Local and Community Services
Social Networking as a Youth Work Tool Guidelines for Youth Work Staff August 2011
Contents
Social Networking What is Social Networking? Why is Social Networking popular? Why is Social Networking popular with Young People? Protecting Young People and Yourself Fife Council Internet Guidelines Child Protection Protecting Yourself as a Professional Protecting Young People Young People’s Right to Privacy Using Social Networking in Youth Work Effective Use of Social Networking Sites Benefits of Social Networking with Young People Using Social Networking in a youth club setting
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Social Networking What is social networking? Social Networking is a product of the Web 2.0 generation of the internet. Previously, the internet was a place of information. An internet user went to the internet to find information uploaded by the technical department of the website. Web 2.0 has allowed a new generation of internet use which has facilitated the use of blogging, social networking, you tube and video sharing and this means we no longer need to be a member of the I.T. team which holds the website to be able to upload to it. This is why the BBC (among other news sites) manages to offer comments to articles, why sites can offer blogging and why sites like Facebook and Twitter have suddenly taken off! The influence of uploading to these sites has become so great that Time Magazine, in 2006, named ‘You’ as their person of the year. This refers to all the anonymous bloggers, facebookers, tweeters and Wikipedia editors that have arisen since 2004. From 2004 the average internet user has been able to influence, upload to and alter the websites that we look at. This has led to the usage of social networking sites, where members of the public (and some celebrities and businesses) sign up to be the ‘owner’ of a page on either Facebook, Twitter or another social networking site (there are around 200 different social networking sites, not including dating sites which are primarily the same idea and format). On these pages the owner can upload content such as blogs, photos, music, video- anything they feel that they want to express. Their authorised (often unauthorised) friends will be able to look at their content and also comment on the site. Through these social networking sites a massive population of the world is connected to each other and, young people especially, have networked with friends and have an online world to updated and view.
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Why is Social Networking popular? Social networking is proving popular as it allows the site owner to share personal thoughts and opinions and create their own unique online space. The main reason to use social networking sites is to connect with people across the globe. This can be to meet new people, reconnect with old friends, learn about subjects or connect with like-minded people (specific networks for LGBT or sports etc, the opportunities are endless). Mikolaj Jan Piskorski (Harvard Business School Professor) has studied social networking sites over the past few years and states that these sites offer benefits not enjoyed in the off-line world. He states, ‘It’s hard to know what my friends are up to, but online I can catch up with them quickly.’ He feels that social networking allows people to quickly and effectively be updated on friends activities, share information on your recent accomplishments and allows us to ‘boast’ through an accepted medium. He feels that online we are able to pry into each others lives without actually prying and show off about our successes, and show our popularity through numbers of friends etc. In terms of Young People, social networking may be considered more popular than other demographics, in fact, in the UK, under 30s account for over half of all UK profiles (over 13 million). Over 5 million under 20s are actively using Facebook regularly. Consider that there is also Twitter and MySpace that constitute the 3 major social networking ‘players’ in Britain we have a potential audience of around 7 million under 20s in the UK. Crudely calculated, Fife represents around 0.6% of the UK population, meaning that, in Fife, we have approximately 40,000 under 20s consistently connecting to these three sites. Facebook alone has around 30,000 Fife users under 20 years of age (Fife’s population of 0-24 year olds- 105,000, though if we remove the age groups less likely to use social networking we have around 40,000-50,000 young people). (Know Fife website) By using social networking in our youth work, it is possible to connect with up to 30,000 young people (approximately 60% Fife’s young population) purely by maintaining, promoting and advertising one page. This then allows us to positively engage these young people consistently and promote our other services.
