At the Galaxy Conference last month, I attended a timely workshop regarding teen use of social media and things to be aware of. The workshop was conducted by Christy Clary, a graduate student in Youth Development and Agricultural Education at Purdue University. It was one of the best workshops that I attended and I wanted to share some of the information with you all.

According to a 2012 report by Common Sense Media:

• 90 percent of teens use Social Media;
• 51 percent of teens log onto a social media site everyday; and
• 68 percent of teens say Facebook is their main social media site.

This is important to know as we are looking for the most effective ways to communicate with teen 4-H members.  Many of you have your own Facebook accounts, but do you know everyone who can see your account or has access to your account?  If not, it is likely that the teens in your 4-H program do not either.  Increasingly, scholarship committees, employers and college admissions are searching applicants’ social media accounts prior to making decisions.  It is important to make them aware that what they post can tell others a lot about them and may impact their chances of receiving a scholarship, job offer or admission to college.  Below are some recommended social media settings which can help protect them (and you) from potential dangers.

Recommended Facebook Settings:

• Adjust your privacy settings at: https://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=privacy
• Always use your correct age, but only display your birth month and day, not the year.
• Facebook has safeguards in place for individuals under 18 and it is against the terms of service to lie about your age.
• It is also against the terms of service to have an account if you are under the age of 13.
• Change all of your privacy settings to “Friends” only.
• The default setting if you are under 18 is “Friends of Friends.” For over 18 it is “Public”.
• You don’t know who all your friends’ friends are; think about what you are letting them see.
• Turn ON the feature that requires you to review posts your friends tag you in.
• This allows you to determine if the content is appropriate for you to have visible on your page. By turning ON this feature, you are able to review any status updates or pictures before they are published to your profile with your name linked to them.

Recommended Twitter Settings:

• All settings are under account: https://twitter.com/settings/account
• Turn off Tweet Location GPS tagging
• Protect your tweets.
• If unprotected, anyone with internet access may view your posts and information.
• If protected, only people who you approve to follow you can see your profile and posts.
• Always be mindful of who you approve to follow your account.

For more information regarding how to stay safe online go to : http://onguardonline.gov