D.L. McBride
Media, 2009). The widespread distribution of such photos via
cell phones and computers may result in emotional distress,
school suspension, and legal problems. Although some states
consider such activities as misdemeanors, others have filed
felony pornography charges for these activities. Health care
providers should advise parents that they need to discuss with
their children the ramifications of posting inappropriate
material. Adolescents need to know that once they post
something, it cannot be taken back and can follow them.
The authors note that the popularity of social networking sites has led researchers to identify a new phenomenon
known as Facebook depression. Classic symptoms of
depression develop in teens who spend too much time on
social networking sites. This is fueled by teen's desire for
acceptance and the intensity of the online experience. The
report notes that sufferers are at risk for social isolation
and may be unduly influenced by Web sites promoting
drugs or sex.
Other risks to preadolescents and adolescents online
today are lack of privacy, sharing too much information, or
position false information about themselves or others. When
Internet users visit various Web sites, they can leave behind
evidence of which sites they have visited. This collective,
ongoing record of one's Web activity is called the “digital
footprint.” One of the biggest risk to young people on social
Web sites is to their digital footprint and future reputations.
Preadolescents and adolescents who lack an awareness of
privacy issues often post inappropriate messages, pictures,
and videos without understanding that what goes online,
stays online. As a result, future jobs or college applications
may be put in jeopardy.
Health care providers should tell parents that they need
to educate themselves about the technology that their
children use. This may mean parents joining social network
sites and even “friending” their own children. For many
adolescent patients, their parents are on their Facebook
pages and that is an accepted standard in many families.
However, according to the report, parents have a lot to learn
about their children's behavior online, 12% of teens with
Facebook or MySpace pages admit that their parents do not
even know about the account. The AAP report advises
parents to work on their own participation gap in their homes
by becoming better educated about the many technologies
their children are using.
Previously, parents were advised to prevent problems
by locating the computer in a public area of the house to
help monitor adolescents, but Internet applications on cell
499
phones has made that advice obsolete, according to the
authors. Instead of hovering over teens to protect them, the
authors recommend that parents create a family plan to
guide online use, which would call for regular meetings to
discuss online topics. Parents need to check privacy settings
and online profiles. Discussions concerning inappropriate
posts would emphasize citizenship and healthy behavior,
not punitive action. In addition, rules concerning how
much time is spent on the computer would be followed by
teens and parents alike.
The authors also urge parents to respect the age restrictions on Web sites. Thirteen is the minimum age for most
social media sites. Allowing children to falsify their age puts
children at risk of viewing inappropriate content and sends a
mixed message about Internet safety and lying. According to
the authors, the major reason why 13 years is the minimum
age for most social media sites is that it is the age set by
Congress in the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
(COPPA), which prohibits Web sites from collecting
information on children younger than 13 years old without
parental permission. The terms of service for many popular
sites now mirror the COPPA regulations and state that 13
years is the minimum age to sign up and have a profile. This
is the minimum age to sign on to sites such as Facebook and
MySpace. There are many sites for preadolescents and
younger children that do not have such restrictions, such as
Disney sites or Club Penguin.
The authors of the report encourage health care workers to
increase their knowledge of digital technology so that they
can have a more educated frame of reference for the tools
their patients and families are using, which will aid in
providing timely anticipatory media guidance and diagnosing media-related issues should they arise. There are a
number of online resources (see box). In addition, health care
workers with Web sites or blogs may wish to create a section
with resources for parents and children about these issues
and may suggest a list of links to social media sites that are
appropriate for different age groups.
References
Common Sense Media (2009). Is technology changing childhood? A
national poll on teens and social networking. Retrieved from: http://
www.commonsensemedia.org/teen-social-media. Accessed May 2011.
O'Keeffe, G. S., Clarke-Pearson, K., & Council on Communications and
Media. (2011). Clinical report—The impact of social media on children,
adolescents, and families. Pediatrics, 127, 800–804.