Germanmillsps.files.wordpress.com



Social Media FitnessChris VollumIntroductionOur speaker is a stong supporter of social media, and believes in teaching from a position of strength. Social Media is EVERYWHERE – our kids and teenagers “live” in it, 24/7, there is no “stopping” it, this is where our kids “live”.The biggest impediments to our kids’ success are the parents themselves. It is far better to become educated about it, use it, figure out the settings, and learn to use them in a SMART way/What do people use Social Media FOR?Friendships, social connections, relationshipsIt is also the 1st place the go to bully, diminish, demean, put people down.Some adults use social media to inspire, post inspirational and motivational pics and quotes; others use it to criticize, pass judgement, ridicule. Some use it as a platform to post political leanings, news stories, etc.“Our GOAL is to appear more fabulous that everyone else” - often the millennial mantra.Check out this parody of social media, YouTube Link – “Lion King Social Media”“What do you WANT”Kids are “living” on Instagram and Snapchat for the most part. Some have FaceBook, but many have moved away from this (this the primary platform used by the parents, and therefore not as “cool”.Snapchat is six years old, and recently went public.Musical.ly is a very popular lip-syncing app, especially among teenage girls, which plays a 15 second video clip, and allows them to film themselves, post, and wait for feedback.Social Influencers – Mostly Millennials, who have millions of followers – these people are desirable to advertisers, who are willing to pay for product promotion, knowing that these posts get millions of views.Likes. Shares. Follows. Views. Subscribers. For many, the perception of “success” is in the numbers, and in the feedback received for posts.“WHY?”Why is everyone all over social media? Popularity. Attention.They want to be recognizedSome want fame…or moneyTo feel good about themselves and what they doTO FEEL LOVEDGoal – for parents (and teenagers) to feel less STRESS about Social Media – have more fun, get better skills, and to teach the kids HOW to use Social Media to help them to brand themselves in a POSITIVE way.When kids are driven by the motivation to be VALIDATED , or to FEEL LOVED, what happens is that they post a picture, or a video clip and wait for reactions and feedback. If nobody reacts, or if they react in an unexpected way from what was intended, the posts may become MORE outrageous, in a desperate bid to get the attention and feedback response that they are seeking.When their self worth/self image/self esteem hinge on the feedback they receive online, it’s easy to get sucked into a rabbit hole of peer pressure. This is far more dangerous and damaging than the fear of predators or stranger danger, identity theft etc. We, as parents and educators, need to give our kids the messages of positive reinforcement, validation, love, BEFORE they get to an online platform, so that their activity there does not hinge on this desire to be LOVED or validated.Apps are just “things”. Without users, they are meaningless. They are not inherently “bad” or “good”. Apps don’t CAUSE bullying, loss of friendships, relationships. Apps don’t cause loss of reputation, or increased popularity. Apps are not “inappropriate” in and of themselves.It’s the CHOICES we make. Behaviour, Values… Peer Pressure.Snapchat has a bad reputation, as the “sexting” app, or the “bullying” app. When friends shoot (sometimes embarrassing) video without other friends’ knowledge, and post or share these videos or photos, the friends that receive these posts often feel embarrassed or upset. Peer pressure can get in the way of good choices. Educators and parents are asked to remind kids that if they KNOW something is wrong, they shouldn’t be doing it. If their FRIENDS are doing something wrong, they should be “unfollowing” these friends. These are not easy decisions for teenagers to make. Parents need to get these apps too, and become at LEAST functionally literate with them. Explore the app settings, become familiar with the screens. HELP your kids set up their accounts, and look at the options under account settings.“Follow” your kids online. Become their friend, but at arm’s length. Our role as parents is to be in the background for support and safety. DON’T “Like” and “Comment” on EVERYTHING they postBe present, for safety and support, but not to “police” everything that they doHold their passwords (until age 15 or 16) DON’T use the emoji with the hearts for eyes (under any circumstances) DON’T call them “Honey” or “Sweetie” in your comments – their friends will tease themIf they go off the rails with something inappropriate, delete it ASAP. Refrain from commenting about it.Basically, stay in the background, don’t give them reasons to want to “Block” you.A reasonable expectation of privacyNone of us has any real control of what will be re-tweeted, re-posted, shared, saved etc. Content you are not ashamed of can never come back to haunt you.Best practice: USE privacy settings, but post content as IF you are public.Spend more time IRL (in real life) that online – find a balance!Example: On the last day of school, consider deleting all social media apps as an experiment. Try unplugging for a month, or for six weeks. When you log back in, and get caught up again, you’ll likely find that you really haven’t missed anything at all.“The best experiences happen when your phone is put away”Create RESPECTFUL ContentBe AWARE that future schools, coaches, recruiters, employers etc. are the ones who are checking you out the most. They really DO review the online presence of candidates/applicants before making decisions about whom they choose to represent their schools, companies, teams, etc.Become a LEADERSavvy kids are using Social Media to build themselves a strong “brand” online, and to gain a competitive edge over their peers. “What are you doing for OTHERS?” - when you share links, or re-tweet, ask yourself if you are adding value. Who is the last person you impacted positively? How?Example of a grade 12 student, who researched the Leadership of the College he was hoping to attend. He searched the web page for the Social Media apps used by the College, and followed all of them. For a few weeks, he just read and reviewed what they were tweeting and posting about, to get a feel for the values and the culture etc. After several weeks, he began commenting, sharing, re-tweeting etc. When his comments added value and relevance, the educators and leaders started to follow him back. By the time he was applying for college, he had relationships with key people at the College of his choice, and they knew who he was. Pretty impressive!It’s competitive out there. Parents understand this – Kids generally have no idea.Making MistakesKids (and adults) need to be aware that the choices they make online have very real consequences. If Social Media is used to threaten or trash others by name, sports team, company, school etc, very real consequences may result. People have been expelled/fired for such choices. Example: a student, frustrated about a superbowl game, used Twitter to threaten the coach one of the sports teams, and included the name of his school. The school expelled him. Example: Katie Rich, former write for Saturday Night Live, used Twitter on the day of President Trump’s inauguration and chose an ill-advised prediction about Barron Trump. She lost her job.SummaryKids (and adults) need to remember that “We ARE what we post” – the things we choose to post online WILL affect our reputation. ALWAYS.Employers DO Google candidates before offering positions – assume this to be true. This can be an advantage OR a disadvantage, depending on the content and information you post online. Google your own name. Now, try it with Quotation marks (“Your Name”) – How searchable are you? Teach the kids the truth about this.Posting authentic content that is respectful and adds value (using their actual name, and not an alias) can actually give them an edge. Consider the values of Character, Honesty, Integrity, Values, Respect in everything that you post.Listen more, post less. Stay relevant. Add value. Keep content respectful. Keeping these values and best practices in mind will help kids build confidence, strengths and skills, and increase their self-awareness. Stress and anxiety will go away, along with the need to be validated. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download