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Why is Social Networking so popular with Young People? It is safely assumed that the main ‘pull’ of social networking is the ability to connect with people all over the world from your computer. For adults, this is massively beneficial as we can reach people that have moved abroad, those we have lost contact with and friends that, for one reason or another, we no longer meet socially. Social networking offers us a virtual medium when we are unable to maintain conventional contact. Of course we are also connected to our ‘local’ and everyday friends through social networking however our dependency on social networking is regarding those out with our normal means. Young people however, do not have many of the friends mentioned above. It is unlikely that they have many friends out with their normal life and is safe to assume that the vast majority of their contacts are involved in their daily life at school, college etc. The only benefits from Facebook that will be realised in this group are features such as planning events, sharing pictures with each other and online games. We can therefore assume that Facebook and other sites are not necessary to young people in the way that it is for adults. What a young person shares on a Monday night could be told in person on a Tuesday lunchtime. So why do young people use them? There are several reasons for the popularity of social networking programs for young people, not only those outlined above which apply to all users. •
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Since the advent of web 2.0, there have been changes in how internet users operate online. The internet can be considered a place for young people to go to, rather than a tool to be used. Online young people meet up, chat, play and work together whereas older generations may still consider it a resource to be used for a particular function and then left alone. This ‘place’ can be found regardless of external factors. For instance if a young person is grounded, away with family or any other reason is stopping them seeing their friends, the internet provides their social interaction, even if this is not face to face. Social networking allows young people to develop and maintain their own identity. This is a major aspect of growing up and developing from a child to an adult and can be facilitated through social networking. On these sites, a young person can determine who they are and how they would like to present themselves to the public. Young people live in a generally structured world. From early morning to mid afternoon they are required to attend school and in addition may play sports or participate in after-school activities. This means that most of their time is structured and they are required to be in attendance with adults. Even at home their activities are controlled by 5
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an adult. Social networking allows young people to be involved in an activity which is not structured or influenced by authority figures. Social networking websites provide gaming such as Farmville and Mafia Wars which is a popular aspect of social networking sites for young people. A unique aspect compared to online gaming sites is that your score or progress is uploaded to your page, thereby ‘bragging’ your skills. It is possible to challenge friends through games and quizzes, some of which you can create yourself for a personal touch to your gaming.
Social networking is here and is unlikely to leave us as a very popular and efficient way of engaging with each other. Young people will always be using this for maintaining and starting friendships and relationships. It is important that, as youth work professionals, we have embraced this as an engagement tool properly, maintaining our contact with young people.
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Protecting Young People and Yourself Fife Council Internet Guidelines Fife Council have produced guidelines for employees to follow regarding fair and appropriate use of the internet in the workplace. In this, Fife Council detail that the internet provided is primarily for business use however operates through trust. There is an understanding that, in certain circumstances, the I.T. facilities can be used for personal purposes should it be an emergency. Personal use is also permitted during certain periods; Personal use of email, internet and telephone should be kept to reasonable levels and personal messages should only be composed or read during authorised break, lunch breaks, or before or after normal working hours, (i.e. when clocked out) or by agreement with your line manager. Internet access has similar restrictions and it is at the discretion of the Council IT Service which sites will have restricted or denied access due to operational issues and to ensure that the business of the Council is not disrupted by personal use. If access to a blocked site is required, it can be arranged through IT. The Council reserves the right to monitor, at any time, all Internet access, including Internet browser history files, storage of temporary Internet files and any downloads from an Internet site. This right is reserved solely for the purpose of Monitoring Internet access as set out above. Social networking sites are blocked by the Council’s internet security systems so to be able to set up a page you will need to do this through discussion with your line manager and the Council’s Web Team. This then protects yourself from accusations that you are using the internet and Fife Council’s resources for personal use. It is also important that your line manager knows the existence of your social networking page in case of future implications that may arise. Authorisation for the use of social networking must be received from your line manager and Area Team Leader. Below are the Operating principles for Internet users. You can see the full guidelines at http://190.1.145.60/fish/uploadfiles/Publications/CC13%20Email,%20Phone %20%20Internet%20Guidelines.pdf The Council has software and systems in place that monitor and record all Internet usage. Our security systems record (for every user) each Internet site visit and we reserve the right to do so at any time. No employee should have any expectation of privacy as to his or her Internet access.
