Social media can be an invaluable tool: a forum for sharing news and anecdotes, somewhat offensive ecards, a font of crowdsourced information and a connection to the world outside your home. But for many parents, it's also terrifying.
Do kids appreciate the potential consequences of their updates -- and understand that information shared in online forums doesn't disappear? Are they so obsessed with Internet sharing that they're missing out on offline experiences? Will they judge us based on what we post on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks?
Parents raised all these questions -- and many more -- when online culture sage danah boyd asked her Twitter followers to name their "biggest fear with regard to ... teens' use of social media." boyd compiled the responses using Storify (read them below) -- but over email, was keen to emphasize that her audience does not speak for everyone.
"My Twitter audience consists of friends and acquaintances, geeks of varying stripes, professors and students, and people who are interested in my take on youth culture," she elaborated to HuffPost. "They are not necessarily a typical or representative population of parents." It's clear from the responses she received that everyone's opinion is informed by his or her personal experiences and expectations -- so to keep the conversation going, we're asking for your answers too.
What are you afraid of when it comes to your kids and social media? Share your thoughts in the comments below, or tweet them to @HuffPostParents with the hashtag #kidsonsocial -- and we will include your responses in a slideshow here.