Since children came into the world in caves many millenia ago, parental love for their children has played out against a backdrop of almost constant concern. Are they warm enough? Do they have enough to eat? Are they developing as they should? Will they hurt themselves in the playground? Should I let them walk to school alone?

And now, in the 21^st Century, there is a new frontier furrowing mothers’ and fathers’ brows all around the world: the internet. 

As reported in the Northern Daily Leader, early results from a University of New England study into the social media habits of young people reveal many of them are using social media and mobile communication devices in harmful ways.

Not long ago, the walls demarking a child’s social experience were close to home, and the activity taking place within them easily observable by a parent or caregiver. Today, those walls have crumbled to nothing and children can easily inhabit an invisible world in which they are vulnerable not only to unsavoury strangers, but to those within their own peer group. Schoolyard bullying is by no means a recent phenomenon, but the modern-day tools of torment can now belittle or breach privacy in an instant, and to an auduence of thousands. It is brutally efficient. 

For those whose chilhoods played out in the 20^th century, it’s tempting to bemoan this bizarre new world of Snapchat, Twitter and Pokemon Go, and pine for a time when being a kid seemed a simpler, more wholesome pursuit.

But this is the reality of the world our children are growing up in – it is all they know. And the digital age has opened up an amazing world of possibilities for them to connect with people, places and ideas that would otherwise be well beyond their reach. 

Parents just need to be mindful of the risks. Countless apps and software programs are availble that can limit which sites a mobile device can access, what files and images can be shared, or even restrict how long a device can be used each day. 

The best thing caregivers can do, though, is talk to their teenagers about the risks and set clear boundaries. Discuss what information can be shared or accessed on a mobile phone, and what is private. 

Worry about them – it’s a parent’s perogative – just don’t let that worry prevent them from exploring the wondrous digital world at their fingertips.