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• Managers will review Internet activity and analyse usage patterns and they may choose to publicise this data to assure that the Council's Internet resources are devoted to maintaining the highest levels of productivity. • A wide variety of materials may be considered offensive by colleagues, customers or suppliers. It is a violation of the Council's policy to store, view, and print or redistribute any document or graphic file that is not directly related to the user's job or the Council's business activities if it may cause offence to others. • Except where required by employment duties, the downloading or display of any kind of sexually explicit image or document or other offensive or obscene material, e.g. racist, homophobic, anti-religious, paedophiliac, etc., on the Council's system, that may be capable of constituting any form of discrimination or criminal offence, will be a violation of the Equality of Opportunity Policy. In addition, sexually explicit or other offensive or obscene material should not be archived, stored, distributed, edited or recorded using our network or computing resources unless required by employment duties. Any such action will be treated as gross misconduct. • The downloading or display of any kind of illegal material on Council systems is prohibited. In addition, such material should not be distributed, edited or recorded using our network or computing resources. Any such action will be treated as gross misconduct. • The Council has installed an Internet firewall to assure the safety and security of the Council's networks. We shall block access from within our networks to all such sites that we know of. If an employee accidentally connects to a site that contains sexually explicit or other offensive or obscene material or illegal material, he or she must disconnect from that site immediately and inform the IT Call Management Centre that the access has been possible. • Employees must not use the Council's Internet and Intranet facilities to violate the laws and regulations of the United Kingdom or breach its International obligations. Use of any of the Council's resources for illegal activity is grounds for summary dismissal. We shall co-operate with any legitimate law enforcement activity. • Any software or files downloaded via the Internet into the Council's network, with the exception of files with public or community ownership, become the property of the Council. Any such files or software may be used only in ways that are consistent with their licenses or copyrights. Unless otherwise agreed, the Council retains the copyright to any material posted on the Internet by any employee in the course of his or her duties with the exception of third party copyright. No employee may use the Council's Internet facilities to: • Download or distribute pirated software or data
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• Propagate any computer virus • Disable or overload any computer system or network • Except where required by their duties, circumvent any system intended to protect the privacy or security of another user Any such action will be considered gross misconduct. • Employees must take particular care to understand the copyright, trademark; libel; slander and public speech control laws, so that our use of the Internet does not inadvertently violate any laws which might be enforceable against us. • Any file that is downloaded must be scanned for viruses before it is run or accessed. • Employees may not use the Council's Internet facilities to download entertainment software or games, or to play games against opponents over the Internet unless for business-related use. • Employees with Internet access may not use the Council's Internet facilities to download copyright images, music, or videos unless there is an express business-related use for the material. • Employees must not access the Internet using Council equipment by routes other than those approved by IT Service. • Any employee who attempts to disable, defeat or circumvent any of the Council's security facilities will be subject to disciplinary action. Employees using Internet facilities for non-business research in personal time must still adhere to these usage instructions.
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Child Protection 8.3 Child Abuse and Information Technology Computer technology and the Internet are now a permanent part of the infrastructure of our society. The number of households/businesses with access to the Internet has grown exponentially over recent years. There has been a similar growth in the use of computers by the criminal fraternity. Overall, the digital age has not heralded many new crimes, but has provided new ways to commit existing ones. The largest section of the Internet is concerned with the proliferation of pornography. The World Wide Web does not recognise boundaries and allows the transportation, largely undetected, of images (including movies) throughout the world in seconds. The Internet also provides forums (chat rooms, news groups, etc.) where like-minded individuals can communicate anonymously. Included amongst these individuals are those who collect or trade in indecent images of children and young people. These offenders may be extremely computer literate and go to great lengths to avoid detection. They often form tight-knit security conscious groups such as the eight members of the paedophile network convicted at Edinburgh High Court in 2009 following Operation Algebra, the largest police investigation of its kind in Scotland. For each image, a child will have been subjected to some form of physical abuse. Studies have shown that of those people convicted of downloading indecent images of children and young people, approximately 30% were found to be physically abusing children and young people. People who sexually abuse children and young people often actively seek to befriend their victims prior to committing any indecent act; this process is known as ‘grooming’. Digital technology has provided unique ways to ‘groom’. Offenders, often posing as children and young people, join social networking sites frequented by children and young people and enter into a discussion with potential victims to gain their trust prior to luring them to a meeting. Similarly text messaging is also used. 8.3.1 Risk Factors The rapid development of information technology has brought about new considerations with regard to the protection of children and young people. The use of the Internet and IT has enormous educational and other benefits for children and young people. However, parents and carers should be expected to reduce the risks posed by appropriate levels of supervision. The risks include: • unsuitable sites of a sexual or violent nature- ensure that necessary barriers and parental controls are in place to prevent access to unsuitable sites and to monitor Internet usage. 10
