You may be familiar with the studies connecting the dangers of social media and the teenage brain. As the mother of two teenagers myself, these reports have played a role in my own thoughts about it. As my kids saw more and more of their friends on these platforms, I had to come to terms with how our youngest generation involves themselves in socialization. Rather than watching our kids and students step blindly into the land of hashtags, DMs, and sometimes questionable content, let’s refer to our good buddy, Common Sense Education.
The ten part series of Teen Voices features teenagers talking about their online presence. Hearing from peers is the golden ticket with these short videos. We watched them together before my own kids got their first @. Keep in mind that nearly all social media platforms require users to be at least 13 years old to create an account. Here’s a quick sheet on Social Media and Kids.
Consider also the Social Media Test Drive. These self-paced modules, featuring everything from scams and phishing, oversharing, and cyberbullying are great for the home and the classroom.
If the time has come for more social media accounts in your family, or you’re hearing conversations from your students about these sometimes incredible, sometimes intimidating platforms, consider offering tools to get them started with eyes wide open.
Want more? Play this short Social Media Kahoot! with your class.
