Using Social Networking Responsibly

“If Facebook were a country, it would now be the 6^th most populous in the world.”

(Inside Facebook.com)

Social networking is all around us. It is here to stay and it is changing how we communicate, interact and learn. Our children have never known a world without digital networking. Parents need to understand what social networking is all about. A great place to start would be a website such as http://www.digizen.org/. Here teachers, parents and young people can find out about social networking. There is a glossary of terms to help you develop digital media literacy.

Social networking tools such as “Twitter” are a fact in today's society. We need to support young people to recognize and manage acceptable behaviour when using these tools. Social norms need to be established and we as parents need to educate ourselves and involve our children in determining what they should be. Our children need to be aware that when they “post” it is part of the public domain.

We, as adults also need to be aware of what we write. A recent article from The Canadian Press warns employees that their jobs could be at risk when sharing controversial statements via social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. A sportscaster, Damien Goddard, had his position terminated the day after posting tweets on his thoughts on same-sex marriage. The company did not specifically say that his Twitter comments were the cause; they only stated that he was not a right fit for their organization.

Digital users of today need to be aware of the impact of their words through social-media. What they write is not just to one person or a group of identified friends – it is out there for the world to read. As Erin Barry, a community manager for Sprouter states: “Don't put anything online that you wouldn't want plastered on a billboard with your face on it.

How far does a person's right to freedom of expression go? Is there a need for a guide to social-media users on the “do's and don'ts”? How do we best prepare our children to be responsible and discerning communicators when sending and receiving messages using social networking tools?