A presentation held at Holy Trinity Academy schooled parents on their children's social media activities Thursday night.

RCMP Cst. Rita Gillis hosted the conversation and says there's a few questions parents should be asking themselves.

"I think we need to know how much time are our children spending on these devices and what platforms are they using, while on these devices? I don't think as parents we can simply say 'I don't know how to use that platform', we have to educate ourselves about 'what is that platform? What are the dangers my child could possibly encounter?'."

Gillis says that once your child turns on their smartphone the world is accessible to them, but it also works the other way around.

"People have to recognize that when their child is online the whole world is at their fingertips." Gillis shares that security is non-existent, "So the notion of living in small town Okotoks and the safety of small town Okotoks, well that's completely removed. There are no borders when it comes to their online use."

It's important to know your child well and be able to gauge their online behaviour, but Gillis adds it's not only your child you need to trust or be wary of.

"Everything is available at their fingertips, you may have the ultimate trust in your child, that they wouldn't do something, but you have to realize that your child is accessible to the rest of the world."

Gillis and the RCMP say the best way to protect your children is to educate yourself and have an open dialogue about the dangers facing your family online.

She also mentions that monitoring online interactions and behavior is essential.

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