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SOCIAL MEDIA – FRIEND OR FOE?

Social media can help children communicate, share and learn and it can offer opportunities to practise key 21st-century skills that they will use in the future. Parents and carers play a key role in guiding their children as they first encounter the online world and begin to learn through exploration, play and social interaction.

 

Children and social media do not have to be an incompatible pairing. However, it is imperative that parents guide and monitor their children’s social media use. 

At school, all social media platforms are blocked, but once the students leave the premises, the Internet world is at their fingertips, not only on their BYOD devices, but also on their phones, tablets and SMART watches too. Our curriculum does address such issues as cyberbullying and the consequences of using inappropriate websites and games.

 

In the news we constantly hear about devastating events concerning the inappropriate use of social media by students, and so it is imperative that our chidren are best equipped with the knowledge on how to navigate social media safely and appropriately.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA RULES FOR PARENTS:

  • Know the legal age restrictions for each social media platform in use -  

These include Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X and YouTube. Under 16’s are allowed to see publicly available social media content that doesn’t need an account. They have access to apps and platforms that are mainly designed for online messaging and gaming as well as online services that share health and educational information and support.

  • Know which social media platforms your children are using.
  • Ask questions, but in a non-invasive way - show genuine interest in what they’re seeing online and who they’re talking to.
  • If / when appropriate, use parental controls on your children’s devices and social media accounts.
  • Talk to your children about the importance of maintaining in-person friendships and social interactions in real life as well as online.
  • Verify children’s social media connections - teach them to identify fake accounts.
  • Discuss what’s appropriate to share on social media—explain that everything online is permanent, even if it is deleted.
  • Have open conversations about the appropriate ways to act online - it is important for your children to understand what cyberbullying is, how to recognize it, and the effects it can have.
  • Teach your child about the value of technology-free or screen-free time.
  • Address the effects of social media on children by discussing mental health, cyberbullying, feelings of isolation, and the need to compare.

  • While age-restricted accounts are in place, encourage your children to “wind back” their social media use now. Make this a family effort by role modelling the shift.

     

In the next newsletter I will expand on these dot points and include some excellent links for parent use.

 

Michele Jones

Digital Technologies Manager