SOCIAL MEDIA ETHICS

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?

The Pros1. Increased criminal prosecution 2. Social networking creates new

social connections3. Students are doing better in

school4. Better quality of life5. Social media as a source of

employment

The Cons1. Social media and the news2. Too much misinformation 3. Students spending too much

time on social media sites have lower academic grades

4. Social media sites to blame for lost productivity

Social media sites provide a virtual environment to share stories, pictures, videos, and participate in chat rooms with friends and acquaintances.

SOCIAL MEDIA BY THE NUMBERS

GOALS FOR ONLINE SAFETYPhysical Safety • freedom from physical harmPsychological Safety • freedom from cruelty, harassment, and exposure to potentially disturbing material

Reputational and Legal Safety • freedom from unwanted social, academic, professional, and

legal consequences that could affect users for a lifetimeIdentity, Property, and Community Safety• freedom from theft of identity & property

MAJOR DANGERS OF SOCIAL NETWORKINGOver sharing information.• Actions in the digital world can have far-reaching

consequences in real life. • Inappropriate posts can have severe repercussions on a

student's academic career. • Students can lose jobs, internships and even interviews

because of the information potential employers are finding out.

• School administrators may monitor social networking sites. If information or pictures on a student's account violate policy, administrators must investigate

• Compromising and inappropriate pictures, statements or other information can hurt your chances to gain employment. Employers take the images that students are portraying on social networking sites very seriously as a reflection of personal character.

MAJOR DANGERS OF SOCIAL NETWORKINGHe’s not who you think he is. Catfishing:• “Catfishing" occurs when a user creates a false or highly-

exaggerated social media profile for the purposes of conducting a relationship online.

Common signs that you are being “catfished” can include:• Inability to contact the other party "in person" - their cell

phone is broken or has been stolen, they will not use Skype or SnapChat, they will not or cannot meet you in public despite the seriousness of your relationship.

• Their photographs appear to be highly edited, stylized, or otherwise unrealistic. You can search Google by image file in order to determine whether the photos you've received are legitimate.

• Details of their personal life consistently changing, or they have a life story that seems unbelievable or outlandish.

Meet your new online chat buddy!

Location-based services • When you “check in” or share photos geo-location information is used to publish your

whereabouts. • This technology is immensely useful to predators, thieves, and other criminals, since it

makes it easy to determine where you are or are not. Someone who is paying unwanted attention to you can see your exact address each time you “check in.”

• One of the most extreme examples of the dangers is the issue of domestic abuse victims who seek safety at a shelter. Volunteers have a policy of removing batteries from women’s phones as soon as they arrive, so that abusers cannot track their victims to the shelter.

• Thieves use geo-location to determine whether you are home or not, and then use that data to plan a burglary.

• Stalkers who use the phone’s GPS are usually close to the victim—a family member or ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, for example—and use their personal access to manually turn on GPS tracking.

MAJOR DANGERS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING

Posting photos Think a Little Deeper About Predators• Online posts and status updates can give

nearby predators dangerous amounts of information.

Photos Can End Up Anywhere• When you post pictures you take a risk. You

have no way of knowing where they could end up or what they might be used for. In 2012, a Boston CBS station reported that Facebook photos of local teenage girls were copied and posted on a pornography website.

Photos can be altered• The 5th grade teacher to the right was showing

her students how quickly a photo can go viral. Within 24 hours she had 7,000 hits and her photo had been tampered with 100s of times

Photos can identify where you are• Your car tag, your school’s jersey, a picture of

your home. Always consider what information you are giving out with a picture.

MAJOR DANGERS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING

CYBERBULLYINGOccurs when people send or post mean or threatening text or pictures on the Internet. Examples:• A kid could post stories about another kid online. They could show

the website to all of their friends. When the victim goes back to school, he/she gets teased about something they don’t know about.• If a friend had your password, and you got into a fight, they could

send mean emails to everyone in your address book. When your friends or family open the email, they would think that it came from you! They could feel very hurt and upset.

DEALING WITH CYBERBULLYING

• Preserve evidence – this is crucial for identifying the bully and making a case.• Get help from the social media site.• If able to identify the bully, contact him or her and/or parents.• Use available blocking technology (i.e., block the user on IM, email

and chat.)• In serious cases, seek assistance from the police (i.e., threats of

physical harm, unrelenting or unable to stop.)

“SEXTING”Sending and receiving sexually suggestive photos or messages

Legal consequences could include:• criminal charges• listed as registered sex offender

Criminal charges could result in:• permanent expulsion from school• loss of job opportunities (due to lack of education and/or sex-

offender job regulations & limitations)• can't reside near school areas

PROTECTING YOURSELF• Get rid of any negative posts and pictures! • Remember what the Internet really is: a giant public record. They say

nothing ever posted to the Web ever truly goes away• Let someone whose opinion you value highly be connected to you on all of

your social media sites. • Make sure to continue to privatize your social network accounts. You should

know exactly what the world can see of your profile and posts. • Set up a Google alert for your name so that when a picture that’s been

tagged or any mention of your name comes up on Google, you know first. Information is still power.

• Download secure.me, a free app that connects to Facebook and alerts you of what looks less than reputable right now on your profile, pictures, and posts.

• Give your phone a break. Just turn your phone off once a week and give those texting fingers a rest.

BEFORE YOU POST ONLINE, ASK YOURSELF:

• What is my motive? • Will this matter in a month? • Is this wise? (Will what I write embarrass my grandmother?) • Is it worth it?• Does everyone need to read this? • Am I encouraging conversation or shutting it down? • How’s my tone of voice? • Is this honoring to myself or others? • Is this truthful? • Could I be investing my time more wisely by doing something else?

REFERENCES• Internet Safety – Keeping it Real: http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/01158/home.html • Dateline NBC Online Safety Kit: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15162866/• The Online Safety and Technology Working Group (OSTWG): http://www.ntia.doc.gov/advisory/onlinesafety• OSTWG Article, "Youth Safety on a Living Internet: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/reports/2010/OSTWG_Final_Report_060410.pdf• Some guidelines for protection: http://www.ehow.com/how_4542712_protect-children-online-sexual-predators.html• Division of Criminal Justice Services - Internet Safety Presentations & Resources:

http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/missing/i_safety/videos_presentations.htm• Internet Safety PowerPoint - A Parent's Guide to the Internet:

http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/missing/i_safety/mediafiles/isafety_parents6.ppt• The Safe Surfin' Foundation: http://www.safesurfincentral.org• eHow.com - How to Protect Children From Online Sexual Predators:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4542712_protect-children-online-sexual-predators.html• Teaching Teenagers About The Danger of Internet Predators:

http://parenting.families.com/blog/teaching-children-about-the-danger-of-internet-predators• Video: Tracking Teresa: http://www.netsmartz.org/stories/teresa.htm• Video: CBS News - Finding Internet Predators - The Alicia Kozakiewicz Story: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=3379194n• Dateline NBC - To Catch A Predator: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10912603• Net Smartz: http://www.netsmartz.org/index.aspx• Net Smartz Teens: http://www.NSTeens.org• Kideos: http://www.kideos.com• Online Safety and Technology Working Group: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/advisory/onlinesafety• Additional resources: http://www.ncjrs.gov/internetsafety/children.html