Social Media 101
Online Etiquette, Privacy, and Safety Kaitlyn Ranney, Development Associate Meghan Stauts, Communications Associate
What Is Social Media Anyways?
Facebook •
The most popular social networking site – 1 billion users worldwide as of October 2012 –
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Legally, users must be 13; Facebook requires birthdate for verification
Accessible via computer and mobile apps Users can share photos, videos, status updates, links, “check ins” Privacy shortcuts are located in the top right hand corner of your home screen – look for the lock Full privacy settings are located in the top right hand corner of your home screen – look for the gear These settings allow users to control who can see their posts (statuses, photos, links) on their Timeline by selecting public, friends, only me, or custom
Facebook Privacy Settings • “Basic filtering” of messages enables friends, mutual friends, and people in users’ networks to send messages to their inbox • “Strict filtering” prevents unknown users from sending messages to other users
Users are able to block individuals from contacting or harassing them by using a name or an email address.
Using Facebook’s “View As” Feature •
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The “view as” feature is a good tool to use to double check privacy settings and ensure that your child’s public profile does not give away too much personal information. The amount of information displayed on a public profile can be controlled in privacy settings.
Facebook Timeline Review Users can enable Timeline Review controls to approve or deny what other people post on their Timeline before it goes public (ie: tagged photos, “checking in,� tagged status updates).
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Photo-sharing and social networking app for iOS and Android phones 90 million users upload 40 million photos daily In December 2012, Instagram announced that they could sell users’ photos to third parties without notification or compensation; uproar after announcement lead to rework of language in Terms of Service (still TBA)
Instagram Privacy Settings By toggling photos to private while in the “options” section of a user’s profile, the user protects their photos from public consumption.
When privacy is turned on, the user must approve or deny future follower requests before people are able to see their photos.
Geo-Tagging Photos on Instagram After applying an Instagram filter and adding a caption to their photo, users can geotag each photo and add it to their photo map.
Essentially, this gives followers immediate access to directions to their current location.
Instagram Sharing & Hashtags • When uploading to Instagram, users have the option to share their photos and locations across Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, and foursquare. • If users opt to share a photo with another social network that is public, it will show up to all of their friends/followers on that specific social network - even if they have selected to protect their Instagram account.
• When typing a caption for an Instagram photo, users can include hashtags, similar to Twitter. • A hashtag creates a hyperlink that links them to other users using the same hashtag if their photos are not private. ex: #TGIF, #selfies, #bored, #kikme
Instagram Web Profiles • •
While photos can only be uploaded to Instagram from the mobile app, Instagram also creates a web profile for users that can be viewed at instagram.com/username. Public profiles display every Instagram photo ever uploaded, while profiles that are set to private cannot be viewed unless already-approved followers are logged in.
Public Web Profile
vs
Private Web Profile
Twitter • • • •
140-character online social networking & microblogging platform Accessible on a computer or mobile device 500 million users as of October 2012 Increasingly popular among high school students – –
No age verification required Anyone can create an account
Hashtags & Trending Topics on Twitter Hash-tags (# followed by a phrase) create a hyperlink to all similar public tweets.
When hashtags are used in tweets frequently by large groups of people, they create “trending topics” – a curated list of all tweets using a specific hashtag.
Twitter & Privacy Settings
• Users can also opt to add a location to Tweets, similar to Instagram’s geotag. • Tweets can be protected so only approved followers will be able to see recent tweets. • Users can protect themselves from sensitive content in Account Settings by un-checking “display media that may contain sensitive content.”
Tumblr • • • • •
A popular micro-blogging platform among tweens & teens – Rapidly increasing in popularity among kids ages 13-18 Accessible by computer and mobile apps Over 86 million blogs with 39 billion posts as of October 2012 Creates a sense of identity through reblogging photos, links, GIFs, quotes – Think an online diary meets a collage or bulletin board where users can publicly “like” or “reblog” posts Different tumblrs host fan communities for music (Justin Beiber, One Direction) and television shows (Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars) but also for eating disorders and self-harm
Tumblr Dashboard Settings • •
Users have the ability to send messages or “fan mail” directly to other bloggers via their username Users can opt to browse “tag” pages in safe mode – NSFW (not-safe-for-work) content does not show – However, safe mode option is not always foolproof.
Dangers of Tumblr These images were found by searching the “selfharm” and “eating disorder” tags in Tumblr while in safe mode. Recommended terms included suicide, cutting, and depression.
Snapchat •
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Photo-and video- sharing app for iOS and Android where users can send photos and videos that will “self-destruct” in an amount of time that they control (<10 seconds) 50 million snaps sent each day Widely used for silly self-portraits (selfies) but the “self-destructing” function makes sexting, cheating, and cyberbulling easier and virtually undetectable by parents or teachers
The sender is notified when their “snap” is opened by the receiver and also if the receiver takes a screen shot.
Snapchat Safety Settings
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Users can restrict who can send them snaps by choosing “my friends” or “everyone” –
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Usernames for “my friends” are pulled from phone contact list, but users can add friends by manually entering usernames
Parents can use a monitoring software such as iRecovery to perform weekly audits of deleted pictures from iPhones and iPods
Kik Messenger •
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A free mobile messaging service that allows users to text back and forth through a user name, rather than a phone number similar to iMessage on iPhone 30 million users Due to age-restricted content, users should be 17 or older Users often will post their usernames in Instagram, Tumblr, or Twitter profiles (ie: “Kik me: [username]”), enabling total strangers to message them
Resetting the Conversation Log on Kik Messenger
Users can reset conversation logs to erase messages, making it easy to hide Kik conversation chains from parents.
Keeping Your Kids Informed and Safe • Set rules and guidelines about social media early – Would you put it on the announcements at school? Would you say it in front of your parents or another adult? If not, don’t put it on social media!
• Keep lines of communication open; talk to your kids about the apps they use – Why do you like this app? What is the appeal?
• Make sure your child knows the difference between friends and “friends” – Have you had a conversation with them in person, or do you just know them through a friend of a friend?
Keeping Your Kids Informed and Safe • Utilize the safety controls on each app and approve your child’s privacy settings – Check these constantly, as sites like Facebook often makes changes with little to no notification to their users – Restrict app usage based on content ratings (4+, 9+, 12+, 17+ on iTunes)
• Limit the time your child spends on social media sites • Get active on social media yourself – Visit sites like bewebsmart.com to stay up-to-date about new apps, as well as changes to existing apps
Other Helpful Links • Mom gives 13-year old son an iPhone with an 18-point contract: http://youtu.be/AhP-0rh16GM • Tech trends through the eyes of a tenth grader: https://medium.com/product-design/d8d4f2300cf3 • For adults trying to stay up-to-date with all things social media: http://mashable.com/social-media/ • How to restrict iPhone apps based on ratings: http://www.bewebsmart.com/ipod-ipad-iphone/how-to-restrictapps-by-rating/ • New York Times’ article on social media monitoring software: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/26/technology/software-helpsparents-monitor-their-children-online.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&