Social Media Training for Youth Leaders

Dr Bex Lewis, Digital FingerprintURL: http://j.mp/smyouth-york

November 2014 for: http://dioceseofyork.org.uk Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

https://twitter.com/drbexl

Published by Lion HudsonFebruary 2014

Stand up if you…

What are you thinking?

Feel the Fear….

The End is Nigh!

http://youtu.be/Z7dLU6fk9QY

http://youtu.be/9Jhd3HXcaEk

Digital Culture: It Matters!

http://youtu.be/zxpa4dNVd3c

The Toolbox

http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/files/2014/01/social-media-networks.png

http://www.whatsapp.com

http://www.snapchat.com

http://www.pinterest.com/kristoff88/youth-work-ideas/

http://www.teambuildingfordigitals.com

http://www.humankinetics.com/products/all-products/Team-Building-Activities-for-the-Digital-Age

Are they digital natives?

http://www.youthwork-magazine.co.uk/main/internet/digital_etiquette

http://www.churchleaders.com/youth/youth-leaders-blogs/157504-ben_read_the_problem_with_social_media_in_youth_ministry.html

http://www.faithandleadership.com/features/articles/digital-disciples

The CHILDWISE “Digital Lives” Report asked children to go back in time and

explain to Victorian children what the internet was.

Many of the oldest tried to explain how the internet works, but others,

and especially the younger children, focused on what the internet

enables them to do – a place to communicate, to find things out, to play

games, to create and have fun. Several referred explicitly to the all-

encompassing nature of what is on offer to them via the internet. (My

italics.)

Raising Children in a Digital Age, p64

http://youtu.be/9WVKBAqjHiE

CommunicateCommunicateCommunicate

http://www.safekids.com/contract_kid.htm

Agree/Disagree statements • On social networking sites such as Facebook, Bebo etc, it’s okay to put your

address and telephone number on your profile page. • There is no harm in putting the name of the school you attend on your social

networking profile page. • It’s easy to forget the Internet is a public space. • Once photos have been posted on the Internet they can’t be removed. • If you have been chatting to someone who knows someone who knows someone

who knows someone you know, does this make them your friend? Should you be chatting to them online?

• People with bad intentions use the Internet to make friends with children/young people.

• If you were on the street chatting to someone you liked the look of but didn’t know, would you give them your mobile number?

• When using social media sites you would only write things on your wall or post pictures that you would be happy for your parents to see.

• It’s illegal to send indecent pictures of yourself or anyone else. • When chatting to people on Internet or through games consoles, you can tell if they

are telling the truth.

http://www.childrenandyouth.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Social-Media-training-ideas.pdf

To monitor or not to monitor?

Is privacy dead?

http://youtu.be/F7pYHN9iC9I

Permanency• Facebook has appeared in the press several times as its privacy settings are by default quite open, and can be hard to find and change. Many people believe young people don’t care about privacy, but research has demonstrated that they do and are largely confident about managing their privacy settings, with less than 1 per cent describing the process on Facebook as “very difficult”. Some also feel that online spaces offer more safety, privacy, and control than offline ones (especially if they share a room), with one girl (fourteen to fifteen) saying, “The real world’s not that safe, is it?”

• Raising Children in a Digital Age, p89

• EXERCISE: Try a Google search of your child’s name, and its variations (consider doing this with your child). Check variations of your name; for example, I would look for “Rebecca Lewis” as well as “Bex Lewis”.

• Encourage your child to think about what their profile would look like if an alien landed and just had their social media to read.

• List the types of information they are sharing, the issues associated with sharing, and the appropriate actions that should be taken to avoid problems arising.

Raising Children in a Digital Age, p98

http://www.slideshare.net/samwisemoss/building-up-your-online-professional-profile

http://youtu.be/zRlpIkH3b5I

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/10690381/Is-it-OK-to-laugh-at-Women-Who-Eat-on-Tubes.html

EXERCISE: Bearing in mind that we are looking for values

that work offline as well as online, have a discussion and

get your child to draw up a list of the top ten values that

they want to demonstrate online (e.g. honesty,

friendliness, etc.). If they are keen, consider a list of

behaviour to avoid as well, and the consequences of

engaging in those negative practices.

Raising Children in a Digital Age, p41

Just because you can … doesn’t mean you should!

H.A.L.T.

If you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired, step away from the keyboard/keypad and deal with that issue first. http://redcatco.com/communication/stop-posting-social-media/

Relationships…

One noticeable difference in the digital era, especially as

the social platforms have stabilized, is that it’s difficult to

leave anyone behind, which can be delicate to negotiate:

Generally, it is socially unacceptable to delete a Friend

one knows. When this is done, it is primarily after a fight

or breakup. In these situations, the act of deletion is

spiteful and intentionally designed to hurt the other

person.

