Children and social media sites

This is a bit of a nightmare for parents and has been for several years. Are you a parent? Do you know what sites your children are using? What data are they sharing? Does it include data about you? Are the sites offering inappropriate content – sexual, self-harm, bullying or violent among others? Did you know that the number of children receiving hurtful cyber-bullying messages rose from 8 to 12% in the last 4 years.

This issue is so sensitive that parents feel vulnerable. It is hard to find out about privacy settings, safety information, where and what to report. It’s all very well, you might say, we’re not dealing directly with this issue. It’s another side of ‘tech’. Well, have you considered advising your clients (where parents might shop/seek information etc.) that they might include a ‘parent’s social media guide’ or the equivalent on their sites? This wins on all fronts – moral, social responsibility, ethical, good branding association, positive thinking and the rest. Yes, you might have to research the topic to do it justice and make sure the information is updated regularly on the client’s site by whatever means agreed, but, worth considering, don’t you think?

With all this in mind, here are a few links to get you started.

• The NSPCC Report: A Parent’s Guide to being Share Aware 2015
• Sophie Livingston’s blog about The NSPCC’s report 9 January 2015
• The EU Kids Online Report 2014, from the LSE Media and Communications Department.

It’s not all bad news though so maybe we can point out the positive side of social media as well.

• Our social media heroes 2014, at Sheknows, Claire Gillespie’s blog, 24 December 2014