SOCIAL MEDIA Risks and Tips
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Summary General Advice p.5 Exploring Social Networks: Snapchat p.6 Instagram p.8 Whatsapp p.10 Youtube p.12 And the others‌‌ p.14
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Adolescence,
EDITORIAL
All parents know this period in time when anything they say to their children goes in one ear and out the other. According to socialogist C. Balleys, « this does not mean that the parental opinion is completely ignored or denigrated, but that it is moved to the background, especially regarding social and cultural practices »*. Since the dawn of time, teenagers in search for a self identity have attempted to detach themselves from the family identity to find new points of reference with celebrities from the sports or music industries, as well as people who call themselves online « influencers » , youtubers and so forth. Nowadays, teenagers almost never see each other in cafes, pubs or cinemas. They only use their smartphones or tablets to meet up or chat through social media. They have elaborated their own vocabulary and internet offers the possibility to discover a multitude of groups of people who think like them and look like them. It is this sense of belonging that will enable them to construct and ensure a healthy development.
But is this risk-free ?
Acces to new technologies inevitably influences teenagers’ behaviour, notably through their perception of what relations to others are. It isn’t rare to find teenagers sitting next to each other talking only through their smartphones or keeping their eyes locked on the screen without saying a word to one another for hours. Their primary communication mode is no longer oral. Force of attraction of social media and adherence to certain affinity groups can also contribute to a teenager’s alienation from the family circle, thus jeopardising the parent-child relationship. We can also note a certain desinhibition of teenagers online (sharing intimate and/or pornographic photos, hateful comments, etc.) linked to their often false apprehension of a link between virtuality and reality and the absence of direct confrontation. A teenager can then construct themself in a world that does not give them the correct points of reference, virtuality overriding reality. Due to this, teenagers who are in need of rules and limits are becoming strangers to frustration and bans. Last but not least, new addictions are numerous and parents are having more and more difficulty dealing with these situations by themselves.
To help you
Through this booklet, we hope to provide you with useful tips to accompany you and your child through internet: a space which belongs to them yet that they share with the wole world. This booklet will attempt to give an overview of misuses and dangers which can be easily avoided, as well as teach you a thing or two about their favourite apps which will enable you to open up a discussion... because don’t forget, the most important tool is talking ! *Claire Balleys, « Comment les adolescents construisent leur identité avec YouTube et les médias sociaux », Nectart 2018/1 (N° 6), p. 124-133. (translated to English by Helen Gougenot)
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The Era of Social Networks There are many advantages to social networks, but like all apps in the digital era, there are also dangers and hazards to be aware of. The teens and children using these apps are younger every year. Facebook set the trend and many now follow in its footsteps : Instagram, Snapchat, Whatsapp, Youtube... to name a few of the most popular of them. Their popularity has largely outdone Facebook’s, which is now considered to be a social network for older people.
It is important for us adults to stay weary. For the vast majority of them, these social networks are used by teenagers. They might be using them to follow an internet celebrity, « influencer » who shares ideas and trends on Instagram or a Youtuber.
U S E O F S O CI AL M E D I A ACCO R D I N G T O AGE GR O U P I N FR AN CE ( 2 0 1 7 )
84%
96%
82%
58%
35%
13%
12 TO 17 18 TO 24 25 TO 39 40 TO 59 60 TO 69 70 Y/O Y/O Y/O Y/O Y/O Y/O AN D AB O VE Source: ARCEP, Conseil Général de l’Economie, de l’industrie, de l’Energie et des Technologies; Agence du numérique: CREDOC Complementary information: France, CREDOC; June 2017; 2209 people interrogated; 12 years and above, Metropolitan France
ADVICE Choose a username containing no personal information: No age, first name, last name, town, area, etc. Choose a secured password containing: Numbers, small and capital letters, symbols ( @ # {~) 4
General Advice
- « # » or Hshtags are key words or short sentences which, associated to this symbol will reference the photo or post to others that might be similar. In doing so, the post reaches more people on the social network as more attention is drawn to it. To be used with caution!
- The « @ » allows one to identify another person. By using the symbol followed by a username could mean that a certain post is addressed to or is about a certain user. - Geolocalisation is often activated by default on these apps. Remember to deactivate it to keep your precise geographic location private!