Raising Children in a Digital Age, p.106

The Bullied

The Bully

The Bystander

The Bullied

Signs specific to cyber-bullying?

•Long hours on the computer •Secretive Internet use •Screen minimization•Refusing to log on or answer phone

•Extreme possessiveness of phone, to which constant nervous looks are given.

5.5 71

Emotionally:

• No shame: not their fault• Don’t threaten their online

access• Spend extra time together:

time for communication• Nurture self-confidence

Practically:•Don’t respond•Keep copies of messages as ‘proof’•Understand how to ‘block’ accounts •Talk to child re contacting school•Think hard before talking to parents of bully

•Get phone number blocked

The Bully

Disinhibition

The bully doesn’t see the distress that they cause, feels safe from capture, and protected by the technology, able to say things that they would never say offline.

ITV, February 2005

•One in five think sending a message in cyberspace is less damaging than face to face insults

•Half the teenagers polled believe it is ok to say things online that you would not in person

•A third of youths say they troll because their friends do so too.

Zero-Tolerance?

Any solutions?

•Explain what bullying is. •Monitor their e-devices•Ensure a consistent approach with school/youth-group

•Are they avoiding being bullied by becoming a bully?

Any solutions?

• Assign him/her a book to read about bullying• Get them to write an essay on the dangers of bullying.

• Remove their Internet and mobile privileges (for a fixed period).

• Assign him/her to community service or other time-consuming activity.

• Encourage them to apologise and take responsibility.

The Bystander(s)

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothingQuote commonly (and probably erroneously) attributed to Edmund Burke

http://youtu.be/PLe-IvXUEX0

http://youtu.be/ruBqetaMd5g

Digital Allies

https://www.facebook.com/groups/266684290183607/

Matthew 25:40

Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did for me.

Increased time spent online will most likely increase exposure to negative experiences – but also the positive opportunities. Nancy Willard, a cyberbullying expert, calls for us to work on the “understanding that the vast majority of young people want to make good choices, do not want to be harmed, and do not want to see their friends or others harmed”. We can’t control their whole environment, online or offline, so parents need to give their children the capability to deal with problems as they come across them.

Raising Children in a Digital Age, p.63

http://emdp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Safe_from_Bullying-Youth_Activities.pdf

Some useful sites for those needing help

• http://www.papyrus-uk.org (preventing young suicide) • http://www.thetrevorproject.org (suicide prevention for

LGBTQ youth)• http://www.childline.org.uk/ (confidential helpline for those

under 19)• http://www.beatbullying.org (advice about cyberbullying,

and opportunities to report your own situation, or someone else’s)

• http://twloha.com/vision (US based site for those struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicidal thoughts)

• http://www.athinline.org (MTV site for those suffering digital abuse)

• http://www.itgetsbetter.org (for those suffering LGBT abuse)

Ferguson, a professor from Texas A&M who researches technologies’ effects on human behaviour:

“Youth today are the least aggressive, most civically

involved, and mentally well in several generations .”

‘Imagining the Internet: Millennials will benefit and suffer due to their hyperconnected lives’, Pew Research Center, http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2012/PIP_Future_of_Internet_2012_Young_brains_PDF.pdf, 29/02/12

Stranger Danger“On average 11 children are killed by a stranger each year in the UK … there are more than 11 million children in the UK” (Netmums)

• EXERCISE: Take time to talk to your child about hopes and fears for online friendships. Establish ground rules for meeting up with a new “friend”, including meeting in a public place, being with friends, having a back-up plan, and agreeing not to be left alone with that person.

• Raising Children in a Digital Age, p125

Increasingly Mobile

http://youtu.be/GRiwUCXPo8U

• No surprise, then, that Facebook is no longer a place for uninhibited status updates about pub antics, but an obligatory communication tool that younger people maintain because everyone else does.

• All the fun stuff is happening elsewhere. On their mobiles.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/10/teenagers-messenger-apps-facebook-exodus

http://www.geocaching.com

LUNCH

Sex Talk (Porn, Pedophilia and Sexting)

http://www.christianitymagazine.co.uk/Browse%20By%20Category/culture/Playing%20with%20Fire.aspx

The media have focused heavily on the “dangers of

porn” online for children, to the extent that many parents

feel they are powerless to stop it. Professor Livingstone

adds that debate in this area can be difficult, as the

media tend to mix up a range of complex issues into one

big scare story. The EU Kids Online survey demonstrated

that only 6,000 of the 25,000 children surveyed had

encountered even a single sexual image online; still a

high number but not every child, in contrast to the media

impression.

