①Have you ever shown your photos on your favorite social media（媒体）? Or have you expressed your feelings and emotions on your online page? If yes, do you know what you have posted on the social medias can cause problems you could not expect?

②Cathy, who is going to be fifteen, posted online an invitation to her birthday party with her address in it. And guess what! 500 people came to the party, and some even broke the windows and plants, making a total mess of the house. The girl’s birthday party turned into a nightmare（噩梦）.

③Many teenagers（青少年）think they know everything about social media, and that such a thing could never happen to them. Studies show that each year more than three million young people in the world get into trouble because of their online activities.

④So do remember these if you really want to share something online.

⑤Share with care! Not everyone will like what you write online. Think before you post anything. You never know who sees your texts, pictures or videos. Before clicking “post”, you should ask yourself, “How will I feel if my family or teachers see this?” and “How might this post be bad for me in five or ten years from now?”

⑥Be polite when you write! Imagine someone is unfriendly in real life. The same is true of online communication. No one likes it when you “shout” in your messages. If you feel angry or frustrated while you’re writing a message, wait a bit. Read it again later and then send it.

⑦Protect and respect! Never share your passwords with anyone. It’s not wise to post your home or email address online. Don’t say bad things about people. If you get messages like that or see them online, talk to your parents or your teachers.

⑧I’d say none of these things promises 100% online safety, but each will help you to be safer.

I used to hate my mother because she worked a lot and didn’t spend much time with me. Then one Friday morning I took part in a three-day self-help program for teenagers. Whether you believe it or not, that weekend changed my life.

About 100 other teenagers were there. During the first two days I met a lot of great people. I was glad because I made so many friends there.

On Sunday, the leader did an interesting exercise called “Chocolate or Toys”. He asked a girl which she liked better, chocolate or toys. She chose chocolate. Then he asked her to choose again between chocolate and chocolate. Of course, she didn’t have a choice.

This exercise told us that sometimes we don’t have a choice in life, and that sometimes we have to accept something, rather than complaining (抱怨).

A girl stood up and started talking about her mom who was a drug addict and how much she hated her mother.

“I want a new mom,” she cried.

“Unfortunately, you can’t have one,” the leader replied. “You have to accept the mother that you have.”

This hit me hard. I realized that, for better or worse, my mom was my mom. I couldn’t choose another mom, but I could try to make the best of the situation.

① Conflict (冲突) happens when two people disagree because of their own goals, values, or beliefs. It’s not always as simple as an argument. Instead, conflict is what happens right before the argument; it’s what the two people disagree about before they start calling each other names.

② Parents and teenagers have many chances to experience conflict with one another. Teenage years are a time when independence and parental influence fight, since teens are able to think on their own but still live with parents who have rules and expectations for them. Teenagers don’t necessarily hold the same beliefs and values as their parents, and their goal to have fun often conflicts with their parents’ goal to keep them safe.

③ If kids don’t come back home at the time when they’re supposed to, their parents will get worried. A worried parent becomes a scolding (责骂的) parent. When the kid finally arrives home, he / she will get punishments.

④ Sometimes, teens want to have noisy fun while their parents want to sleep. This is a common conflict that happens every day. Also, parents and teenagers usually prefer different types of music. So when parents don’t like the music the kids are listening to, they are more likely to tell them to turn it down. Then conflict begins.

⑤ This may not be totally true. However, one thing is for sure: parents might use the teenager’s exam results to judge (判断) him/her. Every time the parents’ expectations aren’t met, they will scold their kids. And the conflict happens.

⑥ Knowing the reasons is the first step to solving conflict. Here are a few tips for parents and teenagers.

⑦ See each other as friends in the common goals you agree on. Such goals usually include keeping teens safe and seeing them make success. Pay attention to these goals to avoid getting unsatisfied with each other.

⑧ List possible solutions to the conflict together. You can try listing creative ideas, whether they seem reasonable or not. Creativity is your friend when you’re solving any problem in life, including conflict with others.