There are certainly many parts of our lives that have been impacted by Covid19 and the restrictions put in place. Out of necessity we are finding other ways to connect to people besides in person. Not surprisingly, I have noticed that middle school students are becoming more and more connected via social media apps. One very popular app is Snapchat, but there are many others as well. While this is certainly a fun way to hang out with your friends, there are some safeguards that should be in place before you click “send”.
Just like it is important to lock your house or your vehicle so no one can get in and steal your stuff, or hurt you…it’s just as important to “lock” or set your privacy settings in a way that also protects you. It would be pretty creepy to have a random person looking in through your windows and watching what you do, knowing personal stuff about you…but that is pretty much what is happening if you don’t protect yourself on social media. The only difference is your phone or computer screens are the windows. Parents (and students), I have attached an article that can help you navigate through all the different steps, just click on the title below. If you have any questions, or need some help figuring out how to set good privacy settings on other apps, send me an email – I’ll be happy to help!