Facebook, SchülerVZ and the Teachers
In my
work in the "Haus der Jugend Marburg" I'm in charge of a a computer club where kids age eight to sixteen come around and play computer games,
surf on the web and do whatever they like with the computer. We provide the media
equipment meaning the computers, games consoles, if needed digital cameras
or recording devices and most importantly we help out when know-how is needed.
The most current topic, and this has been this way for almost one year now, are
social networks. Me and my colleagues are constantly in a dialogue with the
kids about what they should or mostly what they shouldn't do on Facebook and
SchülerVZ.
The main reason for this is that social platforms have become a major means of communication between teenagers today. Almost all of the kids I see weekly have an account on one of the two big websites or are waiting to be old enough to be allowed to register. Officially users have to be over twelve years old, although this age limit was not long ago challenged by the Facebook operators. Because we are an official youth organisation, we have to make sure only our over twelve year olds can log in.
What is very stunning is that this is the one rule that most kids do not want to accept. That is mainly because although they are under twelve, many still have an account because the platforms have no way of effectively checking the validity of the data the kids type in when registering. The argument that comes up most often in this never-ending discussion is: "What is the harm when using social platforms?" Most children are completely unaware of the dangers that go along with Facebook & co.
What I asked my group last week was who they talk to about what happens online. In 20 kids the word parents only fell once. It is mainly their peers with whom they discuss what is going on. I dug a little deeper and asked after their teachers. The answer I got was quite what I expected. With most kids the topic had never come up. Some had done little projects at school but not necessarily with their teachers. An interesting thing in my little interview was that a lot of them were of the opinion that their teachers, although maybe interested in the topic, would not know half of what the kids do.
This view might not really be accurate but all educators in this field have to admit that keeping track with what is new on the internet is a strenuous thing to do. Mainly there is not only Facebook and SchülerVZ, with their ever changing policies and privacy options, but there are also other platforms like "Wer-kennt-wen?", where a lot of competition about who has the most friends takes place.
When we talk to the kids, it is mostly about reflecting what they are doing online, teaching them about the privacy settings and discussing why those are so important. Often they think it is the most important thing to have as many friends as possible but never ask what for. Mainly with the girls we find that they put pictures on the web, that are everything but appropriate for their age and even make them accessible for everyone on the web. The last big area is what data should be available on a profile.
Most of the social media beginners are not aware that their photos can get copied, that their sites can be used to track them and last but not least that in the future employers might take a look at their page to check out what they do. In short a profile is a platform for people to present themselves. Therefore somebody ought to take a look what kids do. they need to learn to protect themselves.
With the instiution I'm working for we also go into schools or invite classes over to do a course with us called "Surfin' Safe" where we discuss these matters extensively.
Surfin' Safe - Jugendbildungswerk Marburg
Interesting enough, there are a lot of schools that invite us to work with them. Basically most of them right now do not have the concepts and the personal to educate their pupils about social media. This means that not necessarily every student learns something in this field.
The main reason this is bad is that there are phenomenons in the social media that are deemed very harmful by experts in the field. I did a workshopin this area offered by the police in Kassel. There is for example cyber bullying where people insult and scare their victims via the internet often anonymously. Also there have been a lot of cases where pictures were taken from young girl's profiles and transferred to websites with pornographic content.
In the end most cases are not as bad as the latter examples but dealing with social networks has something to do with the medial socialisation of the pupils. This is a task the school should take up and in my mind teachers should play a role in this process. Thus they need to educate themselves in this area. Last but not least there are a lot of positive projects using these platforms like communication in English teaching language skills or making contact with kids from abroad strengthening intercultural skills.
The main reason for this is that social platforms have become a major means of communication between teenagers today. Almost all of the kids I see weekly have an account on one of the two big websites or are waiting to be old enough to be allowed to register. Officially users have to be over twelve years old, although this age limit was not long ago challenged by the Facebook operators. Because we are an official youth organisation, we have to make sure only our over twelve year olds can log in.
What is very stunning is that this is the one rule that most kids do not want to accept. That is mainly because although they are under twelve, many still have an account because the platforms have no way of effectively checking the validity of the data the kids type in when registering. The argument that comes up most often in this never-ending discussion is: "What is the harm when using social platforms?" Most children are completely unaware of the dangers that go along with Facebook & co.
What I asked my group last week was who they talk to about what happens online. In 20 kids the word parents only fell once. It is mainly their peers with whom they discuss what is going on. I dug a little deeper and asked after their teachers. The answer I got was quite what I expected. With most kids the topic had never come up. Some had done little projects at school but not necessarily with their teachers. An interesting thing in my little interview was that a lot of them were of the opinion that their teachers, although maybe interested in the topic, would not know half of what the kids do.
This view might not really be accurate but all educators in this field have to admit that keeping track with what is new on the internet is a strenuous thing to do. Mainly there is not only Facebook and SchülerVZ, with their ever changing policies and privacy options, but there are also other platforms like "Wer-kennt-wen?", where a lot of competition about who has the most friends takes place.
When we talk to the kids, it is mostly about reflecting what they are doing online, teaching them about the privacy settings and discussing why those are so important. Often they think it is the most important thing to have as many friends as possible but never ask what for. Mainly with the girls we find that they put pictures on the web, that are everything but appropriate for their age and even make them accessible for everyone on the web. The last big area is what data should be available on a profile.
Most of the social media beginners are not aware that their photos can get copied, that their sites can be used to track them and last but not least that in the future employers might take a look at their page to check out what they do. In short a profile is a platform for people to present themselves. Therefore somebody ought to take a look what kids do. they need to learn to protect themselves.
With the instiution I'm working for we also go into schools or invite classes over to do a course with us called "Surfin' Safe" where we discuss these matters extensively.
Surfin' Safe - Jugendbildungswerk Marburg
Interesting enough, there are a lot of schools that invite us to work with them. Basically most of them right now do not have the concepts and the personal to educate their pupils about social media. This means that not necessarily every student learns something in this field.
The main reason this is bad is that there are phenomenons in the social media that are deemed very harmful by experts in the field. I did a workshopin this area offered by the police in Kassel. There is for example cyber bullying where people insult and scare their victims via the internet often anonymously. Also there have been a lot of cases where pictures were taken from young girl's profiles and transferred to websites with pornographic content.
In the end most cases are not as bad as the latter examples but dealing with social networks has something to do with the medial socialisation of the pupils. This is a task the school should take up and in my mind teachers should play a role in this process. Thus they need to educate themselves in this area. Last but not least there are a lot of positive projects using these platforms like communication in English teaching language skills or making contact with kids from abroad strengthening intercultural skills.
