SOME TIPS ON SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING BY KEITH DELTANO

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Use technology to fight technology

Go to these websites to download filters and tools to help you monitor the use of your student's social networks. These tools will help prevent inappropriate messages / images from being sent or received. The tools below will be called "all-in-one" as they monitor your student's use of social networks for you and inform you via e-mail alerts. You do not have to individually check your Facebook accounts, email, Twitter, text messages, and so on. The following sites do it all for you (at various levels). You will not even have to physically have your student's tablet or phone. The filters mentioned below will create a "control board" in your personal computer that will allow you to control their use remotely: 

www.uknowkids.com - A one-stop service that monitors almost all social networking platforms and informs you via instant emails. This provides a dashboard that allows you to monitor almost everything your student does online. 

www.netnanny.com - Another all-in-one service that helps parents monitor online behaviors. This is one of the most powerful Internet filters on the market.

www.trucare.com - Monitors social networks and informs you just like the previous sites; however, does not cover all platforms.

The previous sites have some of the best reputations in the industry. There are many more. Just search Google for social network monitoring tools for parents.

The following sites do not monitor social networks, but they are some of the best sites to get help if your student is being harassed or stalked online: 

www.haltabusektd.org - Works with children and teenagers who are suffering online harassment.

www.cyberangles.org - Volunteers working to locate online stalkers.

www.wiredsafety.com - Report cyber abuse; if the situation involves some kind of physical or life threat, parents should inform the local police before Wired Safety gets involved.

Parenting Strategies  

Have "the conversation" ... This will be about the dangers of social networks. It is important that your children understand that they can cause serious harm to their own lives through the misuse of social networks. If you do not tell them, who will? Here are the points you should mention in this brief but intense conversation: 

1. What you post is permanent, you cannot retrieve it, and it will be there forever. If you send an inappropriate image of yourself on Twitter, you will have to deal with the existence of the image for the rest of your life. If you make an inappropriate comment and send it on social networks, you will have to deal with the consequences for a long time.
   
   
2. Inappropriate behavior in social networks is prosecutable. You can be suspended from school and even charged with a crime. If you are convicted of cyberbullying, you will be charged with a misdemeanor that will be in your juvenile record until you are eighteen. Employers and universities check the background of their candidates. You may not get a job because of something you posted on lnstagram. You may not get a college scholarship because you tweeted a racist or threatening comment. Your future could change drastically when you press the button to send or post, please be careful.
3. You can cause a lot of pain with a single message full of hatred. Do you want to be responsible for hurting someone else? 

Limit the platforms

If allowed to have their own devices, students will want to be on all platforms: Twitter, text messaging, YouTube, Facebook, lnstagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, ask.fm and so on. Unless you use one of the most expensive social media monitoring tools, it would be very difficult to monitor everything. And even if you use the best monitoring tool there is, there are none that can control everything because they are always coming out new social networking platforms. What to do? Limit your children to two platforms, plus email, that’s it. Of everything that exists, tell your student they can only sign up to two social networking sites and have an email. You will have less to monitor and your student will be less exposed. There are three platforms I recommend you completely prohibit your children from using: ask.fm, KiK and Yik Yak. Ask.fm has been involved in many suicide cases that have occurred as a result of cyber bullying. It has NO monitoring options, allows you to create anonymous accounts and will not work with any of the social network monitoring tools. Kik and Yik Yak also allow you to create anonymous accounts and have been linked to suicides and kidnappings. These three sites do not have any "control and balancing mechanisms" that parents can use to protect their children. My daughter just uses lnstagram ... that's all. I do not have to spend time monitoring everything because she is not using everything. She does not use everything because we limit her access. We limit access because we are their parents. Remember, you bought the phone / tablet / computer for your student. You have the right to monitor and remove it immediately if this privilege is abused.

Sign a contract with your student

It is important for your student to understand that access to social networks is a privilege and that you have the authority to remove your phone or limit your access to the platforms. Your student has to understand what is and is not appropriate behavior in social networks. What you are allowing them to do online has to be defined. A great way to do this is by using a signed contract. Signing a contract also gives you another opportunity to talk about social networking with your student. You can find a contract for the use of social networks at www.truecare.com.

You can find more parenting strategies in the blog section at www.DontBullyOnline.com.

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On Nov 29, 2018, at 10:11 AM, Northshore School District <communications@nsd.org> wrote:

Dear Northshore Families,

The continued increase in technology and social media sites has presented a growing number of risks for those who use them, including our students. Over the past two years, elementary and secondary school administrators and school resource officers have investigated concerns about inappropriate behaviors on social media, including behaviors of a sexual nature.

One survey indicated that more than half of tweens (ages 8-12) own cell phones, and nearly a third of teens admitted to sending inappropriate photos via text.

We are asking you to partner with us to keep our students safe while online. The following tips were gathered from the Bothell Police, our Safety and Security Department and numerous online resources. Please talk to your student about these guidelines for staying safe on all devices. 

•    Keep your accounts private and never share login information.
•    If you are contacted by a stranger, friend or adult requesting personal information, inappropriate photos or to meet, contact your local authorities immediately.
•    Never send or request inappropriate or sexual images of yourself or anyone else. The transmission of nude or sexually explicit images is illegal. Report it.
•    Never respond to a message or request sent by a stranger.
•    If someone requests such images, report that person to a trusted adult at home or at school who can then call local authorities. A trusted adult at school may be the teacher, counselor, principal/assistant principal or the school resource officer. They are trained to respond and take steps to keep the student safe.

You can also call school administrators to discuss a concern, or use our SafeSchools reporting tool where you can choose to report a concern and give your contact information or remain anonymous.

Resources for parents:

Secret apps that are geared toward hiding digital interactions from parents
10 apps every parent should know about: https://abc13.co/2zsNy4s

Tools to stay informed of your student’s habits and control what they have access to – if you so choose.

Best parental control apps for your phone: http://bit.ly/2Q2UJL2

How to protect your kids from hidden smartphone dangers: https://nbcnews.to/2P7ONv1

Additional age-appropriate tips on using devices safely can be found at:

Cell phone and online safety tips: http://bit.ly/2AGyJez

Thank you,
Henry Simon
Director, Safety and Security
Northshore School District | 3330 Monte Villa Parkway, Bothell, WA 98021 | 425-408-6000

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Digital Safety - Texas School Safety Center

Although the internet serves as a valuable learning tool, youth should be educated by both parents and teachers regarding safe internet practices. With over 90% of teenagers engaging in online use, the internet serves as a dominant medium of information gathering and sharing for the vast majority of youth.¹ Social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, strongly affect the lives of youth. Additionally, with cell phone ownership at over 75% for teens, the manner in which youth communicate with peers has vastly changed in the last decade.¹ The ease of internet accessibility for youth lends itself to a continuous online presence, thus potential for subsequent victimization by adults and other peers. Although research suggests incidents of online youth victimization impact a small portion of the population, these dangers still exist and should be addressed.² Young people often disclose personal contact information on social media profiles, such as full names, facial pictures, and hometown and e-mail addresses.

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