Chelmsford Diocese: Youth Workers

Working with young people in a digital age: opportunities & risks

Dr Bex LewisSenior Lecturer in Digital Marketing, Manchester Metropolitan University

Director, Digital Fingerprint

Tweet @drbexl 106/06/17

http://bit.ly/chelms-yw

Today

1) The Digital Environment

2) Knowing your values

3) Identifying vulnerable users

4) Building resilience

5) Using social media as a youth worker

06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 2

Published by Lion HudsonFebruary 2014

*Italian (Nov 2015)*Chinese (awaiting notification)

http://j.mp/RCIDAge Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

DigitalFingerprint

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

Understand!

“If we want resilient kids we need to understand what young people’s experiences are online, listen to their concerns, and intervene with their best interests in mind.”Jane Tallim, Co-Executive Director, MediaSmarts, Canada, January 2015 http://mediasmarts.ca/research-policy/young-canadians-wired-world-phase-iii-trends-recommendations

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

The Digital Environment

06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 7

06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 8

Is it the end of the

world as we know it?

https://twitter.com/hanelly/status/405754162555944960/photo/1

Tweet @drbexl 10

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/12103150/Rembrandt-The-Night-Watch-The-real-story-behind-the-kids-on-phones-photo.html

06/06/17

Tweet @drbexl 1104/03/17

The Myth of the Digital

Native

Image Credit: StockfreshRead more: http://drbexl.co.uk/2014/02/11/digitalparenting-the-myth-of-the-digital-native-sid2014

https://www.verywell.com/social-media-contract-for-tweens-and-parents-3288520

Tweet @drbexl 14

04/03/17https://www.statista.com/chart/5194/active-users-of-social-networks-and-messaging-services/

Tweet @drbexl 1506/06/17

Tweet @drbexl 1606/06/17Images via https://www.facebook.com/anglicanmemes/

Tweet @drbexl 17

06/06/17https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d5/20/c2/d520c2f7dfea2afa359221fd4c59c1e8.jpg

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

@vahva“.. People find it easy and more comfortable to ask questions about faith in a private space online… people on social media are directly contactable in a way that has not previously been so easy; paradoxically there is a distance offered by the online environment akin to the screen in the confessional box” (p18)

06/06/17

Pokemon?

https://www.illustratedchildrensministry.com/2016/church-pokestop-pokeman-go/http://drbexl.co.uk/tag/pokemon/

06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 19

Knowing Your Values

06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 20

I’m a passionate believer that we need to be ‘incarnational’ in the digital spaces, whether those are

specifically ‘Christian’ spaces or not, but that we need to understand how

to be ‘resident’ in those spaces, rather than merely ‘visiting’ to do a

‘bit of reaching out’.http://www.threadsuk.com/redeeming-culture-in-a-digital-age

Bex Lewis, May 2014

06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 21

Tweet @drbexl 2204/03/17

Carl Medearis

Relax, enjoy your friends. Enjoy their company along with the company of Jesus. Point him out, freely, without fear or intimidation. You’re not responsible to sell him to them. You’re simply saying what you’ve seen. You're not the judge. You’re the witness.

06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 23

Social Media or Society?

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

“If we don’t like what social media is presenting us [with], we should look at society instead, not just the tool they communicate with.”

Caroline Criado-Perez, 2013

Source: http://www.interhacktives.com/2013/12/04/5th-hackney-debate-social-media-blessing-curse/

A good [wo]man brings good things out of the good stored up in his/her heart, and an evil [wo]man brings evil things out of

the evil stored up in his/her heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Luke 6:45 (New International Version [edited])

04/03/17 Tweet @drbexl 25

[If we are…] means by which God communicates and reveals himself through his Spirit, then our blog posts, status updates, tweets, artistic images, and online comments should be products of a life transformed by Christ and indwelled by his Spirit. As restored image bearers, our online presence and activity should image the Triune God.

Byers, A. Theomedia(2013, 196)

04/03/17 Tweet @drbexl 26

04/03/17http://biblia.com/verseoftheday/image/Ga5.22-23

Tweet @drbexl 27

24/7 Values? What do you stand FOR?

• Authentic – be a consistent ‘you’

• Transparent – be honest, where’s the source?

• Self-aware – note your ‘tone of voice’

• Integrity – own your own content

• Self-control – be aware of consequences

• Patience – hold the trigger finger before send

• Non-manipulative – ‘love Jesus’ = send this! No!

• Kindness – encourage others

04/03/17 Tweet @drbexl 28

Identifying Vulnerable Users

06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 29

Vulnerable children and young people are not a self-contained or static group. Any child/young person may be vulnerable at some time depending on any one, or a combination of, the risks or challenging life events they face and their resilience

(Cross et al, 2009, p.9)http://www.cwrc.ac.uk/projects/documents/OnlinevulnerabilityReporttoDFE-Final-October2011.pdf

See also: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/44222 and https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/child-abuse-and-neglect/online-abuse/who-is-affected/

06/06/17Photo: Unsplash

Tweet @drbexl 30

Who sees this?

1. God2. Parents3. ‘Kids’4. Newspaper5. Enemy

Image Credit: Stockfresh

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

Stranger Danger06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 32

http://www.dayprogramme.org/

Addiction?