• frequenting ‘internet cafes’ or communication centres- the risk is not only present through ‘on-line’ activity, but also through associations made on or near the premises - some premises have a degree of regulation but individuals are not regularly supervised. • On-line conversations with other individuals- young people may regularly enter into on-line conversations regarding subjects of mutual interest for educational purposes or for leisure activity - often these conversations are with peers, however, no reliable method of checking the genuineness, trustworthiness, age or intent of the other party exists; young people might find themselves potentially at risk, particularly where personal details are exchanged or arrangements made to meet. The proliferation of accessible social networking sites such as Bebo, MSN, Facebook, etc. offer opportunities for predatory individuals to engage in grooming behaviour. The unsupervised use of webcams poses a further risk. • Texting- many young people use mobile phones to send and receive texts and pictures. Unsupervised, this communication may be with individuals whose intent could pose a risk to the young person; active consideration needs to be given by those charged with the responsibility to protect children and young people as to how the use of IT may pose a risk to them either directly or indirectly. All those involved in the protection of children and young people should be aware of the value of digital evidence contained on computers, mobile phones and other media (this includes media used by the victim as well as any suspect). If there is a suspicion that such equipment might be of evidential value the following procedures should be adopted: • prevent further use of the computer or other equipment • prevent access to the computer, other equipment or associated media • do not disconnect the power unless there is reason to believe that the computer is carrying out a task that would delete any evidence, in which case remove the power lead from the rear of the computer; do not shut the computer down in the normal manner and do not switch off at the wall (both these actions may cause files to be deleted). • do not allow anyone (no matter how computer literate they may be) to interrogate the computer - this should only be done by Fife Constabulary’s Specialist Investigation Unit so as to ensure that the evidential value of the data is preserved • contact Fife Constabulary for advice in the normal manner (officers throughout the force are experienced in the seizure of computer based evidence and the Specialist Investigation Unit are available for advice when necessary)
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8.3.2 CEOP (Child Exploitation & On-line Protection) The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre delivers a multiagency service dedicated to tackling the exploitation of children, particularly through the use of technology. That means building intelligence around the risks, tracking and bringing offenders to account either directly or with local and international police forces. CEOP co-ordinate national awareness-raising days and provide educational resources incorporating the latest on-line safety and child protection advice for parents and professionals. There is a continuing national focus on this issue. CEOP also support schools in delivering their own ‘Thinkuknow’ training, which has already reached more than 1.8 million children across the UK, and is promoted in schools across the Fife area. They also investigate cases of child trafficking. 8.3.3 Child Trafficking Children and young people are trafficked into, within and out of the UK for many different types of exploitation. This includes, but is not limited to: • sexual
exploitation (See Section 8.6)
• labour
exploitation – such as in cooking and cleaning in restaurants
• domestic
servitude
• enforced
criminal activity – such as street crime, fraud or cannabis cultivation
• illegal
adoption
• underage, • benefit
servile or forced marriage
fraud
In 2009, the Scottish Government published ‘Safeguarding Children in Scotland who may have been Trafficked’, a guidance report outlining the procedures to be adopted in child-trafficking cases. It emphasises the need to consider the child’s needs first and foremost, and to acknowledge that all child trafficking cases are examples of child abuse. It is vitally important that these vulnerable children are identified as early as possible and safeguarded from further harm. If any agency, individual practitioner or volunteer suspects a child may have been trafficked they should immediately contact social work or the police. They may also contact the NSPCC Child Trafficking Advice and Information Line for advice (0800 107 7057), or the UK Human Trafficking Centre (01142523891) at www.ukhtc.org. Taken from Fife Child Protection Committee Inter Agency Guidelines 2010
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Protecting Yourself as a Professional In terms of social networking, it is vital that youth workers and professionals in our field firstly protect themselves. There has been countless cases of ‘accidental’ inappropriateness or some more serious incidents. Remember that, no matter how innocent the incident, these stigmas can stick with you as a professional- consider how you would feel sending your child to a youth club with a falsely accused member of staff. There would be a good chance that you would not allow your child to attend, this is the potential impact! If we consider how many people believe that there is ‘no smoke without fire’ and that people have a stigma for a reason then we can see how this could be a very big issue! There are some definite steps to protecting yourself•
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Under no circumstances ‘befriend’ one of your young people on social networking sites, your personal page should not be seen by young people. Should a young person add you as a friend you need to discuss with them that it is not appropriate for you to do so however refer them to a professional page that they can link up with, e.g. Young Fife. Regularly check your security settings and privacy. Many people believe their site is well protected until you check for yourself (by searching for yourself when not logged in). Your site should be completely secure from people accessing your information that you haven’t authorised. You should also not be linked in to any of the professional sites that you or another professional maintains. This will just encourage young people to cross the line from professional to personal and is not well advised. Consider what is on your social networking site. Do you want young people that you are working with to see your pictures, posts, friends etc? It is much safer for you and your youth club/organisation to be completely removed from this interaction on a personal level.