Raising Children in a Digital Age, p144

Porn

We need to have more to say than ‘porn is bad’• ‘Rite of Passage’? = No• ‘Being a Man’? = No• Girls see as harmless? = ?

• Education? = Best example?

• In churches, if waiting til marriage = not ‘doing’!

http://youtu.be/4ovR3FF_6us

• EXERCISE: Identify stories about grooming from the press, and get children to discuss how they might have behaved differently, and to think about possible conclusions “if” different choices had been made.

• Raising Children in a Digital Age, p152

Keeping within the Law

Physical SetupBrain ChangesAddictionMultitaskingConversational AbilityCouch Potatoes

The core signs of addiction • The activity becomes the most important thing in a person’s

life. • Moods change in accordance with the activity. • Continually higher doses of an activity are required to

achieve the original sensations. • Withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety and depression are

experienced when the activity is stopped. • Increasing conflict occurs with those in the closest social

circle. • There is a tendency to return to the activity after periods of

control (relapse). • The “sunk cost” fallacy is experienced: not wanting to

abandon something after so much time has been sunk into it.

Raising Children in a Digital Age, p168

Screen time and family dynamics

Gaming

Does the digital age offer life opportunities?

Can social media be positive?• Wide range of information • Increased connectivity and collaboration• Educational benefits• Global nature of online• New creative opportunities• Learning criticality• Increased accessibility for those with

disabilities

• EXERCISE: Go to Wikipedia and search for something that you know a fair bit about. What information do you support, and what would you challenge?

• Raising Children in a Digital Age, p196

Do it for themDo it with them

Watch while they do itLet them do it for themselves.

(Grandparents, teachers)

Youth leaders

Looking to the future

• EXERCISE: Have some fun with your child, undertaking some “no-limits futurology”. What do they think life will look like in x number of years? Think about creating a “souvenir” book to bring back out at that time in the future.

• Raising Children in a Digital Age, p213

As a youth leader, it is a very convenient way of messaging and informing members of our youth group, and inviting them to events and [connecting with] each other when we're not together… Sadly for your child to be the only one in a group NOT to have access to Facebook can itself be a matter for isolation - they may not get invitations to youth events for example, and ridicule and bullying for being the 'odd one out'. (Parent, 16-19)

http://www.humak.fi/sites/default/files/liitteet/humak-verkko-timonen-Using-Social-Media-in-Youth-Work.pdf

http://www.google.co.uk/alerts

Social Media Policies?

http://www.methodist.org.uk/ministers-and-office-holders/technology-and-church/social-media-guidelines

• The principles applied to this are:• Be credible. Be accurate, fair, thorough and transparent.• Be consistent. Encourage constructive criticism and deliberation.• Be cordial, honest and professional at all times. Be responsive.

When you gain insight, share it where appropriate.• Be integrated. Wherever possible, align online participation with

other communications.• Be a good representative of the Methodist Church. Remember

that you are an ambassador for Christ, the Church and your part of it. Disclose your position as a member or officer of the Church, making it clear when speaking personally.

• LetGalatians 5:22-26 guide your behaviour.• Be respectful: respect confidentiality. Respect the views of others

even where you disagree. 

Methodist Church Guidelines

http://www.youthworkresource.com/social-networking-child-protection

http://www.energize.uk.net/articles/socialmedia

http://www.childrenandyouth.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Social-Media-Guidelines-for-workers.pdf

http://j.mp/1okEq4f

http://j.mp/1lSUVom

http://j.mp/1hsYvAv

Permissions/Consent

• Parent’s permission before contact

• Consent for use of photographs

• Catchall statement for registration forms – assumes opt-in unless opt-out.

Language

• Use clear, unambiguous language, avoiding abbreviations that can be mis-interpreted.

• Take care with sign-offs

Accountability

• Leaders/Young People develop agreed ‘Internet Guidelines’

• Line manager // access to social media accounts

• Second leader ‘in the room’• Save messages/disclosures for use

later if required.

Confidentiality

• Be prepared for ‘deeper’ disclosures

• Be clear on how much advice/source you can give.

• Add a disclaimer on how you might need to share their information.

Boundaries

• Work-specific device? • Don’t keep images of young people on personal devices

• Define curfews

SOME THOUGHTS ON SAFEGUARDING

https://www.churchofengland.org/media/37378/protectingallgodschildren.pdf

http://www.louthmethodist.org.uk/Louth%20Methodist%20Church%20and%20Circuit%20Photographics%20Policy%20final.pdf

http://www.ccpas.co.uk/shop2012/CCPASResources.html

Focus on the Positives; Respect the Online

In Your Context…

@drbexl @digitalfprint @bigbible

Image credits: Screenshots, The Worship Cloud, Stockfresh, RGBStock, iStockphoto

URL: http://j.mp/smyouth-york