Face up to Risks of Social Networks - posted by Christine

 Facing up to Risks of Social Networks (Courier Mail Oct 13, 2010)

Policing the use of the Internet by pre-teens is vital in today’s Virtual World (http://www.couriermail.com.au/)

By Dr Karen Brooks, Associate Professor of Media Studies at Southern Cross University.

http://tinyurl.com/29kbcf4 Link to online article.

Illustration by Johnathan Bentley for both print and online versions of the article.

Brook’s article begins with mention of Premier Anna Bligh insisting Facebook enforces its 13 year minimum age limit. Discussion follows and includes mention of Facebook's 500 million users worldwide, but her focus remains on her claim that Facebook is not user friendly for kids. Research I undertook at my school reveals 81% of Year 7 students, 60% of Year 6 students and 22% of Year 5 students have Facebook accounts that they visit at least weekly. Brook’s alarm about younger students being active on Facebook is a realistic concern given the percentages of primary students using Facebook at our school. Of the three serious cyberbullying incidents at our school over recent weeks, all used Facebook as their medium, and two of the cases involved Year 5 students. 

Whilst acknowledging the benefits of Facebook and social networking in general, particularly for isolated users, Brook’s worries that Facebook has now eclipsed music as the No. 1 way in which young people define themselves. She feels that the addictive nature of Facebook is causing young people to replace face to face interaction with online communication. The Head of Secondary at our school would agree with her comments about the addictive nature of social networking. ‘Basically I think they are addicted to Facebook’ he replied when questioned about the late night and early morning hours students were posting to a profile that had been set up to alienate and insult a Year 11 student. He waved the printed pages in frustration adding ‘All these students, bar one, are constants in not having their homework done, and yet they can sit on their computer every night and do that. It’s incredible.’

Brook’s questions Premier Anna Bligh’s plea that it is the duty of the Facebook Company to police the age of its users. She poses the question of whether pre-teen social networking should be the responsibility of parents. Brook’s quotes experts in the field warning parents to monitor their children’s use, and stresses that parents need to exercise better control and set clear boundaries. Yet other commentators, including Tim Kitchen from Strathcona Girl’s Grammar School, disagree. ‘Schools owe students a duty of care to do more than simply cut off school-hours access to social networking’ (Kitchen 2010, p.16). The Heads of Secondary and Primary at my own school concur. They feel that the safety and ethical aspects of social networking need to be addressed at school. ‘…but you’ve got to have the right teachers doing it’ (Head of Secondary, 2010). I, too, agree schools have a valuable role to play, and the staff presenting sessions must be actively involved in and aware of all aspects of social networking.

One one aspect everyone agrees. Young people need to take more care and responsibility for their safety and privacy online. 1477 were surveyed by the Sydney Morning Herald in May 2010. Here is their response to the question: Should young people take more responsibility in safeguarding their privacy while on the internet?

Adults survey almost unanimously answered yes, which made me consider students’ perceptions this question. I posed the question to all students in Year Levels 5 to 12. Below are the responses of 224 Year 7, 8 and 9 students. It is encouraging to see the majority answering yes, and only 5% answering no. The 20% who answered ‘I don’t know’ indicates to me that there is a need for more information and awareness of safety and privacy issues when using the internet.

References

Brooks, K. (2010, October 13). Face up to Risks of Social Networks. Courier Mail, pp. 20 – 21.

Kitchen, T. (2010, July 19). Why the net demands vigilance. The Age, p.16. Also available online at http://www.tinyurl.com.au/wv0