If you are maintaining or uploading to a site for Fife Council (a youth club group etc.) the you are responsible for what is on that page. You are therefore responsible to protect yourself and Fife Council•
Do not upload or write anything online as a Fife Council representative that would not be agreed with everyone else in your team and the council. For example, during the recent elections in 2010, many young people were discussing political parties etc. My personal opinion is not relevant and should not be uploaded, my personal page is for that. All we can do as professionals is give unbiased statements regarding their opinions. Anything referring to our personal thoughts should not appear. Actions like this could be seen as influencing a young person to believe as you do when we should be encouraging their own decision making.
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Monitor any uploads to the page which may be offensive or something that causes concern. Anything offensive should also be deleted very quickly from the page and a discussion with the young person conducted as to why. When inviting young people to ‘be friends’ it is important that you or your site clarify who you are and have a checkable contact. For instance, providing your fife.gov.uk email, office address and contact number so a young person or parent may check your identity. It may also be an idea to have young people ‘sign up’ by filling in a form before hand (at events etc). This way they have had a previous notice of the site and know they will be approached, helping to verify your identity.
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Protecting Young People Currently, there are many issues with young people using and accessing the internet, particularly social networking sites. There are child protection issues and terms like ‘grooming’ are being thrown around as potential pitfalls for young people. You, as a youth work professional, should be aware of the specific dangers that social networking brings to young people•
Grooming Grooming is one of the most important areas of social networking security to be aware of. Grooming is where an adult befriends and establishes an emotional connection with a young person to lower their inhibitions for future child abuse. This can occur through conversations which may not seem inappropriate but develops a trust between the child and the groomer. They may also attempt to befriend the parents so that they trust the groomer. Offers to baby-sit or take the child out are not uncommon. On the internet, child grooming can occur on social networking sites where a groomer will befriend the child (either as themselves or under a fake profile). They will establish a bond by discussing the child’s life and helping with their problems, sharing secrets and intimate information. The abuser will, once feeling they have established trust, encourage feelings of love and sexual conversation, including sexually explicit pictures. Then suggest meeting up. We should be trying to prevent this happening by encouraging young people to be extremely cautious when receiving friend requests and be cautious when talking to people they have met online. We should be emphasising how easy it is to pretend to be someone else on the internet and that people are projecting how they would like to be seen, not necessarily who they really are. Be aware of young people talking about a new close friend they have met or about photos they have sent or received.
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Cyber-Bullying "Cyberbullying" is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. www.stopcyberbullying.org
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There are several forms of cyber-bullying, some of which could be seen as ‘kids being kids’ or just pranks and joking around. They are however more serious than that and can cause young people a lot of distress. Some young people see these actions as ‘just a bit of fun’ however, if their actions were conducted face to face they would understand the severity of their actions. Many young people who engage in cyberbullying are doing so due to the ‘anonymity’ of the act, they feel removed from it because the threats are not spoken. They fail to realise that this is just as hurtful for the young person receiving this abuse. Cyber-bullying includes, but is not limited to, text harassment (sending many abusing messages, either as an individual or a group), stealing passwords and impersonating the victim or locking them out of their own profile by resetting all the preferences, mass sending of inappropriate photos designed to embarrass or hurt the victim in the photo, signing young people up to mailing lists (pornographic sites) and impersonation to distribute hurtful comments. Not only are the comments and things said damaging to the young people that are victimised but they can lead them in to trouble from parents and schools, even the police. Consider how their parents could react when the see thousands of pornography emails on their child’s email or if they saw inappropriate photos of them. Also consider the legal implications if their profile is showing inappropriate comments written by an impersonator. •
Applications Technology is quickly growing larger and larger and, in terms of the internet and communications, there is so much that can potentially be dangerous. One area which is gradually becoming more and more dangerous is the iPhone and its applications. These apps are meant to be practical, games for fun and other gadgets which we can all have a joke about with. On the other hand, some of these can be used against young people and is particularly dangerous. A quick browse on the app store and you could end up with applications that could be dangerous. There are two particular apps which can be used with devastating effect. One, a facial recognition application that will search the internet and social networking sites to find out all they can about that person and swiftly zap the information to the photographer. All of a sudden the photographer knows how to find and contact that person. Potentially this is very dangerous, especially to children, as all their details have suddenly been exposed to this photographer who could, in reality, be anyone.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1254537/Facial-recognitionphone-application-described-stalkers-dream.html Another dangerous iPhone app allows you to track where your friends are. Basically, you can input a mobile phone number and your application will track where that person is and give you that information. To some extent, this is a good app for parents to use if they are unable to find or locate their child however think of the stalking potential or of the power that possessive or abusive boy/girlfriends could have over our young people. The iPhone and other smartphones could prove to be very dangerous in the future however some of these dangers are here today through this innovative technology. •
Information Sharing We tend to believe that what we discuss with our friends and the information that we chose to upload will remain in one place. The truth however is that once you have uploaded that information, it can be copied, saved externally to the social networking site and viewed by many people that we have not authorised or wanted to see it. Despite privacy settings and security which has been placed on social networking there are websites in existence (currently only in the U.S.) which amalgamates all the information we have uploaded and provides them to anyone for as little as a few dollars! Because of this, we must be careful with the information we upload, and encourage young people to do the same.
