Social Networking

1 What is Social Networking?

Social networking is a fun and easy way to connect with people online. You start by creating a “profile.” It’s like a mini-website you can customize to express yourself, and tell others what's important to you. A social network site makes it easy to share pictures and home videos with family and friends, chat with them online, e-mail, instant message, post your own journal or join interest groups. What you post can then be seen by other people on the same site.

Facebook and MySpace are the two biggest social networks, and are practically household words these days – Facebook has over 150 million members! But what are they, really? Well, simply put, social networking is a way of staying connected online with the people you want to share it with, no matter how far away they are.

Victoria

2 How Do You Do It?

Here's how you can get started on a social network!

Create – First, you pick the social network you want to be part of – Facebook, Windows Live Spaces, MySpace, myYearbook, etc. It is kind of like choosing the club you want to join or the college you want to go to. All are a bit different, but generally operate the same. To get started, most social network sites require a name, e-mail address, birth date, and little else. The website will provide easy-to-follow instructions for creating an account, and before you know it you will have your very own social network profile! It’s not any harder than shopping or banking online, and if we can do it…you can too!

Customize – This is the fun part! You choose what you want to share with other people in your own special “profile”. You can customize it to make it unique and reflect who you are in real life (or who you want to be). Uploading a picture is a great first step at to making it yours. Most teens use a picture of themselves, but some (to protect their privacy) use their pet, favorite character or something that is less identifiable. Most networks let you post a section to share hobbies, interests, and favorite things. Many sites let you change the background of your page and add music. Customizing your profile can be fun, but everyone (moms, dads, friends, teens) should remember to make wise decisions about what to share online.

Connect - Social networks are great opportunities to network! Long-lost friends, acquaintances, old coworkers, college friends, distant cousins, etc. - you’d be surprised who you might find online. Some networks even suggest people you may know, by suggesting friends of friends or people who are in your network. “Adding” or “Friending” someone asks the person if you can have access to their profile, and if they accept, they’ll have access to yours too. You and the other person are free to say “yes” or “no” to these requests and you can also show a limited profile. Once you are on their "friends" list, you can chat, share pictures or videos, or anything else!

3 Why Have an Online Profile?

A big misconception about teens and social networking is that it's stupid, dangerous or just a "game." Social networking can be really important to teens, and some adults don't understand that. We love to be connected with other teens, and social networking does just that - keeps us connected and updated on everything our friends do (without running up the phone bill).

But we are not just having fun on social networks, we are also learning about the world we live in. Most teens don't get a chance to read the news, so social networks are places where teens can gain exposure to current events, political issues and other world news stories. Even our school lives benefit. We are able to get updates on important upcoming events and occasions. Through Causes and Groups applications, we can advocate for important issues within our community.

Julia

4 The Importance of Privacy Settings

What are privacy settings and why should everyone use them? When you are on a social network, a lot of information about you can end up on the Internet. If you want to keep that stuff private, there are options on most social network sites called Privacy Settings to help make sure it all stays safe.

Privacy settings enable you to control things like who can see your profile and personal information, who can search for you and contact you, and when to ask for your approval for certain actions. Whether you want everyone to see it, or just your friends, privacy settings can help to keep your personal information private. If you don’t want an annoying person or strangers to see what you have posted or get any other information about you, these settings can help to keep you safe.

Everyone should use them because nobody knows where your private info could end up! They'll keep you less vulnerable from predators, and really, do you want everyone knowing all of your information?

Maxine

5 Expert Advice from Parry Aftab

Having a social networking profile these days is like having a telephone when we were growing up. It’s how our teens connect with each other and keep up to date on what’s going on. If we cut them off, they are cut off from everything.
From cyberbullying and fears of Internet sexual predators to worries that college recruiters will be viewing what they post, you have reason to be concerned. How can you keep them safe and connected with their friends at the same time?

Depending on your teen’s reasons for wanting a social networking profile—to keep up with current friends, reconnect with old friends, promote their band or artwork – you can help them determine what site suits them best. And you can help your teen set the privacy settings accordingly. Settings can be most restrictive when they are just looking for real life friends from school. Settings need to be a bit more open if they want their old friends to find them and even broader if they want to show off their artistic or musical talents. The broader the privacy settings, the more careful your teen has to be.

Your teen should never post anything you, a predator, the police, their principal or a college recruiter shouldn’t see.
You can review what’s in their profile. It’s a great activity to do together. Tell your teen that you want to review their profiles on a regular basis. Then “friend” them or make sure they give you access when you want it.

Make sure they understand they can trust you enough to confide if they encounter any kinds of harassment, like cyberbullying. Teens are much more cruel online than in real life. The best way to keep your teen safe is through communication, not technology. But if you freak out and over-react, you’ll be the last, not the first, to know.

Perhaps more important, find their friends’ profiles. Friends often share more info about our teens than anyone else, often just by being careless.

6 What Girls Need From Adults

Teens need guidance with our online lives, just like we do in real life.

My parents have talked to me about having a social network. It's not so much what they said as what they did. They both got a social network and became friends with me, this way they were aware of the friends I was accepting and what I posted. ~Victoria

Get your own social network profile. We can even help you do it. Get to know the site, understand how it works, and see what your children are actually interacting with online. Then, you'll be better able to make rules and stuff regarding social networking sites. ~Caley

Just because teens have a social network, that doesn't mean that they're going to start talking to random strangers. Teach them how to be safe (not to talk to strangers, how to use privacy settings, etc.) and then trust that they can use good judgment. ~Jessica

7 You Know You've Got It When...

• You can find your teen's social networking page(s) by yourself!
• You have created your own social networking profile and understand its privacy settings.
• You have discussed and set rules around the family standards for internet use and social networking. Creating a family contract can serve as a great framework for this.

For more guidelines around how to help your kids use social web sites more safely, click here.