how often do you check their device history?

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Do your kids have a smartphone?

In March of 2013, the Pew Internet & American Life Project, said that "78 percent of young people, ages 12 to 17, now have cellphones. Nearly half of those are smartphones, a share that's increasing steadily..." as reported by the Huff Post, Tech page, in the March 12 post titled, "Teenagers Increasingly Use Smartphones To Access The Web: Report" 

That was then.

According to PEW Research article posted on January 5th, 2024, "nearly all U.S. teens say they use the internet every day (96%). And the share of teens who report being online “almost constantly” has roughly doubled since 2014-2015 (24% vs. 46%)." (Teens and Internet, Device Access Fact Sheet, Pew Research Center.) 

From the PEW Research Center...
"Nearly all teens (95%) report having access to a smartphone, up from 73% in 2014-2015. Tablet accessibility has also experienced a 7 percentage point uptick during the same time frame. Access to other digital devices such as desktop or laptop computers, or gaming consoles has remained stable."

The capabilities of the smartphone are almost endless as manufacturers continue to discover new advancements in technology. With every release of a new phone, another huge step forward is taken. Like wise, mobile apps exist for just about everything. And if it doesn't exist now, it will tomorrow.

The smartphone is a great tool, when used wisely. But left to the natural devices of the teenage mind, the smartphone can be just a dangerous as an unmonitored computer. With powerful browsing capabilities and the internet access at their figure tips, you can search and view just about anything and everything on the web.

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As parents, we should know what is on our child's phone. From the contacts in their address book, to the apps they've downloaded, to the sites they visit, we should be aware of everything and everywhere the phone goes. And just as we would check the browsing history on a desktop, we should be checking the browsing history on our kids smartphone.

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As we work with students, parents, and families, we are often asked about cell phones and digital usage. Out of a concerned for how their kids use cell phones and devices, they're looking for suggestions. I shared with her these 4 thoughts.

1. Be The Law. As the parent, you have full freedom to inspect, confiscate, and control iPods and iPhones and their usage. Randomly take an iPod and inspect the history, cache, and memory of the device.

2. Have One Cloud for the Family. Try connecting all devices to one cloud account. When our kids were younger, all mobile devices were connected to one cloud. It was one account that we controlled. This made it possible to see what was downloaded on all devices so we could keep tabs on their activity.

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3. Download with Approval. Nothing gets downloaded without parental permission. To help monitor that, you can set up to iPhone and iPad so that whatever is download from the App store downloads right to my devices. You can also set it up so that you have to approve the purchase or download of apps before they can be accessed. We always knew when something is being downloaded. Beyond that, our kids, knew that they had to ask permission before downloading anything.

4. Set the restrictions. In the settings menu there is a restrictions tab. You will find it under the general button. Here you can set the parameters for the device. It is password protected so you can set it up and your kids can't change it. You can disable the wifi, the safari browser, installing and deleting of apps, adjust content ratings, active location services, and manage the FaceTime and camera settings. If you haven't started using the restrictions feature, you need to.

5. Check Their History Regularly. With your settings and perimeters in place, make a point to check your kids phone regularly. Using the settings within the phone you can view recent browsing history and searches, as well as searches on social media platforms.  You should also scroll through their social media feeds to see the content that the algorithms are gathering and showing. And don't forget their email, including Junk Mail and the Trash.

Also be aware of the photos in their photo albums. New phones/devices now include deleted and hidden folders that require password or fingerprint/facial recognition. It sounds intrusive, but it is easier than ever before to access content that is not safe for kids.

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We would love to say that these practices were enough to keep our kids safe. For as easy as it is to find questionable content, it's just as easy for others to send it to your kids. We've learned that perimeters, guidelines, and restrictions only go so far. To help your kids navigate the digital world, you must work on having open communication and persistence. Talk openly and honestly with your kids. Stay current with software updates and privacy settings. Talk and learn from other parents.

​It's okay to be a proactive parent. Knowing what your kids are doing when they are on their mobile devices is important. Policing where they've been and where the go, is good. There's nothing wrong with checking up and knowing what their doing online. Because, whether you realize it or not, someone else probably is. But that is a topic for another time.

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What do you think? We'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Share what you do and how you handle the issue of smartphones and internet usage with your kids. Got a couple of good ideas, share them in the comments for others to read and use. And as always, thanks for reading!

​- jay & amy

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