RANDALL HUFFAKER – guest speaker
Randall has an eight grader here at NMS. Mr. Huffaker teaches digital marketing at the university. Mr. Huffaker spoke to us about social media. honest conversations with our kids regarding social media.
How much time do we spend on line?? How connected are we??
78% of our kids have cell phones
7.5 hours of entertainment/media 8-18 year olds
Only 36% of parents look at the content on their kids phone
65% of teens send text in the middle of the night
X-Box and Play Station are now considered social networks.
APP RUN-DOWN
SNAP CHAT — everything put on snap chat is saved on server. Messages are not deleted as our kids believe. Parents should now – SHOWS LOCATION
TIK TOK – Teens and Over-seas adults are biggest users. Parents should now — CREEPY COMMENTS and kids try to outdo each other to get more likes
KIK — DANGEROUS APP for teens. Child exploitation and sexual predators.
WHAT’S APP — Exchanges are not saved so parents are not able to see conversations. Text, video, photo, etc. And texts can be encrypted.
WHISPER — no name, you can go on line and say whatever you want. A lot of adult conversations. Not APPROPRIATE for teens — lots of cyber bullying. Location based grouping and anonymous feature makes this app DANGEROUS
ASKfm — Question answer format used for bullying. Lack of privacy settings.
CALCULATOR% – App used for hiding apps you don’t want anyone else to find. A code must be entered to reveal secret apps.
HOUSE PARTY – video chatting app — random people you don’t know are selected to all talk together. Open to anyone, any age which is what makes it dangerous.
DANGERS OF SOCIAL MEDIA:
Teens are constantly trying to define themselves. “likes” of lack of “likes” is viewed as social rejection and can affect their self esteem.
Feedback is not always positive. Not everyone has good intentions. Kids need to be aware of that.
Kids are posting the same things we are. Their information is out there. They may not realize they are posting a picture in a school jersey therefore giving more information than they are aware of.
BRAIN CHANGES
5% of people can’t log off — brain is wired to look for reward.
Multitasking inhibits your brains ability to filter out distractions.
PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITES:
Don’t assume the worst, protect your child from ignorance and foolishness.
Limit how much time they spend on-line and on devices.
Follow/friend/subscribe to your child’s accounts and their friend’s accounts.
Zero tolerance policy. Take phone and internet privileges away when rules are broken.
Teach children to seek feedback from genuine sources.
Reinforce that the most important and influential voice is the one within themselves.
Teens need to be connected — understand that as a parent.
Create media rules as a family.
Model appropriate use of technology
Know your kids passwords and monitor their use. Approve all apps before they go on their phone.
RECCOMMENDED APPS THAT MONITOR
Mobistealth.com
Mymobile watchdog.com
Netnanny.com
Life360
Parental apps will show screen time, what platforms being used and for how long. It allows parents to control websites and apps used. PC’s also have the same programs available.
