Social Media - What is it and how can I protect my child

We've had a real focus on digital citizenship in Year 5 and 6 over the last month, with several high school students speaking to students about their journey with social media, what they have learned and what advice they have for younger students. 

As a school we strongly advise that primary age students do not have social media accounts of any sort, including musically, instagram, snap chat, facebook, youtube. Although there are settings that can keep accounts reasonably private, all social media apps require members to say they are 13+, thereby allowing children to access 13+ content. We've also found that when younger students move from online games to social media they view social media like a game where getting "likes" and "followers" is the name of the game. It makes private accounts very unappetising and secret public accounts very tempting. 

For more info on different social media apps and their settings and reviews check out Netsafe and Common Sense Media.