Getting your head around social media

Getting your head around social media

The news has been awash recently with talk of Facebook and data breaches and you’re probably used to your kids staring at the screens of their mobile phones or hiding away with their laptops and you’re also probably a little concerned about how to keep them safe when they’re using the various trendy apps and social networks. There are always arguments for and against monitoring your children’s internet use. Some parents swear by going through their kids phones and logging in to their Facebook profiles, other’s prefer to give their children the benefit of the doubt. Whichever way you prefer to work, we’ve compiled a little encyclopaedia of some of the more popular sites, so you’ll know everything you need to about those sites your children are obsessing over.

Facebook.
Judging by the amount of memes my mum shares, I would assume that all parents know what Facebook is. Facebook is a social network that allows members to chat publically via each other’s profiles, privately via their messaging service or chat in groups, some of which are private groups and others public groups. Photos and other information can be set as being publically or privately available, so it is important to have a chat with your children about their settings to make sure that they’re using the network safely. It is advised to not post pictures including school uniforms or posting information including details of addresses, birthdays or any other sensitive information.

Twitter
Twitter is a very popular micro blogging site that allows short messages of 280 characters to be posted. Photos, music and videos can also be published on Twitter. Profiles can either be set to private, where followers must request to see a profile, or public, where anyone can follow your account. Public accounts can also be publically contacted via anyone else with a Twitter account regardless of whether they’re following each other. It is useful to let children know about the mute and block functions of the website, especially if they’re encountered any sort of cyber bullying or nastiness. It is advised not to engage with any accounts being abusive and to report these to Twitter. Similarly, make sure your children aren’t posting anything that can lead to them being tracked by anyone, such as information about their schools or home addresses.

Instagram
Instagram is a photo sharing app which allows users to either post to their profiles or to post to their followers in a Snapchat style story which will disappear after a few hours. There is also a private messaging function. Again, there is the option to have a private account which new followers will need to request permission to view or a public account where you can be viewed by anyone anywhere. There are blocking features available on Instagram and the stories can be set to be viewed by only certain people. It might be worth talking to your children about sensible posting, for instance, not posting pictures in their school uniforms where they can be traced or outside their homes with car number plates or house numbers visible. Like with other social networks, you should be aware of posting any sensitive information.

Snapchat
Everyone has heard of snapchat, it has appeared in the news a lot recently. It’s latest updates have caused many users to ditch the app in favour of Instagram, but it is still one of the most used apps for kids.
One feature that causes the most concern is something called SnapMap, which shows your location though this can be turned off. The other feature that causes parental concern is the Snapchat Streaks – this is where you send direct pictures back and forth with a friend for several days, Snapchat offers rewards for longer streaks, which can mean your kids are spending more time on Snapchat than they are doing their homework. Much like when using any other internet site, common sense is all that is needed. Turning off the location services keeps your child’s location private, letting them know not to send anything that could reveal where they live or what school they attend to people they don’t know. You can also block anything or anyone inappropriate and report any harassment to Snapchat.

Whether you like it or not, kids are going to use social media and new networks are popping up all the time so keeping on top of them all is a never ending task, but as long as you make sure your children know how to keep safe while using them you can put your mind at rest. Make sure they know how to mute, block and report any users that are giving them abuse or saying anything inappropriate.

Ignyte Ltd. Reg number 7125489. Registered in England and Wales. Registered address: Bathway Farm, Bathway, Chewton Mendip, Somerset, BA3 4LN | Refund Policy | Privacy Policy | Payment Terms