TECH NOW: 5 steps to keep teens safe on Facebook

• Get familiar with Facebook%2C and connect with your teen
• Learn about privacy settings
• Facebook executive Nicky Jackson-Colaco offers tips

Summer's coming, and with it, a good chance teens will be hanging out doing what teens do these days — sharing everything online. A little harmless status-update between besties is one thing, but letting strangers know what you look like, where you live and what you like to do in your spare time, when you're only 13 or 14 years old? That's creepy. According to a new Pew Research Center survey, a whopping 91% of youngsters say they share personal photos via social media, while 71% said they share sensitive information, such as the name of their school and hometowns.

The good news is, many teens report closely monitoring who they friend and what they post. Not surprising — most parents aren't convinced. The Pew study shows 49% worry about their children's online reputations; 53% fear their kids will interact with strangers. These seem like valid fears, since teens brains often just aren't wired to fully fathom how one outrageous party-pic or ill-timed rant could come back to bite them a decade later when it shows up in a job interview.

I sat down recently with Facebook's Manager of Privacy and Safety, Nicky Jackson-Colaco, to get some insider advice — one busy mom to another — about just how safe Facebook really is for teen – and what guidelines she puts in place herself.

1. FOLLOW AGE GUIDELINES

First and foremost, Colaco says, don't let teens sign up for an account until they're at least 13 years old, the sites' minimum age requirement. When they do sign up, be sure they don't lie about their age, because Facebook adds layers of privacy protection specific to minors.

Nicky Jackson-Colaco: "When kids sign up and say they're 14, we automatically do things to make sure they share with a more limited audience, that they're not easily contacted by people."

Also important, be sure teens don't accept friend requests from people they don't know. Colaco says Facebook is always on the lookout for older people who might be creating fake Facebook profiles in order to gain access to teens — but that savvy social media know-how is still the best defense.

2. GET FAMILIAR WITH FACEBOOK; CONNECT WITH YOUR TEEN

Teens everywhere are mortified at the thought of a parent commenting on their wall. Still, it's a good idea to spend time getting to know Facebook.

Nicky Jackson-Colaco: "Parents need to get on Facebook themselves. Anything our kids are doing a lot in their spare time is something we should have a base understanding of, so just check out the account and how privacy settings work. Try to friend them and make it a condition of being on Facebook. A lot of teens are okay with that."

Facebook already limits who can see what teens post to friends, friends of friends, and networks. It also tries to make sure teens timelines and posts don't show up in public Graph Search results. Still, it's a good idea to go into the Facebook settings with your teen, and change all of the default privacy settings to "Friends" only. You can do this by clicking on the lock sign at the upper right side of the screen. When you're finished with that, use the "View As" tool at the top right side of the page to see what your teens timeline looks like to the public, or to a specific specific person. Remind your teen that you'll check back in every few months (then actually do it) — not to spy — but rather to make sure your child is as safe as possible.

3. HAVE THE 'NOTHING IS REALLY PRIVATE ONLINE' TALK

Be sure teens understand there's no way to truly erase something once it's posted online. Sure, you can report it (explained more in No. 5 on this list), or ask someone else to remove it. You can even pay for other services to try to bury content that might weigh against you someday, but these options can be timely, costly, and are a long way from fail-proof. This includes other posts, photos, and comments your teen might be tagged in.

Nicky Jackson-Colaco: If someone decides to hide something in his or her timeline, that photo or comment might still be available somewhere on Facebook. There's a difference between what can be found on your timeline and what's on Facebook.

4. REVIEW TEENS' 'ABOUT' SETTINGS AND MORE

Remind kids that what they say and how they present themselves via social media is like a billboard that their grandparents, teachers, and potential bosses could see, not just today, but for years to come.

For teens already on Facebook, you can use an app like Simplewash or Socioclean to point out red flags in your teen's content such as profanit — no-no's that could impact getting into colleges or getting a particular job.

Nicky Jackson-Colaco: "The activity log is the summary of you on Facebook. It really shows you all of the activity about you — things you've commented on and tags you've had added to photos. Go through and say I like this, I don't like that, and use it as a better way to control your experience."

Also: Click on the About section that is below and to the right of a teen's profile. Review what your teen has shared about themselves and take out anything too personal, such as home addresses or photos with street numbers, anything about their school, or other information you might not want a stranger to get hold of.

5. REPORT PROBLEMS AND THEN...RELAX

If there are problems, use the "report and remove tool" to "untag" photos. Teens can also create a bulk message, asking other people to delete a specific photo as well. If that doesn't work, you/they can report it to Facebook.

Teaching teens how to be responsible online is just part of our parenting role now. We need to make sure they know we have to talk with them about it because it's our job to keep them safe — and no amount of eye-rolling or "I know Mom," is going to get them off the hook.

Nicky Jackson-Colaco: "Teens are sharing on Facebook the way they are in school, the way they are with their friends. A lot of times as parents we think of 'offline' versus 'online' and for kids — it's just life, they don't make that differentiation."

Now, there's word that teens also are migrating to Twitter as a social media outlet. Great. Getting started on that column now.

Jennifer Jolly is an Emmy award-winning consumer tech contributor and host of USA TODAY's digital video show TECH NOW. Email her at techcomments@usatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JenniferJolly.