life skills
social identity
social identity
Child pyschologist Dr. Polly Dunn shares some advice
on how to get your teen to understand the importance
of maintaining a good online reputation.
Do you ever wonder what life would have been like if there
was social media in the 80s? Think about some of your teenage
memories and the intensity of that age and then imagine the
pictures you could have been tagged in if social media had
existed back then. I’ve thought about it often, especially as
my firstborn begins his senior year of high school. I mean
truthfully, when I applied to college, other than finances, all I
had to worry about was my GPA, my test scores, and getting my
sorority recs turned in on time. That’s it. High school students
now have the added pressure of managing an online reputation.
And in today’s society, that’s no easy task.
Creating a good online reputation is just as important as having
a good reputation in the real world. College admissions officers
and potential employers can do a quick search on Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, Vine, or any other social media site and find
out lots more about your teen than what they shared in their
formal college or job application. Sororities and fraternities
can even use information from social media to make decisions
during recruitment. With that knowledge, it’s important that
teens learn to manage their online reputation as soon as they
begin using social media. Here’s how:
T
ALK ABOUT IT. Talk openly and honestly to your
teen about what they should and shouldn’t share on social
media. In everyday conversations, use real world examples
of social media done right and social media gone wrong to
help them along the way.
FOLLOW THEIR ACCOUNTS. I know it’s a lot
to manage, but routinely look at what your kids are
posting on social media sites and give them feedback the good, the bad, and the ugly. If what they’ve posted is
inappropriate, discuss it, let them correct the problem, and
move on.
B
E A GOOD ROLE MODEL. Let your teen follow
you on social media and then model the behavior you
want them to exhibit online, just like you would in the real
world. And if you make a mistake and post something you
wish you hadn’t, talk to them about it and then let them see
you take steps to correct it.
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GOOD NEWS!
According to a recent study, teens are gettig fed up with bad
online behavior.
• 1% of teens say civility, etiquette and manners are
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either important or very important to their lives.
• 0% of respondents said that they most frequently
2
observe uncivil behavior on social media.
• 2% said that social media is making us a less civil
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society.
Even Teens Are Getting Tired of Bad Behavior, ThirdParent
THE GRANDMOTHER TEST
Sometimes it’s hard for teens to know what is and what isn’t
appropriate to share on social media. My advice is simple. Tell
your teen to ask themselves if their grandmother would like
their comment, status update, tweet, picture, or video. If she’d
like it, and they wouldn’t be embarrassed showing it to her, then
it’s probably okay to share it on social media.
Dr. Polly Dunn is a child psychologist, wife,
and mom of four. She is the director of the
Auburn University Psychological Services
Center and offers her ‘Practical Parenting
Solutions’ at www.ChildPsychMom.com.
www.potentialmagazine.com