Social media and kids. Do they go together? Should they go together? Is it possible to keep our kids safe online? Is it possible to even know what they are doing?
One of the top "ask Lisa" questions I receive is, "do your kids use social media? what do they use and do you monitor it?".
As you can imagine, this is a loaded question. LOADED.
I have a love-hate relationship with social media. In many ways I LOVE it. I built my business on social media. I was one of the first to embrace Twitter many years ago. I chose to use Facebook to be more pro-business then pro-friends and family. Instagram? I'm on it. Pinterest? Of course! YouTube? Yup. Vine? I tried it. Snapchat? I dabble. Ask.fm? I'm very aware…and I do have an account.
Do you know what all those icons above stand for? You should!
When a new outlet for social media comes on the scene I try to educate myself as much as I can. And then at the VERY least give it some sort of a shot.
It's not that I just WANT to know. I HAVE to know. And as responsible parents these days. You need to know too! I have four children. Three of them are teenagers. And as you can imagine, they live in the world of social media. Our kids have gone way beyond texting each other. And although most of you live on Facebook. Our teens do not. That's "old-school" they say.
So what is hot? What is it that they are using? What is it that they check all day long?
You don't only need to know. You need to BE there. You need to be in your kids face and make it uncomfortable if need be.
My kids have "volunteered" to be a part of a very honest open Q&A session. I am going to do video interviews with them and ask questions YOU want to know about each form of social media that they are involved in.
I am so grateful that they have allowed me into their world. I say "allowed", they really don't have a choice. Yet, I also know that if they want to they could easily go behind my back in many ways to do what they want. I am not a fool. Nor will I be played for one
As I start this series I am curious as to what you may want to know. What questions do you have? They are willing to answer. Take advantage of that.
We will start with Facebook next week. Then move onto Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, ask.fm, and so on. Send me an email with your questions or leave them in the comments below. We will address them..together. They are willing participants. I think we will all benefit from hearing from teens and their perspective.
We can't go backwards in time. We can't go back to the days when passing notes in class was the only thing we worried about. The Internet is here to stay…with all its benefits and all its curses. We don't need to be terrified. We just need to be educated. So let's do this together. What do you say?
xoxoxo
lisa
I am looking forward to this series! My oldest started junior high...yikes! I know it's important to know and understand the social media outlets that are being used. My son is not interested in it, but he still sees what happens on it through his friends.
ReplyDeleteAt his school, they are starting a program where kids who have mobile devices can use them in the classroom for specific learning activities. At the info meeting about the program, the principal took a few minutes to discuss social media and how we as parents have to be aware of what our kids are doing. He said that new outlets pop up all the time and some are better than others for our kids to use. He then gave examples of two new ones: ask.fm and reddit. I literally laughed out loud, because reddit is old! But that just goes to show how even when you think you know what's going down, you probably don't know everything.
I feel so overwhelmed by this topic... Really looking forward to this series!!
ReplyDelete