Thing 14: Social Networking

Did you know that the fastest growing population of new members on Facebook are 65 and older? I learned that interesting little tidbit today. What great timing as I am working on this very "thing" tonight.

I have created a Facebook account because I believe that it is an excellent way to connect with family and friends that I don't get to see very often. I was very apprehensive at first, but I decided to go ahead with the understanding that I was going to be very vigilant and cautious about my privacy. First of all, I did not put my legal name on it. I use a nickname and my middle name. Additionally, I made sure to set my privacy settings to "friends only", even on my pictures. I am also very selective about who I "friend". I would never consider "friending" an acquaintance, nor a past or present student. It's not like I have anything to hide, but I do feel that there needs to be a separation between home and work. I found the information about being careful what I post to be very helpful. I never realized that a hacker might try to use that information to get access to my password. One thing that I try to do is go into my privacy settings at least once a month since Facebook has the tendency to change things, often leaving people's information vulnerable until they've had a chance to catch it. This is disconcerting to me!

Because Facebook is Social Networking, I do see some educational possibilities. For example, it's a great forum to provide information about events, such as the Newington High School library did with the Book Talk presentations. Additionally, the students who are on Facebook are practicing 21st century skills, which is exactly what we need them to be learning to be successful in this ever-increasing technological world. Finally, when students are chatting on Facebook, it's an opportunity for them to talk about school. For example, a student who has forgotten her homework can ask a friend on Facebook to let her know what it is. Another example is when a student doesn't understand a part of their homework, they can ask a friend to explain it to them. This actually happened with my niece in Texas. She was having trouble with a math problem and I was able to help her with it on Facebook. Talk about long-distance tutoring!

The biggest concern I have about Social Networking is the occurrence of cyberbullying. Because you are not face to face, some individuals feel that it is okay to say certain things that they might not normally say in person. Additionally, when typing something online, what is said could be perceived differently by the person who is reading it. As parents and as educators, we really need to educate our children about the dangers of the internet and what they can/should do when faced with these situations.