, Plastic Tooling, Plastic Tooling China, Rapid Prototype, Rapid Prototype China, Rapid Tooling, Rapid Tooling China, CNC Prototype, CNC Prototype China, Functional Prototype, Functional Prototype China, Metal Prototype, Metal Prototype China, Plastic Prototype, Plastic Prototype China, Rapid Manufacturing, Rapid Manufacturing China, Low volume production, Stereolithography, Stereolithography China, Vacuum Casting, Vacuum Casting China, whatsapp marketing, wechat marketing, seo, e marketing, �W��OӋ�ṩseo, e marketing, web design by zoapcon