March 28, 2024

Newton SRO encourages parents to monitor social media

Regular dialogue about online activity is key, Foster says

During the upcoming four-day Thanksgiving weekend, teens, preteens and young adults will most likely spend at least a few minutes here or there on social media.

There are a number of methods and characteristics parents can maximize to make sure teens are acting and are interacting positively online, and Newton school resource officer Brian Foster wants parents to take full advantage of tools at their disposal.

“It will really help to install any type of filters of parental controls on all devices,” Foster said. “Of course, those controls will work even better if communication was already happening between a parent and sons or daughters.”

As social media enters its second decade as a mainstream form of communication, Foster knows most teens are not only Internet savvy but are typically armed with devices that could not only generate content that will damage a student’s future opportunities, but also create havoc for peers and adults in the present.

Apps such as Halt, which allows users to review online posts, comments and other content for rejection or acceptance, is one of the many ways parents can have a more direct role in students’ online lives. Foster said law enforcement agencies take criticism for not monitoring online dialogue or real-life interaction, but if content could be nixed before it ever goes live, that would save himself and other officers hours of trouble.

“You have no idea how time-consuming it is to find a post related to an incident, going back and looking at weeks or months of data, for something that might have been deleted anyway,” he said.

Foster said filters, such as ones that are used on school Wi-Fi access, which prohibit certain words or phrases, could also be used on home equipment.

Newton High School Principal Bill Peters said his administrative team takes what he calls “a three-pronged approach” to social media.

“Educate the students, the staff and the parents,” he said.”All of our freshmen have a curriculum delivered during advisory — which meets once a week — which centers around responsible Internet usage, to include social media and how to be intelligent users of information as well as Internet safety.”

Peters said last spring, Ann Nelson, the director of the high school’s library media center, provided a seminar for staff on the topic of “Digital Citizenship,” with material that can be used in everyday lesson plans.

“Now, the stakes are higher, as a single line of text or post can reach, literally, millions,” he said. “The one item we stress to everyone is that they have the power of choice. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. Hide it, block it, delete it.”

Social media has huge potential for a positive impact, especially in school activities, and it even helps law enforcement put a stop to promotion of illegal activity or apprehend suspects. Foster said it’s often not long before threats or posts about him or about, say, illegal drug use, by students quickly become known by police.

When the Newton Police Department recently posted information about a student wanted in connection with crimes committed in town, Foster said, the student himself came up to the front office of NHS within 15 to 20 minutes to turn himself in.

One challenge Foster really began to face on a larger scale in the fall of 2014 was from Yik Yak, as the mobile app began to surge in popularity. Yik Yak and similar apps allow users to post content with no visible link to the initiator.

“I was told by students that I really need to look into and download Yik Yak,” Foster said. “It makes it tough when you’re trying to figure out who said what.”

Yik Yak data can and has been used by law enforcement in ways that lead to arrests. Missouri police recently arrested a student for making threats of violence using the app.

Foster encourages parents not only to learn about current apps, but to stay ahead of the curve. Talking to other parents, students, high school staff and doing online research can help parents learn about the next apps that allow teens to communicate in new ways.

Setting limits and confiscating devices doesn’t always prevent a student from online discussion of drugs, violence, or casual sex, he said, but it might send a message that an adult is concerned. He encourages families to have agreements in place about online behavior.

“We need parents’ help,” he said. “If rules are violated, take the phone away.”