YOUR TEEN AND SOCIAL MEDIA INFORMATION FOR PARENTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, INCLUDING SAFETY TIPS AND HOW TO HELP YOUR YOUNG TEEN NAVIGATE THE ONLINE WORLD. A PRESENTATION CREATED BY S. WILLIS

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA? Social media is any place where users leave messages, share interests and information, post videos, pictures and more

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA? Some sites, like Facebook are for connecting with friends, while other sites are interest related such as Flixster (movies) and Kidzworld (gaming and other kids’ specific interests). Many children and teens also network through virtual worlds such as Teen Second Life.Flixster KidzworldTeen Second Life.

WHY IS SOCIAL MEDIA SO IMPORTANT?

As children get older, peers become increasingly important in their lives. Social media provides a platform for teens to communicate and ‘hang-out’ They also use it as a way to express themselves – their online profile can be a way to project their identity

WHY IS SOCIAL MEDIA SO IMPORTANT? Listen to a teen explain why it is an important part of today’s teen culture: Why Teens Use Social Networking (video 7:07 min) Why Teens Use Social Networking

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW One of the main issues is the exposure of personal information. If privacy settings are not used, all information is public

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Pictures and videos posted online are public, sometimes these pictures can be embarrassing can have long-term repercussions in the kind of image that is projected. Once a picture is posted publicly, it is difficult to control. Messages can sometimes get out of control (e.g. Party invites that are forwarded to many people and become viral)

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Be aware that information may be accessed by other sites you use for marketing purposes. Click on social media marketing to understand it better.social media marketing

SAFETY TIPS FOR USING SOCIAL MEDIA Choosing privacy settings when creating accounts is important. User profiles should not be public. Many social media sites do have different standards for minors (ie. Under 18), but it is important to understand. Read about privacy settings (e.g. Facebook Privacy Information)Facebook Privacy Information)

SAFETY TIPS FOR USING SOCIAL MEDIA Teens want to be popular and love to have lots of friends! However, it is important they understand that friend requests should only be accepted from friends they know in real life and privacy settings should be restrict access to their profiles to friends only.

GET INVOLVED Talk to your teen about privacy issues and possible long-term repercussions of posting pictures and videos. Understand that teens do want to share. Instead of forbidding, guide in how to do it safely.

GET INVOLVED Establish an environment of openness and sharing about online activities. Be aware of what and how your teen is using in social media. Sit with your child when they register on websites or for activities online.

GET INVOLVED Create guidelines for your young teens to follow when using social media sites. *Set time limits for how long and when to get off before bed, especially for young teens. Social media can easily become life consuming. Make sure your teen maintains a balance of life outside of the online world, including getting enough sleep!

GET INVOLVED If you don’t use social media yourself, ask your kids to show you how so you know what is out there. Ultimately you are the parent – if you have reason to be concerned you may need to access sites or review online activity.

GET INVOLVED Some great resources for parents (and where the information for this presentation came from!): Online Safety Measures for Kids Media Smarts: Be Web Aware - Privacy Media Smarts: Be Web Aware – Safety Tips for Year Olds Video: Safe Web Surfing: Top Tips for Kids and Teens Online Video: Dangers of Social Media for Teens

These guidelines can be downloaded from: Social Media Marketing Social Media Marketing.