E-Safety and Digital Health

Social Media Usage & Responsible Digital Citizenship

Most of us could identify the majority of the Social Media platforms identified in this picture above, but what about the following set? 

A study, published by the E-Safety Commission back in 2015, reported that 70% of Australian children were accessing some form of social media. Given that this report is nearly 10 years old, along with increased access to technology, we can surmise that this percentage is likely to have grown. 

Many of us tend to think of only a few traditional examples when we consider what social media is; Facebook, Instagram and Twitter perhaps (or, should I say 'X'?!) However, the landscape has rapidly changed, with new apps designed for social connection entering the marketplace continually - some of these mirror the more traditional platforms, purely focused on social networking, whereas others double up as gaming platforms, content creation, discussion forums, video or image sharing and live streaming - the list continues. 

The speed at which new apps and platforms are generated and adopted means that parents and educators can be very quickly left behind, and when we're left behind it means we are not in a position to best support our children or students. 

So, over the course of this newsletter, and our next, we'll cover some core content about Social Media usage: 

• This Newsletter we'll focus on general social media safety, and etiquette - tips and tricks on how to stay safe in a general sense
• Next Newsletter we'll uncover some common risks associated with the most popular social media platforms

Let's start with the positive - what are the benefits of social media? 

The Raising Children's Network references these core benefits: 

• Young people use social media to have fun, make and maintain friendships, share and learn interests, explore identities and develop relationships with family. It’s an extension of their offline and face-to-face interactions.
• Learning: your child can use social media to better understand, extend or share what they’re learning at school, either informally or in formal school settings.
• Hobbies and interests: your child can use social media to follow their interests and learn new ones.
• Creativity: your child can be creative with profile pages, images, video and game modifications.
• Mental health and wellbeing: connecting with extended family and friends and taking part in local and global online groups can give your child a sense of belonging.

For this reason, it can be unhelpful to simply ban all forms of social media. Being aware of the associated risks and helping your child navigate them safely and act responsibly online is considered best practise. 

What risks should you be aware of? 

The Raising Children's Network summarises the main risks as:

• being exposed to inappropriate or upsetting content, like mean aggressive, violent or sexual comments or images
• uploading inappropriate content, like embarrassing or provocative photos or videos of themselves or others
• sharing personal information with strangers – for example, images, date of birth, location or address
• cyberbullying
• being exposed to too much targeted advertising and marketing
• being exposed to data breaches, like having their data sold on to other organisations.

Tips and advice on how to support your child to be safe:

There is a considerable amount of good advice about supporting your child to keep themselves safe on social media, but the key recommendations can be summarised as: 

1. Educate yourselves about the risks associated with social media
2. Study/Learn about different social media platforms 
   1. This is where following cybersafety accounts on your own social media platforms can be incredibly helpful (See information about the Beacon App at the end of this page)
3. Actively monitor your child's social media usage and their accounts 

Things that your child should be supported to do: 

1. Protect their personal information (full name, DOB, address etc) 
2. Use strong passwords
3. Set up social media guidelines: 
   1. Usage guidelines: When/Where/Timeframes 
   2. Think before they share
   3. Respect others' privacy 
   4. Use appropriate language 
   5. Be a positive and supportive presence online 
4. Staying safe once online
   1. Blocking and reporting people they don’t know or people who post upsetting comments or content
   2. Not clicking on pop-ups – some pop-ups that seem safe can lead to pornography sites or are scams
   3. Accepting friend requests only from people whose identity they know
   4. Taking screenshots of concerning things they see online, and talking to a trusted adult about them.

Bullying. No Way! Shares some useful questions to help you facilitate conversations with your child: 

Further places to visit for detailed information: 

1. E-Safety Commission: Are They Old Enough? 
   1. Including key questions to help you determine their readiness for social media
2. Raising Children Network: Social Media 
3. Beacon PDF - see attachment immediately below 

Previous Topics

Term 3: Week 1 & 3 - Cyberbulling

Term 2: Week 8 - Green Time v. Screen Time 

Information on Balancing screen time and promoting digital well-being can be found on this previous newsletter.

Supportive Resources