Most social media requires a user to be at least 13 years old in order to be able to use it, however many young children log in, and no platform is 100% secure.
Children can find pornographic images or forbidden images of their age on the Internet, without searching for them, and they receive messages from strangers.
This occurs in the most safe places for children to use, such as Fitbit, Google Docs, and Pinterest.
Parents get angry at trying to manage what their children see on the Internet, especially when they think they have activated all parental controls, installed all "web filters", and then their children receive a friend request from a stranger, or they find pictures of women in underwear while searching for Recipes to prepare cakes.
The online parental control and monitoring service - known as "Bark" - warned parents that due to something wrong with Facebook's search engine, typing one letter in the search bar and then choosing to see video results led to a long list of clips. The sexually explicit video.
"We are investigating reports of inappropriate content appearing in some searches," a Facebook spokeswoman said. "We are in the process of implementing changes, and out of extreme caution, we have blocked certain parts of the search until we complete the investigation. We apologize for this error."
Last December, Heather Gilstrap's daughter, 12, received a friend request via the "Fitbit" app from a stranger in her email, and his profile picture was of a partially nude woman, and her mother removed her daughter's email address from the app.
A spokeswoman for FitBit ice2 said that FitBit ice2 is designed for children aged 6 years and over, and has been developed with safety in mind for children.
So all friend requests go to the parent's account for approval.
Even with versions for users 13 years of age or older - such as Fitbit Alta, owned by Ms. Gilstrap's daughter;
There are ways to report inappropriate content and adjust settings to keep certain information private.
Tracy Bennett, clinical psychologist and author of a book on protecting children in the digital world, said;
"People tend to think that there is safe social media, but this is not true. Sometimes the predators are the children themselves."
According to experts, the best defense is to have open and continuous discussions with children about how to maintain their safety (communication sites)
The role of parents in the digital world
Determine how prepared your child is, and the first thing to consider before giving kids a smartphone, social media account, or online games;
It is assessing their preparedness, so helping them cope is perhaps more effective than trying to protect them from all the evils of the Internet.
Diana Graber, author of Raising People in a Digital World: Helping Kids Build a Healthy Relationship with Technology, presents;
A checklist that can help parents decide when their kids are ready to post on social media, or play games online.
Parents can ask themselves questions such as: "Can he manage his information on the Internet?"
Or "Can he protect his privacy on the Internet?"
And if you decide that your child is ready, some experts suggest developing a technical contract that outlines the rules for using technology and the consequences for violating it.
The non-profit social media safety organization has started offering a free online training course on how to keep children safe on social media.
Children and their digital reputations
Experts agree that the best defense is to have open and ongoing discussions about how to keep children safe, and that sounds simple, but where do you start?
Experts suggest talking to young children about how they feel when something is making them uncomfortable so that they recognize those feelings when they encounter something upsetting on the Internet.
"You can say have you ever spoken to someone who made you feel super weird even if you didn't know why?" Said Dr. Bennett.
With older children, she recommends having weekly discussions on news topics.
Parents receive weekly articles that can serve as the start of a discussion. When parents seem interested in the virtual world, children will provide you with information about their visits to the virtual world.
Take advantage of online safety tools and get your child involved.
No parental control is completely foolproof - or even child-safe - but a little effort can go a long way.
Chromebooks have some useful controls. (Associated Press)
Most apps have mechanisms that include blocking and reporting bad actors and explicitly filtering harmful content.
You can set up device parental controls with varying degrees of accuracy, depending on the type of system.
For example, Chromebooks contain some useful controls, but you cannot set specific hours during which children can use specific applications or services.
For more control, you can block inappropriate apps and content through a "Wi-Fi" router, or by using an additional networking device such as "Circle".
Experts say kids are less likely to circumvent parental controls if you set it up with them and explain their logic.
The settings you choose will likely differ depending on each child's age and maturity level.
For example, you might allow a 10-year-old to play video games online with people he doesn't know in real life, if he is mature enough to block and report friends who aren't playing well, but you can choose more when making restrictive settings for an adult child 7 years old.
Additionally, teaching your children how to use tools can help them in the future.