SportsMate is a popular online hangout because the site makes it easy for teens to keep in touch with their friends and inform people what they are up to in the world of sport.
As a parent, please consider the following guidelines to help your children make safe decisions about using online communities.
- Talk to your kids about why they use SportsMate, how they communicate with others and how they represent themselves on SportsMate.
- Kids shouldn't lie about how old they are. SportsMate members must be 16 years of age or older. We take extra precautions to protect our younger members and we are not able to do so if they do not identify themselves as such. SportsBase will delete users whom we find to be younger than 16, or those misrepresenting their age.
- SportsMate is a public space. Members shouldn't post anything they wouldn't want the world to know (e.g., phone number, address, IM screen name, or specific whereabouts). Tell your children they should avoid posting anything that would make it easy for a stranger to find them, such as their local hangouts.
- Remind them not to post anything that could embarrass them later or expose them to danger. Although SportsMate is public, teens sometimes think that adults can't see what they post. Tell them that they shouldn't post photos or info they wouldn't want adults to see.
- People aren't always who they say they are. Ask your children to be careful about adding strangers to their friends list. It's fun to connect with new SportsMate friends, but members should be cautious when communicating with people they don't know. They should talk to you if they want to meet an online friend in person, and if you think it's safe, any meeting should take place in public and with friends or a trusted adult present.
- Harassment, hate speech and inappropriate content should be reported. If your kids encounter inappropriate behavior, let them know that they can let you know, or they should report it to SportsBase or the authorities.