Socializing and learning how to talk with others, and learning how to be a citizen of the Internet are an important part of a youth emotional health. Talk with your youth about meeting new people, whether face to face or on-line. Help your youth identify possible topics to talk about, such as pets or music. Many youth have been told not to share that information. It is okay to choose not to answer some or all questions.
Safety is important.
Because chat is public, youth are encouraged to use a nick name. Youth choose what information to share or not share. Help your youth identify what is ok or not ok to share in chat. Over time, chatters share information in the process of finding commonalities. The accumulation of information may lead to being able to identify a person.