Students and Social Media Part 1

by Harold W. Blogger

While there may be some exceptions, almost every student will eventually want to create profiles and become active on social media. What adults must determine for each child is whether or not they are old enough to participate in social media, and whether or not they understand the risks and responsibilities that go along with that participation. There are many things to be considered when deciding whether students should have social media profiles.

Legality

Most social media websites have a minimum age requirement for those who want to register and participate. Quite simply, if the student is not old enough, they cannot be allowed to participate. Allowing a student to lie about their age in order to sign up for a social media account can have legal consequences for the adult(s), the child, and the website. Fortunately, when a social media site sets an age limit in its terms of service, that provides parents, teachers, and other adults with a non-negotiable reason to tell the student no.

Emotional Maturity

Some students are emotionally mature enough to handle social media. Others are not. Students should be encouraged to be honest with themselves in determining whether or not they are ready to participate in social media. Here are a few good questions to ask:

How does the student handle conflicts with others?
How does the student handle gossip and new information?
What does the student do when something doesn’t go their way?
Does the student have a good idea of what is or isn’t appropriate in a given situation?

One of the biggest dangers of social media is doing something that will cause damage to one’s reputation, or to offend others. Here are some typical mistakes that students make when using social media:

Fighting and arguing with others online in a public format
Spreading untruths without obtaining verification. This can include gossip about others, or simply sending on a viral Facebook post.
Ranting and airing out their dirty laundry on social media
Posting in appropriate pictures, comments, videos and jokes

Students who do not understand the lasting impact of what they post on social media, should reconsider using that. If there is an adult who can help them make that decision, they should also encourage waiting.

Interesting: Students and Social Media Part 2

I would like to hear the thoughts of potential employees and employers in the comments.

Photo by by anieto2k.