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Phishing (and Identity Theft) Phishing is a technique used by con artists that will create impostor emails and send them to your email address pretending to be a social networking site, your bank or any other organisation that holds sensitive information about you. These emails will ask that you enter your details (password etc) while looking like an authentic and trustworthy source. Identity theft can easily occur over the internet, we are all aware of this and protect ourselves accordingly. One thing to consider though is that facebook allows us to enter the details of our family (who we are related to etc) and many people do so. Most of us use passwords such as mother’s maiden names for banking etc, so ultimately you are detailing your password for all to see.
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Obviously we are not looking to monitor young people on these social networking sites, we are looking to engage them. We can of course, remain vigilant through these means for any of the forms of abuse detailed above and process this properly according to our child protection guidelines. Youth workers should however be making young people aware of what these dangers are and how to avoid them. Remember that we do not want to make young people afraid of using the internet or social networking however young people do need to know these dangers and use these sites safely.
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Young People’s Right To Privacy Article 16- The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child ‘You have the right to privacy. The law should protect you from attacks against your way of life, your good name, your family and your home.’ One thing that youth work professionals must remember when we are developing and promoting our social networking sites is that we are asking to be invited into a young person’s private space. We are asking to be able to access their information regarding what they participate in, who they interact with and also pictures of them. They have the right to refuse us access and we, as professionals must respect that. Also consider that we will receive updates on the young people through this and we must use this information sensitively and not become ‘preachy’ through this medium. Obviously if we see a child protection issue through the social networking site we would intervene however remember that we have been allowed in through trust and should we act authoritarian it will be detrimental to interaction through social networks and we will lose contact through this medium.
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Using Social Networking in Youth Work Effective use of Social Networking Sites (http://www.digizen.org.uk/socialnetworking/benefits.aspx) The use of social networking is very useful to us as youth work professionals as an engagement tool. Social networking allows us to reach young people on an existing platform which is being actively engaged on. Therefore, there would be little point in attempting to engage young people through other websites when our target audience is predominantly in one place. Other websites of course can be utilised, but we can direct the young people via Facebook or Bebo, much easier and more productive than trying to raise the profile of other sites. Using this we can advertise, promote and encourage positive contributions via blogs and events. We can also showcase particular projects that we are currently using, such as Miss Kit. •
Blogs, comments and inputs Young people can comment on what we are doing and can feedback regularly. They can contribute to what we are working on and we can start up some debates with young people on current issues and their thoughts. Basically, we can consult with young people regularly with minimal effort taken.
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Projects and Events With a few projects and tools in use in youth work in Fife we can use Facebook to promote and highlight our up and coming events, clubs and resources. Social networking also allows us to promote our tools such as Miss Kit to a wide range of young people that we may potentially not have engaged with. This is also a fantastic way to showcase your youth group to other young people and other youth organisations/clubs.
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Networking With a developed Facebook page at each Fife Council youth group there is a great opportunity for networking across areas. Potentially it is possible to have challenges between youth groups (sports etc) or visits to other youth clubs. This can all be organised and planned by the
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young people in your group with support from youth workers but would be a valuable task in developing young people’s skills.
