Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens Are Really Doing Online by Anastasia Goodstein, is all about our children and their online socialization.

It starts with the premise that parents don't know much of anything about the online world of things such as blogs, MySpace and Facebook, and, that they may even be a little fearful of it, thus creating a hysteria about the evils of the Internet.

My big soapbox is that you, as a parent, MUST UNDERSTAND, and, I will go further, be ABLE TO USE anything that you allow your children to use online.

Goodstein is an expert on youth culture, and, interviews teens and tweens about their online habits and communities.
Totally Wired is your resource for understanding what it all means when your teen or teen-to-be is "online".

She covers lots of important topics, including cyber bullying, blogs and 'social-networking sites' such as MySpace. I like how it emphasizes that this teen behavior is really not new at all. In fact, it's just today's version of being on the phone constantly, a behavior which many of us recall doing ourselves back when.

There's also information on how to monitor behavior and set boundaries for online use.

Again, if you have a teen, it is imperative that you understand, and, CAN USE YOURSELF, the things that they enjoy online. It's for their protection, as well as a way to relate to them, and, you may even find things you have in common,

It's not enough to say that your child is "good", and, your sure he or she is doing nothing wrong. Indeed, most kids don't get into trouble online, but, there are things they may not understand out there, and, other people may not be as well behaved.

Totally Wired is a great book, and, a must-read for parents of this online generation.

Additionally, here are some audio clips of: Tips for Parents, and, an interview with Anastasia Goodstein ("audio" it has sound, so those of you here at work, be warned).

Be sure to check out the website and blog, TotallyWiredBook.com, and, YPulse.com, a commentary about media and marketing aimed at young people, for additional valuable information.