DEAR ABBY: I'm a 15-year-old girl who's involved with social media. My parents have always been protective. A few days ago they asked me for the passwords to my Twitter, Facebook and email accounts. I understand they're trying to protect me, but the fact that they don't trust me by now is upsetting.
I tried telling them this, and they say they do trust me, but they still want my passwords. Is this a contradiction? I need some independence, and they don't seem to understand that. -- LOSING MY MIND IN TACOMA, WASH.
DEAR LOSING YOUR MIND: It's not a contradiction if you read some of the news coverage on the Internet about young people who have committed suicide because they were hounded by cyber-bullies. It's not a contradiction if you consider that sometimes bad things happen at parties that aren't properly supervised. If, God forbid, you should "disappear," your parents -- and the police -- would want to know who had been communicating with you and what was said.
Please do not overreact to their concern. While it would have been better if they had given you a reason for their request, I doubt they'll be reading over your shoulder. Most parents don't spend a lot of time doing that unless they have some reason to mistrust their teenager.