Social Media Safety 101

Social media platforms are digital spaces where individuals can both create and consume content. These interactive websites and apps allow users to share their thoughts, images, and videos while participating in online communities through various forms of engagement – from simple likes to detailed comments and reactions.

Up to 95% of youth ages 13–17 report using a social media platform, with more than a third saying they use social media “almost constantly.”  Although age 13 is commonly the required minimum age used by social media platforms in the U.S., nearly 40% of children ages 8–12 use social media.

• They provide blogging tools, photo/music/video-sharing features, and ways to post original creative work, all tied to a unique profile that users can customize and update regularly.
• Social media platforms appeal to teens because they provide instant community, instant celebrity, and encompass online tools and entertainment activities that teens know and love.
• Today’s teens spend up to nine hours a day using media, consumed with popular apps and communicating behind the confines of a glass screen.

Positive effects of social media use can result in community and connection with others who share similar interests, abilities, and identities, and help foster social connections and connections. However, social media use can have negative impacts on children and adolescents as many of these apps put kids at risk of being targeted and groomed by predators through chat and messaging features, whether video, audio or text.

Surveys show that 95% of teens and 84% of young adults use social media

– Pew Research Center

Offline, children and teens naturally share basic information about themselves like their name, school, and interests as part of normal social interaction when making new friends. However, on social media, this same information is often posted publicly online.

No information is truly private in the online world; a stranger or an online “friend” can forward, share or screenshot any information instantaneously, and without knowledge of the one who originally posted it.

Risk of Harm from Content Exposure

Personally Identifiable Information

“Personally identifiable information,” (or PII) refers to any information that can identify or trace an individual either directly (direct identifiers) or when paired with other information (indirect identifiers).

• Direct identifiers include:  full name, email date of birth, address or a social security number.
• Indirect identifiers include race, gender, place of birth or zip code.
• Other geographic indicators include school name, teacher name, sports logo, or a church name

Children should be taught to be extremely careful not to share information that can be utilized by a bad actor to track them down.

Public profiles and Public Social Media Accounts

Having a public profile allows anyone to find you; whether you want them to or not. A public social media account allows anyone to view and potentially engage with your content.

Having a public profile on social media can expose children to a range of potential dangers including:

• Stalking/harassment
• Pose risks to privacy, safety and wellbeing
• Receive a message from a stranger/Meet with a stranger
• Expose personally identifiable information
• Identity theft or fraud
• Personal information is vulnerable to hackers
• Sexting/Sextortion

Safety Tip: Profiles and social media accounts should be set to “private,” only allowing approved followers or friends to see your content.  As privacy tools help to minimize the risks of  having a public profile, it is essential that they are used before a child or adolescent begins initial use of an app or platform to protect personal information from unwanted access.  Reviewing and customizing privacy settings regularly ensures you stay in control of who sees your posts and profile details.

Other concerns of social media sites

• Lack of age-verification mechanisms (meant for ages 13+, but anyone can lie about his or her age)
• Children/teens may share or receive risqué or sexually explicit pictures or videos.
• May be harassed by peers (cyberbullying)
• Can use space to humiliate others or post inappropriate content (cyberbullying)
• May attempt to meet with a stranger
• Can lead to excessive or addictive use; or a substitute for face-to-face interactions
• Access to unhealthy peer “groups” (cutting, cults, gambling, drugs, etc.)
• Childhood deaths have been linked to suicide- and self-harm-related content and risk-taking challenges on social media platforms
• Algorithms designed promote endless scrolling and extreme content 
• May perpetuate body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behaviors, social comparison, and low self-esteem, especially among girls
• Fear of missing out- the concern that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent, has been associated with depression, anxiety
• Too much screen time can cause significantly shorter sleep duration, impacting mood, ability to think, react, or regulate emotions; can lead to depression.
• Devices expose users to blue light, which can suppress the release of melatonin, keeping kids up late at night and not getting enough sleep.

Social media sites provide kids with a way to communicate, create, and connect with others, but also present risks, including contact by sexual predators, exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, inappropriate sharing of personal information, and harm to mental health. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat remain widely used among U.S. teens; some say they’re on these sites almost constantly. One study found TikTok was the longest-duration app used by 11- to 17-year-olds, being used for almost two hours on an average day, but ranging to over seven hours per day for some participants.

YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat remain widely used among U.S. teens; some say they’re on these sites almost constantly. One study found TikTok was the longest-duration app used by 11- to 17-year-olds, being used for almost two hours on an average day, but ranging to over seven hours per day for some participants.

While children and teens use these platforms frequently, there are of course, many more.

Video Sharing Apps

Video online sharing platforms merge video sharing with social interaction. Online video platforms allow users to upload, share videos or live stream their own videos to the internet. Watching online videos is the favorite media activity among 8- to 18-year-olds, appealing to both tweens and teens, boys and girls.

Examples include:

YouTube – Largest video sharing platform, general content

TikTok – Short-form videos, trending among younger users

Instagram (Reels) – Short videos, social media integration

Facebook (Watch) – Video content within social network

Twitch – Live streaming, gaming focus

Vimeo – Professional and business content

These sites allow users and content creators to:

• Upload and distribute videos
• Build subscriber bases
• Monetize their content
• Engage with viewers

While allowing audiences to:

• Watch content on demand
• Follow favorite creators
• Interact through comments and likes
• Create playlists and share content

These video sites are similar in form and function to social media sites, and users can create online profiles with extensive personal information.While these platforms can offer helpful and educational information, with many teens today following cues from misbehaving celebrities, video networking sites can facilitate situations where teens seek attention in the wrong way. Having conversations along with guidance from parents, educators and other caring adults is key  as is monitoring your child’s activities and supervising video uploads.. 

Teens (and certainly not kids under 13 years old who shouldn’t be on these apps given the app’s age restrictions) are spending enormous amounts of time on a daily basis communicating with others, putting them at greater risk than ever before of being preyed upon.

Police warn that oftentimes predators will chat with kids on children’s apps or games, and then try to get them to join them on another app or social media site where they can begin the grooming process where a predator (usually an adult) attempts to establish a relationship to gain a child’s trust and prey upon a child.

All too often, we hear the stories of an adult male who makes a fake social media profile, and over time grooms a child, gains the child’s trust, and ultimately asks for nude photos (possibly threatening/blackmailing the child if he or she doesn’t comply).

The watchful eyes of parents are sometimes the best protection a parent can offer a child when it comes to social media and internet use. Parents can take steps to help their children use social networks in a safe way, including talking to them about the risks, setting rules, enabling social network safety and privacy settings, and using parental controls. Before allowing your child to download any apps, be sure to review the app for yourself and set up parental controls and use privacy settings on any device utilized by your child that connects to the internet, including smart phones, laptops, tablets, and gaming systems. We’ve got a great resource here with links to help walk you through each type of device.

Did You Know… Apps may not be what they appear to be, as is the case with the Calculator app. It looks like an innocent calculator app on an iPhone or Android device, but can be used to hide photos, videos, files, and even browser history. And don’t become too complacent just because you have familiarized yourself with an app and set up the necessary settings and parental controls. Continue to monitor your child’s online activities frequently.