By Madison Forster

In todays world of technology, something like sharing passwords can be common in kids and teens to “show trust” in friendships and romantic relationships. They may shrug it off like it is “no big deal”, but here are some things you can teach young children on why NOT to give out their passwords.

Password Repetition: People most commonly have the same password for multiple accounts, being that it makes it easier to remember. Giving out one increases the chances of someone having access to multiple of your accounts, especially if it falls into the wrong hands.

Relationships Change: Giving a best friend or a romantic partner your password for things may seem harmless, especially if you really trust them. The hard truth is: Relationships can change. If the ending of a relationship went badly, there is a risk of that person logging into your accounts to snoop, send messages and post embarrassing photos.

Giving out passwords does NOT equal trust: An action like giving someone a password does not solidify a relationship. Trust should be shown and earned over time. If someone says they need your password to make the relationship stronger or to show your trust, it’s not the case. There should be no peer pressure in love and friendships.

Respecting Boundaries: Children should be taught that having boundaries is okay and should be respected. If they are being told that “real friends would trust me”, they should know that it is okay to say no if it goes against their boundaries. Not everything needs to be shared, no matter how close the relationship is. Teaching children that not sharing their passwords is helping them exercise healthy boundaries.

When we say: “your information could be put in the wrong hands”, it may seem like a far-fetched idea if children and teens are giving it out to the ones they trust and think would never hurt them. Like it was stated before: Relationships can change. The ones that you once trusted with all of your heart could turn on you out of the blue.

Maybe they still aren’t convinced about what harm it could possibly do. These are the possible risks of your information “In the wrong hands”.

The risks

Let’s say you and a group of friends all have given out passwords to your snapchat accounts. One of the friends is mad at you and decides that they are going to log into your account and snapchat someone posing as you. They could say rude and hurtful things, make up lies, and cause people to not like you. This friend could also post embarrassing pictures of you to their story and maybe even change your password so you can’t log in to fix anything. This is just a small example, but could be possible with any social media account like instagram, twitter, tik tok, facebook, and more. Maybe you just give your snapchat password to your significant other, and they have it logged into their phone. Their friends could be with them and take their phone from them and do the same hurtful things.

If someone has the worst intentions, it could be harmful to your reputation, personal relationships, and even get you in trouble. Start the talk with children on the reasons to not share their passwords and the very possible risks that can come from it.

Discussion Questions:

  • Is there anyone you would share your password with?
  • If you have shared any of your passwords, what could you do to protect yourself?
  • Can you think of good reasons to share your password with someone

Resources:

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