Social Networking: A New Tech Tool and a New Security Concern for Teens and Schools
By Joanne Barrett
MultiMedia & Internet@Schools; May/June 2006, Vol. 13 Issue 3, p.8-11, 4p

This article focused on student use of social networking sites. I found it interesting as the author began with what was, in my opinion, a fairly bold statement. “What has been the hottest tech issue in your school this year?” She answered that she was confident it was student usage of social networking sites, and for my school, she is correct. With the dateline series about myspace, and local newspaper articles, the panic button was pushed. We as a faculty discussed the exact issues she brought up in the article:
• that we need to educate students how to use technology tools wisely,
• that teens have the time and desire to experiment extensively with social networking sites,
• that these sites have become prime places for predators and cyber bullies to harass members,
• that students don’t fully understand the public arena these postings are and they also don’t understand that what they post can impact them for years to come.

I agree with the author that this is a challenge we will need to solve in the future. What the answer is, however, I do not know. I like the ending of the article as it states:

"How do you educate when you have removed access at school? Are we creating a new type of teen prohibition that will make them want access even more? Education into the use of these resources will be one of our biggest challenges for some time to come."

Indeed, I wish I could see five years into the future to know how to resolve this issue. As of right now, we too are blocking these sites in our library. However, I know that doesn’t stop the students from using them, and we are implementing an awareness approach in the fall that will hopefully help educate our students as to the concerns involved with social networking sites.