25-01-2013, 02:43 PM
Extension Offers Social Networking Seminar
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With more than 93 percent of American teens online, nearly every teenager in the U.S. has access to and actively participates in online social networking.
That includes sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, according to Amanda Lenhart and Mary Madden, researchers for the Pew Internet and American Life Project.
These teens keep in touch with friends they see frequently and friends they rarely get to see in person. They enjoy activities such as “poking,” writing on each others’ “walls” and “tagging” each other in pictures. Online social networks make them feel like they are part of a group and provide an outlet for creative expression.
However, online social networks have potential downsides. The same 93 percent of American teenagers may not realize they are also in danger of making private information very public, providing inappropriate information for prospective colleges or employers, and/or engaging in sexually inappropriate behaviors by posting photos, videos and messages. To date, around 20 percent of U.S. teens have sent sexually suggestive material on the Internet or via text messaging, as reported by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.
Many teens and adults don’t understand the implications of online social networking. They believe that the information they post on their social networking sites is for their “friends’” eyes only. In reality, there is no privacy on the Internet. The Internet is a public entity, and if teens post something, they are giving that information to the world.
For these reasons, parents should talk to their teens about their social networking activity. Discuss the benefits and challenges. This should not be a one-time conversation. Parents should find out with whom their teens are communicating. If the child is under 18, parents have the right to ask to see their teen’s social networking site. Parents also should remember this is not an invasion of privacy if strangers can see it. Caregivers should set expectations for their teen’s site and discuss the message the teen’s site would send to future educational institutions, employers, college roommates and other entities who might be viewing it.
The North Dakota State University Extension Service has developed a seminar for parents and caregivers titled “Wanna Be My Friend: The Ins and Outs of Online Social Networking.” The “Wanna Be My Friend” seminar strives to build awareness of both the risks and the rewards of online social networking, to demonstrate how teens use these sites and to foster dialogue among parents/caregivers and young people on the use of social networking online. This short seminar will be presented at 7 p.m. July 26 at the Parent Awareness/Prevention Center meeting in the Thompson Community Room of the Jamestown Middle School.