Social Media Smarts for Teens

1Copyright 2010, Stephanie Schwab Consulting

Social Media Smarts for Teens

Presented to Morry’s CampJuly 17, 2010


What is social media?

Social media are websites which allow you to have conversations and share photos, videos and links with other people directly on the website or through your

mobile phone. You might know the people you connect with in person, or they might be people that you only

know online.


Social Media Can Be Fun and Useful

• There are lots of great reasons to use social media!• Post pictures of your camp experience and share with

your friends• Share a video from graduation with your family in

another state• Learn the latest makeup tips and tricks• Watch a funny video of kittens and share it with your

friends• Find a photo of Madrid, Spain to include in a school

report• Stay in touch with other campers after the summer is

over!


But Social Media Can Also Hurt You

• Most social media is there to stay – you can’t get it taken down– Try to avoid having negative things by and about you put onto the web

in the first place

• Adults may assume that your behavior in social media is your behavior in every setting– If you use rude language online, you may be rude offline as well

• 83% of people who interview people for jobs use social media to research people – If they find things that they don’t like, you won’t be considered for the

job.

• The same goes for people who review college applications• Most adults recognize that kids make mistakes, so if there are

one or two bad things about you online it usually won’t be a problem– More could make it difficult to get a job or get into college


How To Not Get A Job!


Can I Keep Some Things Private?

• Anything you upload to any social site could potentially be seen by anybody someday– Other people could forward or take pictures of

your content and spread it around beyond the site

– The sites own that content and they might decide at some point that they want o make everything public.

– You can’t count on websites to keep your private stuff private - so you shouldn’t post anything that you don’t want shared with the whole world


Changing Your Facebook Privacy Settings

From your home screen, go to your Account (upper right hand corner). Click on that link, then click on Privacy Settings in that drop-down menu. Under Sharing on Facebook, click on Friends Only. Uncheck the box that says “Let friends of people tagged in my photos and posts see them.” This will allow only people who are already your friends on Facebook to see your information, and should keep strangers out.


Changing Your MySpace Privacy Settings

From your home screen, go to My Profile (upper left hand corner) and use the drop-down menu to get to My Privacy. For all of the choices on that page, choose “My friends only” or “Only my friends can view….” Under Photos, make sure that the box next to “Allow my photos to be shared/emailed” is not checked.


Things to Think About Before You Post

• Ask yourself – what will the adults in your life think about what you’re writing or posting online?

• Would adults that you respect be writing or posting similar things?

• If someone who wanted to give you a job saw what you’d written or posted, what would they think?

• If someone who can help you get into college saw what you’d written or posted, what would they think?

• If I post information, photos or videos about other people, could they get hurt or embarrassed by what I’ve posted?

• Is there anyone out there that would want to use something I’ve posted to hurt me? What if they shared something I didn’t want them to share? What if they took an innocent photo of me and made it look like I was doing something wrong?


Casual Comments Could Be Misinterpreted


Other Important Safety Tips

• Remember that people are not always what they seem to be on the Internet– If you chat or connect with strangers, they may be nothing like

they say they are – people could be much older (or younger) than they tell you, or they could have the wrong reasons for wanting to become friends with you

– You can’t always trust people to tell the truth about themselves online

– Be ultra careful when you share things with people – only share with friends and family that you’re certain are the people they say they are.

• Keep private things private – don’t share your phone number, your credit card information, your physical address, information about your school or classes, or information about your job


Other Important Safety Tips (cont’d)

• Don’t meet people that you’ve only met online in person

• Never, ever agree to meet someone that you met online by yourself and never invite anyone to your home, school or workplace


What Can You Do To Set A Good Example?

• Don’t post anything about your friends without their permission– That includes photos, videos or links to their content

• When you’re taking pictures or video, ask people if it’s okay if you include those photos or videos in your Facebook or MySpace page– If they say no, respect them

• Don’t write anything about your friends or family that other people could misunderstand

• Be respectful and courteous; ask yourself, “if someone wrote this about me, how would I feel?”

• Don’t share anything that others have posted without their permission– Sending links around could make things fall into the hands of people who

don’t like your friends or who could be dangerous or harmful to your friends

– Keeping things close within your social group is best


Social Media Can Catch You In A Lie


Sites You Should Probably Avoid

• Foursquare is a site that tells people your location– When you use this site, everyone knows exactly where you are– This could be dangerous as adults who might want to harm you

can easily find you, or people you don’t like could find you to pick on you

• Twitter is very open and difficult to control privacy on– Unless you have your Tweets protected (and only allow people

you approve), the entire world can see your Tweets– They may know where you are, what you’re doing or what you

had for dinner– Texting with your friends is safer and mostly accomplishes the

same goal.

• There are sites online that allow you to videochat with strangers– This is extremely dangerous and you could be exposed to

illegal behavior– Your use of these sites could be misinterpreted by the adults in

your life


Questions for Discussion

• Is it smart to post about something that you shouldn’t be doing? Like smoking or cheating on a test?

• Have you ever been hurt or embarrassed by someone posting something about you or a picture of you?

• Could you hurt someone by posting something about them? What are some examples?

• How much information should you give to people that you only know online? Do you think it is a good idea to tell them where you live, or what your full name is, or that you’re home alone?

• When does it make sense to meet someone that you’ve met online in real life? Could you do this in a safe way?

• Would it be embarrassing if someone posted sexy photos of you online? How can you prevent this from happening to you?

• If someone wanted to give you a job, what would they think about you if they saw that you used bad language or said bad things about people online?


Thank you!

Stephanie [email protected]://www.stephanieschwab.comhttp://www.twitter.com/socialologist

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.stephanieschwab.com/

http://www.twitter.com/socialologist

http://www.twitter.com/socialologist

Social Media Smarts for Teens

Education

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