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Benefits of Social Networking with Young People Social networking can be used very positively as an engagement tool. It is well documented in marketing magazines, e-zines and other articles that using Facebook or Bebo as a medium to advertise through is ineffective. This is considered the wrong way to use social networking and that the best way to reach your audience is through engagement, which is also our end goal as a youth organisation! Social Networking holds several benefits for youth work which we can incorporate in a youth work setting. These services, as an educational tool, can improve literacy skills, communication skills and basic I.T. Skills that we can develop in a youth club include•
Active Citizenship A social networking page provides opportunities for young people to actively highlight and work on issues which affect their local area or young people in general. It is easy for a young person to form groups, organise fundraisers or events and use blogging and articles to bring their concerns to the fore front within their community.
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Developing a voice and building trust Social networking can build a young person’s skills in debating and discussions through forums, discussion pages and the comment boards. A young person can be encouraged to develop these skills and we can develop their reasoning and their ability to challenge what has been stated on certain sites and profiles.
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Responsibility It is possible to give a young person responsibility over a youth group social networking site which will encourage them to learn responsibility, maintain and update content, moderate user’s comments and develop ideas while being creative.
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Teamwork Maintaining a youth group social networking site will require the users and administrators to work together to develop what they plan to achieve. Whether that be to raise the profile of the group, highlight local issues or develop discussion boards etc. The young people will need to learn to delegate tasks, share workloads and consider others ideas when performing this task. This will encourage them to discuss and debate their opinions and teach them to compromise to reach a decision as a group.
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Independence Social networking offers young people a social space to go to. This means that young people can hang out with friends, explore alone and develop as a person through the internet. In addition to their independence, they can also build a resistance to potential dangers through the exposure they receive. Their evaluating and reasoning skills can improve, they can evaluate risk and judge dangers that arise. This development of young people’s resilience will be much more likely with support and education from youth workers on what young people should be aware of etc.
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Key Skills It is possible for young people to develop real world skills through maintaining social networking sites, many of which are desired in the workplace. Not only will young people be able to adapt to new technologies and changes in the workplace but will also have developed some additional literacy skills including interpretation, evaluation and contextualisation.
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Self Representation An important lesson for young people to learn is the difference between who a person is and who they appear to be through their uploads and posts. Ignoring those who impersonate others online, young people must also know how to balance what someone says and what the reality may be. Baring in mind that people use to Facebook as a bragging medium, we are likely to see the very positive side of themwe only see what they want us to. This can be an important lesson for young people to learn and can be done easily through social networking. It can also be a great exercise. Comparing people to their networking site and identifying differences between the real person and the person they are showing online.
Young people can support and maintain a social networking site for a youth group which will develop all the above skills but will also promote the group, detail what the club is doing and issues it is working on- pretty much anything you and your young people would like to highlight can be shown online.
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Using Social Networking in a youth club setting If you plan to use social networking within a youth club setting you will need to have a thorough plan of what you would like to achieve by using this. Computers and the internet are a fantastic resource to be able to use for youth work but we must consider how it will be used before allowing young people access. Consider• What the young people will access • What they will be using it for • If it is necessary during a youth club • If there is a positive outcome to the young people using the internet Obviously, if you have managed to get your youth group to work on a research project or something which requires information exchange then the internet will work very well in assisting this project. If however, the young people just want to ‘have a play on bebo’ then this is not something we would like to happen at a youth club as they will already do enough on these websites during their time at home. There are occasions where social networking can be used well in a youth club setting however. You could work with a group in creating a page which would document what happens at a youth club, blog their thoughts and just generally offer a space where young people are discussing and promoting their club to adults, other professionals and other young people. Social networking can be used in a youth club setting, just be sure to fully think through what it is that you would like to achieve before using this resource. Never use it to ‘keep them entertained’ or as a filler, computers should be used for a purpose for young people to receive benefits from them. And always remember to monitor them online, no matter what security controls are in place, they will find something they shouldn’t be looking atespecially if their tasks are unfocused! As outlined in previous sections, the most effective and efficient way to use social networking is to use the tool for promotion and networking with young people in your area. Allow the current young people in your group to manage a page which documents what you are doing on a regular basis and other projects you are trying to develop. This allows a peer to peer promotion while improving young people’s skills as detailed previously. You should also look at holding sessions where you will discuss the internet, social networking and internet safety. By educating we can encourage the use
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of the internet while offering young people the ability to protect themselves from the dangers they may encounter.
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