A presentation on social media for parents on tweens and teens

1. Alecia Berman-Dry
Director of Academic Technology
St. John’s Episcopal School
February 22, 2012

2. Social Media Landscape

3. Social Media and Teens/Tweens
• Social media use has 100
become so pervasive 90
in the lives of 80
American teens that 70
having a presence on 60
Online
a social network site is
50
almost synonymous
with being online. 40 Social
• Fully 95% of all teens 30 Media
ages 12-17 are now 20
online and 80% of 10
those online teens are 0
users of social media
Kids

4. These have become spaces where
much of the social activity of tween life
is echoed and amplified—in both
good and bad ways.

6. When Do I Worry?
• 45% of online 12-year-olds use Social Media
sites.
• That figure nearly doubles between the ages
of 12 and 13, with 82% of 13-year-olds saying
that they are social network site users.
http://www.socmedsean.com/infographic-do-teens-prefer-social-media-to-real-life/

7. Blue=Mature Front=Prefrontal Cortex=Decision Making

8. Cruel Intentions?
• Among social media users, 88% of teens
have seen someone be mean or cruel to
another person on a social network site.
• More teens report positive personal
outcomes than negative ones from
interactions on social network sites: 78%
report at least one good outcome and
41% report at least one negative
outcome.

9. As kids get older,
their experiences improve.

10. Teens and Privacy
• 62% of teens who have a social media
profile say the profile they use most often
is set to be private so that only their
friends can see the content they post.
• 19% say their profile is partially private so
that friends of friends or their networks
can see some version of their profile.
• 17% say their profile is set to public so that
everyone can see it.

11. Cruelty
Privacy
Forever
Online Behavior Choices

12. What’s Happening Right Here?

13. What Are They Thinking?!
• Aaron White, Scientist NIH, NPR Jan 15th “Tell
Me More”
• Brain continues to develop until age of 24
• “The purpose of adolescence is, more or
less, to socialize and to get out of the home
and to find your own path in life and the
research suggests that, as scary as some of
these new tools can seem to adults, by
themselves, they don't seem to have any
negative effect on teens, in general.”
http://www.amazon.com/What-They-Thinking-Social-Networking-Still-Developing/dp/0393065804

14. Trust and
Safety Experience

15. Facebook
• About 5.6 million Facebook clients are
under the age of 13 (3.5% of users) which
is illegal according to COPPA laws.
• 2009 study (Microsoft) 55% of parents
polled said their kids were on Facebook
and 75% of them had helped them to do
so.
• They will not understand how to use the
privacy settings, so if they’re on, you
need to teach them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/under-13-year-olds-on-facebook_n_1898560.html

16. Facebook Privacy

17. Twitter
• Microblogging Account
• 15% of all online adults use Twitter (Pew
Twitter Update)
• 6% of kids 13-17 have Twitter accounts.
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Twitter-Use-2012.aspx

18. Why are teens and tweens
moving to Twitter?
American Adults
Facebook Users
Non Facebook
Users
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Coming-and-going-on-facebook.aspx

19. • Most of the communication taking
place on Twitter is public and viewable
by everyone.
• Since the information posted is
public, some of this data may be
made available or republished on
other websites.

21. A Protected Twitter Account
• People will have to request to follow you; each
follow request will need approval.
• Your Tweets will only be visible to users you've
approved.
• Other users will not be able to retweet your Tweets.
• Protected Tweets will not appear in Twitter search or
Google search.
• @Replies you send to people who aren't following
you will not be seen by those users (because you
have not given them permission to see your Tweets).
• You cannot share permanent links to your Tweets
with anyone other than your approved followers.

22. Instagram
• Photosharing Social Network
• Shift from verbal sharing to
visual sharing
• All photos default to publicly
shared
• Show children how to change
privacy settings
• Make them friend you
• Consider if they really need to
use it, under 13 years old

23. What Are The Pitfalls?
• What is available to see
• Commenting (controversial opinions)
• Sharing images of events which
purposely exclude peers
• Narcissism
• Relying on “likes” for emotional
wellbeing

24. Snapchat
• Photo sharing site
• Images “disappear” or self-destruct after
10 seconds or less (user selected)
• Liked because of digital footprint pressure
– Cheating
– Sexting
• Child pornography
– Just receiving the message is illegal
– Having it on your device is illegal

25. • Screenshot: Press Home and
Sleep Buttons
• Brightside: If a screenshot is
captured, it sends you a
note.
• Downside: Nothin’ you can
do about it.

26. Filtering for Mobile Devices

27. Your Action Items

28. Educate Yourself
• Learn how to
create a profile
and friend your
child.
• Linked Accounts
(itunes) are a
good idea.
• Observe the
environment.
• Discourage mean
behavior, gossipin
g

29. Model Appropriate Behavior
• If you overshare, they will. If you know your
friends, they notice.
• If you’re texting constantly, they will too.

30. Set Boundaries
– Establish when technology can be used in
your home and when it can’t.
– Keep technology in public places (not in
bedrooms)

31. Choose, Install
and Use A Web Filter
– Then, continue to talk to your child about
what you see