The best way to find out more about how a certain app functions is to directly ask your children. They are often more than happy to explain their favourite tools to their parents. In other words, asking them questions about Snapchat, Instagram (or any other app they might be using!) is not only a great way to find out more about the app in itself but also about how your children interact with them. Kepp in mind that this can vary greatly from one person to another, which is why we encourage to to have an open dialogue with them regarding that matter.
An open discussion is key!
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Snapchat Snapchat in numbers* 173 million active users every day 8 million of which French 25% of daily users update their story every day Average time allocated per day: 30 min 71% of snapchat users are less than 25 years old.
Snapchat is the most popular app amongst youngsters. It allows one to send snaps, which are photos or videos which will only appear for a few seconds (or an unlimited amount of time with the latest version). Users can also create stories, which are a series of photos and/or videos which will be available for 24 hours.
Risks ⚠ Drawing attention from malevolent users: people from all over the world can send a friend request to your child or view any public stories they have contributed to. ⚠ Keep an eye on the information posted by your child, especially personal information: age, name, phone number, etc. ⚠ Be extra cautious when it comes to sharing location (this can be done by using filters on photos or videos or by activating the map mode. This allows one to locate every contact who has done so: a character will appear on the screen and share information it may have retrieved from other apps (this avatar may be travelling, on the road, or listening to music). The precision in this mode is quite impressive. ⚠ Even if your child doesn’t have a Snapchat account, this doesn’t necessarily guarantee they they do not appear on social media through a friend’s account.
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Advice ✌ Secure your child’s account: a public account means that anyone can add your child as a friend or contact them whereas if the account is secure, they must accept or decline any friend request before being contacted. ✌ Make sure your child is in ghost mode, meaning that their location won’t be shared with other users. ✌ Social media is reserved for children over the age of 13 and there are many legal reasons behind this decision. It is important that you respect this minimum age. ✌ Pornography is omnipresent on all social media, one simply needs to know where to look for it. ✌ Scams, dishonest requests and illegal contests are extremely frequent and users organising them might be sly enough to manipulate or go after your child. Be cautious and speak about this regularly, as well as what your child gets up to on social media.
* Source: blogdumoderateur.com, based on numbers from 2017
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Instagram What is it for?
Instagram in numbers* 800 million users 4,2 billion likes every day
Instagram is a photo and video sharing app especially popular amongst youngsters. Most of them will use it to capture particular moments, but also to chat with amusing footage (with filters, comments, captions, emojis, hashtags and links to other posts). They can also add stories (sequences of photos and or videos to illustrate their day).
95 million photos and videos posted every day Average time allocated daily by under 25 year olds: 32 min.
Risks ⚠ Drawing attention from malevolent users: people from all over the world can send a friend request to your child or view any public stories they have contributed to. ⚠ Keep an eye on the content posted by your child: some people in the post might not have given their authorisation (risks of cyberbullying, teasing, etc.). ⚠ Scams through your account: your child could send personal information or bank details to answer a tempting post offering « FREE IPHONES! ».
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Advice ✌Secure your child’s account: a public account means that anyone can add your child as a friend or contact them whereas if the account is secure, they must accept or decline any friend request before saring their photos (messaging will still be possible). ✌ Make sure the celebrity accounts that your child follows are official certified accounts and not fakes. You will recognise them thanks to the blue tick next to the username on the page.
* Source: blogdumoderateur.com, based on numbers from 2017
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Whatsapp WhatsApp in numbers* 1 billion users per day 4,2 million of which in France 55 billion messages posted every day 4,5 billion photos and 1 billion videos shared every day
WhatsApp is an enriched instant messaging app. It is also very useful for group chats, sharing videos, photos au audio clips. It is a very popuar amongst youngsters and anyone who has contacts abroad. Just as all the other apps presented here, it uses internet, and not the telephone network!
Risks ⚠ Be careful of the automatic download option. Even though this is a very handy option, it exposes your children to unexpected dangers, such as age inappropriate content or viruses in disguise. ⚠ WhatsApp is an app that can be twisted and used for other purposes, notably cyberbullying. Group chats can very easily be used in a class to exclude a person and or make fun of them behind their back. ⚠ Just like any other app that uses internet, your actions on it will leave footprints in the servers which can then be used as evidence in court of law. Nobody is anonymous on internet.
