This is a follow up to my article Social Media Security & Kids. In it I wrote:
Kids are on social media. It’s part of their culture and embedded into their lives in a way even the most social media-savvy adults I know don’t fully comprehend. Because it’s such a part of how they interact with others, it’s essential we teach them about online safety when they are young much like my parents taught me not to talk to strangers or look both ways before crossing the street.
As I ponder on this idea and talk with parents, it hits me that most of us are pretty well versed in teaching our kids about online safety, but when it comes to kids’ online reputations we are far less prepared. Quite often I get asked about teaching kids about social media safety; and, when talking with other parents we usually come to the conclusion that we’re not doing too badly teaching our kids about that. But my next question always is: “What are you doing to teach your kids about protecting their online reputations?” That usually results in a blank stare from the other person.
I don’t think the blank stares result from carelessness or neglect on that parts of those parents. I believe it stems from the fact that we are not as plugged in as our kids.
in the 1960s Timothy Leary popularized the counterculture phrase “Turn on, tune in, drop out.” Today, that phrase could almost be said among our web-connected kids. They are turning on to social sites via their portable devices, tuning into what other kids are doing there and dropping out their own contributions to the web of conversation. As younger and younger kids get smart phones capable of text messaging and connecting them to Facebook and MySpace they start setting up an online footprint sooner and sooner. As much as some of us adults contribute to the collective conversation, our kids will out-contribute us before too long.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But, because these young ones are “on there” we need to help them understand that their online reputation will follow them wherever they go – for good or for bad.
At one point, not all that long ago, if a kid had a bad reputation at a school the parents could move them to another one either by placing them in private school or moving. This tactic may not work if the kid’s reputation problems follow them online. All the kids at the new school need do is a quick Google search and *BAM* the new start is stopped quite abruptly.
I also wrote in the article referenced at the start:
Kids need to understand that online is pretty much “forever.” Once something is posted and indexed by search engines it’s nearly impossible to get rid of and it can pop back up during searches for who knows how long. Younger kids talking smack and older kids posting pictures of themselves acting the fool at parties may be all fun now, but they can come back to haunt them later. Though this point probably applies more to older kids and young adults who may be soon entering the workforce, it’s important that kids learn early on about the basics of online reputation management.
Even Google CEO Eric Schmidt has chimed in on this topic, opining that one day everyone would have the right to change their name upon reaching adulthood so their youthful indiscretions would not follow them. While this idea may seem incredible to many, it is no secret that many who do hiring for companies will search a person’s online reputation to screen out applicants who have derogatory information posted somewhere.
As parents, we needn’t panic. What we need to do is arm ourselves with information so we can arm our kids to learn how to take care of themselves. If you are totally clueless about online reputation management, I suggest you check out Radical Transparency by Beal and Strauss. While this book is more about the marketing aspect of social media use, there are some great tips for personal reputation management you certainly learn from.
Start talking to your kids now about their online behavior just as you do about their behavior elsewhere.
What about you? Do you have any tips for parents who are bringing up social media-savvy kids? What do you tell your kids?
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