Digital Responsibility and Safety, Susan Smith Powers, Dean of Students for Middle School
Digital Responsibility and Safety, Susan Smith Powers, Dean of Students for Middle School
Digital responsibility is the ability to use digital technology in a way that is safe and responsible and to engage in these activities in a respectful way. At LPS, our technology and design guru, Luis Gaitan, teaches our students digital responsibility and safety as a major part of his curriculum. Students also learn about social media responsibility and safety during health classes as well as from their counselors. But families can help at home, too.
Here are some technology best practices that you can share with your children/teenagers:
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Never post their personal information to social media or give out passwords (even to friends)
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Never use their full name when gaming or using chat rooms (all games have chat rooms that are usually not private)
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Never post inappropriate pictures or videos of themselves or others on social media; teach about “sexting”
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Do not use rude, offensive, insulting or threatening language online or while texting
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Treat all people they meet online as strangers (they are not your friends)
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Tell a trusted adult if anyone makes you feel uncomfortable online (you won’t get in trouble)
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Remember that nothing that is posted on the internet is ever private
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Before you post/text/Facetime… "THINK":
- Is it True?
- Is it Hurtful?
- Is it Illegal?
- Is it Necessary?
- Is it Kind?
Many of our students are drawn to social media in order to connect with friends from school or to make new friends. Students stay in touch and connect using TikTok, Snapchat, texting (individual and group), FaceTime and gaming (playing the game together and/or connecting via chat rooms). Just as with physical spaces, parents want to know that teens are safely enjoying digital places they visit. Parents should learn how to set privacy settings for each game or app their child has on their phone and other devices.
For children/teenagers that use TikTok, parents should know that previously, all TikTok accounts defaulted to a “public” setting no matter the age of the user, leaving children open to DM’s and interactions from strangers. With the new 2021 update, TikTok accounts for users aged 13-15 (TikTok doesn’t have any age verification tools when new users sign up) will now default to “private”. Also videos created by users under 16 years of age are restricted by default for download unless the settings are changed or updated. TikTok also has a new parental control called “Family Pairing” where parents can link their child’s account to their own where they can control direct messages, set screen time limits, and turn on/off restricted content directly from their phone.
For children/teenagers that use SnapChat, parents should be aware of the top dangers of this platform:
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Predators (easy connections to strangers)
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Screen time addiction
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Lots of bullying
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Access to drugs (apparently rampant on the app)
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Mental health concerns (creates unrealistic image expectations with selfie filters and editing)
Remember, all social media and online games have the potential to pose a risk to your child/teen. Predators pose as younger children on social media and online games to meet and groom their next victim. If you are unfamiliar with a game or social platform your child/teen is using, reach out for help.
Additional Resources:
What is digital citizenship? A guide for Parents.
Digital Citizenship Resources for Family Engagement