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Advice ✌ Have a look at the confidentiality settings on the app. You can define who can see your profile picture, who can have access to your status (mood), who can see your live location, but also who you have blocked. You can also configure settings regarding confirmation of sent/read messages ✌ It is important that keep an eye out for any changes in your child’s behaviour. A drop in school marks for example, a change in appetite, general apathy (and many more) could be a sign that your child is feeling unwell and might be suffering from involvement in a (cyber)bullying situation. ✌ Group chats in which children discuss amongst themselves, with friends or classmates for example, very easily become a space from which a child can be excluded. This could alert you on a potential bullying situation (for your child or somebody else).
⚠ WARNING: Exchanges are never really secure. It is possible that some data may be intercepted by hackers when logging in through a public wifi connection. Any shared personal information, photos, videos or geographic location could then be open to the world. * Source: blogdumoderateur.com - mediametrie.fr - arobasenet.com : based on numbers from 2016 and 2017
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YouTube in numbers* 37,5 million monthly French users 8 out of 10 French people between 16 and 24 visit Youtube daily Average time allocated per day to Youtube: 1 hour 2 out of 3 users access Youtube through their smartphone
Youtube is an online platform for sharing and viewing videos. It allows one to host one’s videos but also to views others. It is possible to communicate through the comment space of the videos or give one’s opinion by clicking the blue thumbs up or red thumbs down icons. YouTube is the second most visited site in the world, after Google.
Risks ⚠Risks linked to simply viewing videos on Youtube: - Videos with sexual and/or violent content: it is very easy to access inappropriate content on Youtube by researching key words that can sometimes seem harmless. - Certain videos and users on Youtube may encourage children to adopt dangerous and/or violent behaviour – for themselves or others. - Even though Youtube has an age restriction on reported videos, the website isn’t infallible and many videos do slip through.
* Source: blogdumoderateur.com, based on numbers from 2017
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⚠ Risks linked to creating a Yooutube channel: - Negative comments and insults: every Youtube channel is subject to insults and sometimes even cyberbullying through the comment section. It is important to make sure that your children aren’t too exposed. Creating and producing videos isn’t easy, criticism is. - An endangered e-reputation: anything posted on internet stays there forever. Furthermore, with voice and face often exposed on Youtube, children become much more easily recognisable. Personal information is sometimes given inadvertently in videos and can then become public. Any public video posted on Youtube can be viewed by any internet user in the world
Advice ✌ Make sure your chid has entered the correct age for their Youtube account. You can watch the videos they make, and why not even join in and help! ✌ If you watch Youtube channels or videos and that you are sure of how appropriate the content is, you can watch these with your child. ✌ Don’t hesitate to talk to your child about what they watch on Youtube. Maybe you might even find it interesting! ✌ Children aren’t always conscious of the effects of their words and actions. Through the sensation of anonymity that internet offers, some children might feel free to do or say things they would not dare think of in physical reality. ✌It can sometimes be difficult to talk about a bad encounter or hurtful messages received online. Make sure you have an open discussion space for your child to talk about their day, what they found interesting in school or online – this can be a good way for you to check in to make sure everything’s alright, even though you’re not asking the same question every day, and not so directly.
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And other Social Networks? Twitter
allows one to send free, brief messages called tweets (online, through messaging services or text messages). This app enables one, for example, to get in touch with celebrities. Just like Instagram, there are many fake profiles that try to scam other users. There is also a very large amount of pornographic content with easy access. Some topics can be shocking, and attached images too. This app is very popular amongst journalists, politicians, celebrities as well as anyone following them.
Discord is a free software conceived for
gaming communities that allows them to communicate via audio or written conversations – friends and strangers alike. Discord is very similar to Teamspeak or Mumble which serve similar interests. It is the legitimate replacement for Skype amongst gamers.
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allows its users to post photos, videos, files and documents, exchange messages, join and/or create groups and use a variety of other apps. It is frequently used to play games which require a Facebook account, notably to share and compare scores with online friends. In the past few years, Facebook has been set aside by children and teens alike who tend to prefere Snapchat, Instagram and Whatsapp.
Musical.ly
was designed to create videos, message other users and share live content. This app is very similar to Instagram but still retains certain exclusivities such as « lipsync » which synchronises lip movements with lyrics of songs playing as background music. Make sure this account is set to private!
Skype is a software that allows users to make
audio or video calls, and share screens. Discord is its direct competitor but Skype doesn’t enable online vocal and written servers
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