Whether you are still in high school or finishing up your college studies, young people are very much active on social media and many other online activities. Report says that about 92% teens go online daily to check job openings or get college admissions. Most job recruiters consider viewing the social pages of the candidate before recruiting them and have admitted that they have seen something negative in many profiles that have impacted the student’s application.
But teens should always be aware of the fact that any irresponsible social media conduct can potentially ruin their career or education and create a negative impact on them. Today, many teens post online matters that are related to drugs, sexual topics or posts that contain bad grammar, slang language and profanity that is considered negative for your personal reputation. As parents, it is very important for us to guide these young teens to stay smart and be very careful while posting and writing on social media channels. We should take the initiative and help them protect their reputation, personal brand and maintain the privacy.
What to avoid:
Post illegal things: High school or college goers often experiment with various substances and activities. But once you post a video showing something that not everyone should see, you become vulnerable to consequences that can affect the rest of your life. Even if you have your profile set to private, authorities can easily download incriminating photos and save them for further use.
Post negative comments about friends and teachers: Hateful words between students are often the cause of violence, depression or even suicide. Social media should not be a means for hurtful speech against anyone and students who speak against others or even their teachers run a huge risk of affecting their personal name. Teens should learn to respect everyone and maintain privacy online.
Share confidential information: This advice is for every social media users as identity thieves or online predators can easily pick up sensitive information like full name, birthday, address or other personal information and use it to steal identity. Parents should always educate their children about not sharing any personal details online.
Post threats: Posting abusive words or threats to an individual or group of people can have serious effects on your life. Even posting empty threats or anonymous comments can raise a red flag and school or college authorities have the right to investigate it.
Ignore privacy settings or specific policies: Parents should sit together with their children and review all the privacy settings and remain informed about what others are posting. You should also be aware of social media policies like they should never post any material related to the sensitive subject like euthanasia, abortion, homosexuality etc that could affect your standing as a student.
Specify location details: To protect yourself from predators easily locate you; try not to be too specific with your address or social check-ins. Your parents might appreciate the post, but it also makes it easy for strangers locate you. So don’t share any remote locations you may be in, to avoid mishappenings.
Summary
Social media is a great means of communicating with others, but at the same time it is also a great responsibility. Teens should always be properly guided by their parents so that they do not make any mistakes of sharing personal information, use abusive words or post material that can have a negative impact on them.
You can view infographic on Keeping Kids Safe on Internet.
