Safe Social Media Use: Speaker Ben Tracy Shares Insights

On November 10, motivational speaker Ben Tracy visited R-MA to offer insights about a topic central to the lives of nearly every young person today: social media.

Speaking first with Middle School students, then the Upper School, and later parents (both virtually and in person), he re-lived “the worst day of [his] life so far.”

In 2017, on his first day on the job as an aid to then-Governor of Illinois Bruce Rauner, he was fired when staff came upon offensive social media posts he had created during high school and college. While the posts were from several years prior, they were not sentiments that the Governor’s administration could be associated with. The story was picked up and circulated in national media, even landing his face on the cover of the Chicago Sun Times.

Recognizing the magnitude of his actions, he has since dedicated himself to educating other young people to be deliberate and discerning in what they post. His platform, Safe Social Network, provides resources for kids and parents to more smartly and safely use social media in their lives.

Tracy gave some hard facts to his R-MA audience: 30% of universities screen the social media footprints of applicants. 70% of employers do the same thing.

He then shared specific techniques and settings to help keep one’s information current and relevant to one’s character, how to use social media in a positive manner, and ramifications of not doing so. “Don’t post anything you wouldn’t want your grandma to see,” he urged the students.

A 2018 Pew Research Center survey of nearly 750 13- to 17-year-olds found that 95% of teens had access to a smartphone. 97% used a social media platform, such as YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. 45% of respondents reported that they were online “almost constantly.” Another 44% said they were online “several times a day.”

While the Academy’s students are not permitted to use their cell phones during the school day - boarding students are required to turn them into their Cadet Life Supervisor, while day students check them in at Student Services - they are allowed to have phones on campus. R-MA students are expected to use social media responsibly, with a mind toward how both the form where one chooses to participate and the content posted reflect both on the person individually and on the Academy.