Technology&SocialMediaInformationforparents

CENTRALUNIFIEDSCHOOLDISTRICT

DIDYOUKNOW?• 95%ofteens(13-17)usetheInternet?• 76%ofteensuseInstagram?• 75%ofteensuseSnapchat?• 66%ofteensuseFacebook?• 47%ofteensuseTwitter?• 91%ofteensusetheirtexttoolontheirmobilephones?• 40%ofteensusemessagingappslikeKik,WhatsApporLineonasmartphone?• Theaverageteenhasapproximately300friendsonInstagramorFacebookand79

followersonTwitter?• AmongTwitterusersaged12-17,64%madetheirtweetspublic?• 19%ofteenusershavepostedthingstheyregret,includingphotos,videos,status

updates,tweets,orcomments?• Only18%ofyoungadultsclaimtheyarecomfortablewithwhattheirfriendspostabout

themonline,and32%saythattheinformationaboutthemonlineiswhattheychooseforthepublictosee? **InfofromDepartmentofHomelandSecurity&NORCattheUniversityofChicago

Collegeslookatsocialmediaprofiles

10 students accepted to Harvard lose their admission over offensive social media posts.

§ At least 10 students who were accepted to Harvard University’s incoming Class of 2021had their acceptances rescinded for sharing memes that were either sexually explicit orracially insensitive.

§http://college.usatoday.com/2017/06/05/at-least-10-who-got-into-harvard-lose-admission-over-offensive-memes/

Student-athleteslosescholarships

Vaultapps

Vault apps (aka Ghost or Hidden apps) look andfunction like a normal app (like a calculator app), butonce you enter a passcode inside the app, you unlockthe true purpose of the app: typically to storeinappropriate content. Teens and tweens have usedthese apps to hide sexting, nude photos and othercontent.https://useboomerang.com/2016/09/13/vault-apps-2/

https://youtu.be/A-lED406m60

SCHOOLTHREATS(CriminalThreats)

Any threat against another person,group or school, whether made onschool property or on social media,has dire consequences.

Students throughout Fresno Countywho have made threats on schoolproperty or on social media havebeen expelled and incarcerated. Theyhave a permanent misdemeanor orfelony on their records.

PENALCODESection422A criminal threat is when a person specificallythreatens to kill or inflict great bodily injuryeither verbally, electronically, or in writing andthe victim experiences sustained fear for theirsafety or for the safety of their immediatefamily.

Prosecutors may file it as either amisdemeanor or a felony. If you are convictedof the misdemeanor, you face up to one yearin a county jail. If you are convicted of thefelony, you face up to four years in theCalifornia state prison. Using a dangerous ordeadly weapon increases your sentence byone year.

FRESNOCOUNTYPSA

TheFresnoPoliceDepartment,CentralUnifiedandFresnoUnifiedpartneredonthisPSAasaresultofstudentsmaking

socialmediathreatsagainstschools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28XRt_

uPhJU

BEAWAREOFWHATYOURKIDSPOSTONLINEUnderstand the cyber risks kids face when using social media. Talk to your kids about the followingrisks:

1. What they are posting: Talk to your kids about the info they post online. Many of them don’tunderstand the damage they could do to their reputation or future prospects with unkind or angryposts, and compromising photos or videos. There is no ”delete” button on the internet becauseeven if something is deleted, chances are someone still saw it. Ensure your kids are NOT sharing orposting:

• Sensitive information: Anything that can help a person steal your child’s identity or find them suchas their/your full name, Social Security number, address, birthdate, phone number, or place of birth.

• Compromising content: This includes photos or status updates that may damage your child’sreputation or future prospects.

• Unkind or angry content: This includes anything malicious directed at themselves, another person,an institution, as well as opinions that are probably better left unshared.

• Location: Many social media platforms have location tracking, allowing your teens to check in andbroadcast their locations, or automatically adding their location to photos and posts.

BEAWAREOFWHATYOURKIDSPOSTONLINE2. Who they are connecting with: Social media allows kids to connect with their friends, but there is also

a risk of connecting with someone they do not know or who is only pretending to be a kid.

3. What level of privacy they are using: Many social media platforms have privacy settings that allowusers to limit who sees their content. There are also settings for location tracking and geo-tagging ofphotos or statuses.

4. Educate your kids about digital citizenship by educating yourself: Learn about the latest social mediaand technological changes, apps, and trends. Your kids are probably 5 steps ahead of you!

SIMPLETIPSFORPARENTS1. Talk to your children. Help your children understand the importance of owning their digital lives and only

sharing things that will not put them in danger, negatively affect their future, or harm others.

2. Emphasize the concept of credibility to teens: not everything they see on the internet is true and peopleon the internet may not be who they appear to be.

3. Watch for changes in behavior. If your child suddenly avoids the computer/phone/tablet, it may be a signthey’re being bullied or stalked online.

4. Review security settings and privacy policies for the social media sites kids frequent. These settings arefrequently updated so check back regularly.

5. Consider “following” your children on social media. Some parents have a rule that in order for theirchildren to have social media accounts, the parents are allowed to follow them. Unfortunately, someteens find ways around it by creating other fake accounts and hiding them in vault/ghost apps.

POSSIBLESOLUTIONSAPPLEPHONES• ForfamilieswithiPhones,parentscanscreenappsbeforetheyaredownloadedtotheir

children’siPhoneswithafeaturecalledAsktoBuy.• ByturningonAsktoBuy,wheneverachildwantstodownloadanapp(whetherfreeor

paid),itsendsarequesttotheparent’siPhone,andtheparentcanthenapproveordenythedownload.Thesteps,whichareavailableonApple’swebsite: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201089, involvesettingupeachiPhonewithFamilySharingandthenenablingAsktoBuyforthechild’siPhone.

ANDROIDPHONES• ForfamilieswithAndroiddevices,parentscanenableparentalcontrols

https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/1075738?hl=en insideGooglePlay’sappstoretoallowchildrentodownloadappsonlyatacertainmaturitylevel.Forstrictercontrols,parentscandownloadanappcalled AppLockhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.domobile.applock&hl=en onthechild’sdeviceandlockdownanyappthattheysuspecttobeavaultappwithaPINcode.

RESOURCES

http://www.connectsafely.org/

http://www.ncpc.org/topics/internet-safety

https://staysafeonline.org/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

Parental-controlappsforsmartphonescanalsohelpkidsunderstandthevalueoflimitsinadigitalworldwhilealsopreventingthemfromaccessingadultcontentortextingwithstrangers.https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-parental-control-apps,review-2258.htmlhttp://www.phonesheriff.com/parental.htmlhttp://www.toptenreviews.com/software/privacy/best-cell-phone-parental-control-software/**InfoandsourcesfromtheDepartmentofHomelandSecurity