Despite this, the reality is that many parents are either allowing their children to have social media accounts or simply don't know that their children are using them.
Chris Wise (one of our Year 7 teachers) has written an informative piece every parent should read. It will help you understand the social media your children are using and to make some informed decisions about what you will allow and not allow. It is important that EVERY parent have these discussions with their children. It's about their safety, their emotional health, and their future.
Please note: the links in Chris' article are not active as I don't want my blog linked to some of these sites in any way.
I hope this is helpful for you.
Keeping Informed:
What your children could be using
online
I originally wrote this two years ago in response to parents who
wanted to ‘keep ahead’ of their children online. Bad news people, that’s not
going to happen. But, you can stay informed and you can manage, restrict, and
monitor your child’s social media usage. Understanding how your children are
using technology is the most vital step in ensuring they benefit from its
advantages without suffering the consequences of its misuse.
As an advocate of technology in education and social networking, I
feel an obligation to help parents at least try to keep up. I’ve complied a
list of frequently used or concerning forms of social media with a brief
explanation and links to sites that discuss the dangers of these
websites/platforms/apps. I hope it’s beneficial to you. If there is something
you’re aware of that I am not that you believe should be added, or would like
some information about a something not listed, please let me know.
It is my suggestion that most, if not all of these, be blocked from
your child’s access until they are of legal age for the Term & Conditions. Since
the first version of this article two years ago, some of these sites have long
since lost relevance to a new generation of social media users. Oh, and by the
way, lots of kids don’t even want a Facebook account. After all, Facebook is
for old people (feeling old now?).
We’re starting with a site every parent should be extremely wary
of:
chatroulette
/ chatroulette2
and it’s various other more nefarious versions (No age limit - should be 18+)
Chatroulette has NO login, NO profiles, NO terms and conditions.
With a working webcam, a user is paired randomly with another user of any age,
anywhere in the world for a video chat session. And this happens from the
moment the user accesses the site. It appears to be populated by the less
appealing members of our society. Five minutes here will leave you in no doubt
as to the unsuitability of it for minors (and adults in most cases). There are now
many random chat sites: Omegle, chabbler, JayDo, Zupyo (take a breath)
chatrandom, streamberry, FunYo, Camzap, Bazoocam, Roulettechat, Flipchat,
Imeetzu, chatpig, cahtbazaar and facebuzz to name a few. Some have more
restrictions, or different ways of matching people together. Don’t believe your
11 year old - they’re all inappropriate for children.
Links:
Formspring
(13+)
Formspring has been extremely popular with school age children in
the U.S. and has gained notoriety in the press for being a key component in
some of the worst examples of online bullying. Formspring allows users to ask
questions of their friends in an online poll format. Some of the most blatant
and vile bullying I’ve seen has occurred on this site.
Links:
Foursquare
(Must be old
enough to form a legally binding contract)
Foursquare is a social networking application that allows you to see
where your friends are and for them to see where you are. It is a tool with
some worthwhile features, but raises obvious questions about child safety. Yes,
I might want to know where my child is, but does everyone else have to?
Links:
MSN
Messenger / Skype / Kik Messenger (No age restriction for Skype, but must be old enough to
enter into a legally binding contract and in most countries that is 16+ or 18+.
Kik is 17+)
Both of these have been around for a long time and most children in
my classes are familiar with them. The concerns around these sites range from
online bullying, to the safety of video chatting and talking to people you
don’t know. One issue often overlooked is the ability to file share. What is
being shared? Who owns what is shared?
Kik is the new, cool app that you are unlikely to be aware of. Kik
allows users to send text messages to each other without a cell phone (uses a
wi-fi connection). Unlike a cell phone text, which reveals at least a phone
number, Kik allows users to remain anonymous and use nicknames for usernames.
It can run on an iPod, iPad or even a Kindle.
Links:
Youtube
(13+ to hold an
account, 18+ to view certain content)
How many parents are aware that their children are uploading videos
to Youtube from their bedrooms? Or what’s on their favourites list? I assure
you, there are videos of children in my class this year on Youtube. Videos can
be uploaded quickly and easily from PCs and mobile phones- not to mention the
questionable content uploaded by some members of this community. Youtube is a
wonderful resource, but can be a minefield of body parts and abusive language
(read the comments on most clips).
Links:
Twitter
(No age
restriction - must be able to form a legally binding contract, see Skype).
Microblogging and multimedia sharing. These sites allow you to
update your status or blog about a topic. It also allows you to share photos
and links with varying degrees of security set by the user. Twitter seems to
have become more popular with ‘older’ tech users, but is immensely popular in
gossip circles for keeping up with Justin Beiber. As with many of above
services, they can be valuable tools personally and professionally, but
children need to understand their usage and consequences for misuse.
Links:
Instagram (13+)
Instagram, or social network grooming 101, is essentially a photo
sharing app with it’s own social network built in. Of all the social media
applications available, it is right now, the most popular with young people. It
seems innocent (why does everyone want their photos to look like they were
taken in 1979 anyway?), take a photo and show it to your friends. But, if
children taking photos themselves and publishing (it is publishing, read the
terms and conditions) them online isn’t concerning enough, consider geotagging
(photo locations) and Instagram’s less than secure privacy settings that allows
anyone to view them. In addition to this, instagram is full of questionable content,
body parts and duck faces (duck face? Google it) that is only a #hashtag away.
Most importantly, it is yet another way for strangers to access your child and
their personal information.
Facebook
/ Tumblr / Google+ / MySpace Etc. (13+ Facebook + Myspace, 18+ Tumblr, No restriction on
Google+)
Much has been written about Facebook and the advantages and
disadvantages. While Facebook has become second nature to many of us, it’s
important to remember that most of us were adults when we created a Facebook
profile and have the wisdom of our years to decide how to use it for our own
purposes. A quick Google search will alert you to the many copyright, privacy,
security and bullying concerns these sites (and those like them) raise.
Links:
One of the reasons I began a professional Twitter and Facebook page
was to show students how these tools can be used for a purpose other than
mindless communication and procrastination (How many High Distinctions went
begging in Uni because of Facebook?). As with each of the above, in the end it
is how these tools are used and monitored that determine their safety and
effectiveness. I certainly don’t want my students to be scared of social
networking, rather I want them to understand the nature of them, why they need
to be safe, and most importantly how to be safe.
I’ve listed many links here; you’ll find these and many more with a
quick search. I may not agree entirely with some of the things written, but
certainly with the intention of them. My own suggestion to you as parents is to
talk to your children about how they are using the Internet (and trust me,
there are many more sites like these). Decide on what YOU think is appropriate
use and limit them to that. I personally see no need for children to have
multiple profiles across multiple platforms. Especially, when most of them are
being used for the same thing - talking to friends.