06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 33

SexualisedImagery

06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 34

The Bullied

The Bully

The Bystander

Image Source: Stockfresh

See more: http://www.slideshare.net/drbexl/bullying-for-yc14 and http://emdp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Safe_from_Bullying-Youth_Activities.pdf

Adoption & Fostering

“Users need to be particularly careful about the information that is shared, whether by themselves, or by their friends, and all users need to look out for clever tricks, such as ‘viral’ missing person posts, whether for partners, or for children. Some are a hoax, others are for people in hiding or under police protection, and others are for children who have been adopted because of the risk of significant harm. If you are even thinking of sharing, check with police or Interpol records, but in any case, notify the police, so that they have the opportunity to offer safeguarding protection if required.”Chapman, K. (2015), ‘Be careful about “missing person” posts’, Google+. Retrieved from: https://plus.google.com/+KimberlyChapman/posts/gn8ZrgGnMXK, and Barefoot Social Work (2015), ‘The Dangers of Social Media for 'Missing' Children’. Retrieved from: http://barefootsocialwork.weebly.com/blog/the-dangers-of-social-media-for-missing-children

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl06/06/17

Developing Resilience

06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 37

Responsibility?

“Social media companies have a responsibility to protect people who use their technology, and we want to hear what more can be done to keep children and young people safe from online threats.This Government is determined to make Britain the safest country in the world for young people to be online, and to make sure that everyone – including the public sector, technology firms, parents and children themselves – is playing their part.”Karen Bradey MP, Government Internet Safety Strategy, April 2017http://drbexl.co.uk/2017/04/20/media-discussing-responsibility-social-media-companies-re-safer-internet-ucbmedia/

Increased time spent online will most likely increase exposure to negative experiences – but also the positive opportunities. Nancy Willard, a cyberbullying expert, calls for us to work on the “understanding that the vast majority of young people want to make good choices, do not want to be harmed, and do not want to see their friends or others harmed”. We can’t control their whole environment, online or offline, so parents need to give their children the capability to deal with problems as they come across them.

Raising Children in a Digital Age, p.63

06/06/17

BBC: Be Smart

“We’re doing this because all the research tells us that children and young people respond best to their peers. Whether they’re under pressure to take part in a dangerous prank, or to victimise someone, or whether they’re an online bully themselves, stories told by other young people are most likely to resonate and to help them cope, or change their behaviour.”Andrew Tomlinson, Executive Producer, Media Literacy, BBC Learning http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/entries/f1f50247-4902-4998-bf58-3e2d3c007587

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl06/06/17

Sexting

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

DigitalFingerprint

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/14_plus/need-advice/selfies-and-sexting/ #youthwork

DISCUSS THE ISSUES…

06/66/17 Tweet @drbexl 42

DigitalFingerprint

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

DigitalFingerprint

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

Tweet @drbexl 45

06/06/17http://drbexl.co.uk/2017/05/07/media-contribution-re-teenagers-mental-health-churchtimes/

Know when to…

06/06/17Image sources: Stockfresh

Tweet @drbexl 46

06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 47

Using social media as a youth leader

06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 48

06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 49

06/06/17https://www.humak.fi/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/humak-verkko-timonen-Using-Social-Media-in-Youth-Work.pdf

Tweet @drbexl 50

Permissions/Consent

• Parent’s permission before contact

• Consent for use of photographs

• Catchall statement for registration forms – assumes opt-in unless opt-out.

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

DigitalFingerprint

Language

• Use clear, unambiguous language, avoiding abbreviations that can be mis-interpreted.

• Take care with sign-offsDr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

DigitalFingerprint

Accountability

• Leaders/Young People develop agreed ‘Internet Guidelines’

• Line manager // access to social media accounts

• Second leader ‘in the room’

• Save messages/disclosures for use later if required.

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

DigitalFingerprint

Confidentiality

• Be prepared for ‘deeper’ disclosures

• Be clear on how much advice/source you can give.

• Add a disclaimer on how you might need to share their information.

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

DigitalFingerprint

Boundaries

•Work-specific device?

•Don’t keep images of young people on personal devices

•Define curfews

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

DigitalFingerprint

What do others do?

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

DigitalFingerprint

http://www.thefa.com/-/media/files/thefaportal/governance-docs/safeguarding/raising-awareness/communicating-responsibly-with-young-leaders-coaches-and-referees-u18.ashx

What do others do?

Dr Bex Lewis

@drbexl

DigitalFingerprint

http://www.thefa.com/-/media/files/thefaportal/governance-docs/safeguarding/raising-awareness/communicating-responsibly-with-young-leaders-coaches-and-referees-u18.ashx

• http://www.youthworkresource.com/social-networking-child-protection/

• http://www.methodist.org.uk/media/1465950/Social-Media-Guidelines-for-workers.pdf

• http://j.mp/1okEq4f• http://j.mp/1lSUVom• https://www.churchofengland.org/media/37378/protectingall

godschildren.pdf• http://www.louthmethodist.org.uk/Louth%20Methodist%20C

hurch%20and%20Circuit%20Photographics%20Policy%20final.pdf

HTTP://BIT.LY/CHELMS-YW

Q&A

06/06/17 Tweet @drbexl 58