Talking to Teenagers About Social Networking Websites

Use the following questions, answers, and strategies to spark a conversation with teens. Links are to selected lessons from the free CyberSmart Curriculum for 6-8 grade students. Lessons include teacher plans and downloadable student activity sheets.

What are the differences between online friends and face-to-face friends?

Explain to teens that face-to-face friends are people they know in real space, such as from school, a religious institution, summer camp, or athletic teams. Online friends are people they have never met face to face. Although online friends can seem like real friends, they are still strangers because one really cannot know who they are and whether they have represented themselves truthfully. To be as safe as possible, tell younger teens to limit their online friends and IM buddies to people they know face to face.
- Playing it Safe with Cyberpals

Why is it sometimes easier to share information with someone you only know online?

Have teens consider the positive aspects of networking in cyberspace, including finding other people who share the same tastes in music or politics, and that it may be easier to share personal thoughts without fear of judgment. Discuss how it might feel easier to express their feelings when they don't need to face these people in school the next day. Still, no matter how close they may feel after revealing their thoughts, or how much fun it may be to pretend to be someone you are not, reiterate that online friends are strangers.
- Playing it Safe with Cyberpals

What is bad about the anonymous nature of cyberspace?

Point out visual and auditory cues, such as facial expressions and voice inflections, are missing in cyberspace. Explain that people can misrepresent themselves and that it's impossible to be sure what they say is true. This is why, no matter how real an online friend may seem, he or she is still a stranger. To illustrate this, have teens answer a question such as, "Did you ever cheat someone?" and vary the meaning of their answer by changing their facial expressions or voice inflections.

Have you ever done something and then wished you could "replay it"?

Explain that once information is put online, it remains "out there" in public cyberspace, even after being deleted by the individual who posted it. Invite teens to share an experience in which they wished they could have "replayed" something they said or did online, such as unsolicited flirting. Next, have them consider the implications of not being able to "take back" what they posted.
- Dealing with Online Bullies
- Savvy Talk

Why bother protecting your identity and the identities of others?

Invite teens to share stories of dangerous situations that began online. Talk about protecting oneself from online strangers intruding into their face-to-face world, as well as the financial implications of identity theft (including theft of credit and debit cards numbers, gaining illegal access to bank accounts, and stealing Social Security numbers).
- Privacy – What's the big deal?
- Check the Privacy Policy

What kind of information would reveal to a stranger who you are or where you can be found?

Discuss the difference between personal information (information that does not reveal identity, such as a favorite song or favorite recording artist) and private identity information, (information that can be used to locate a person, such as a name, phone number, school, town, sports teams you play on, parent' names, or birth dates). Have teens think of other examples from each category and justify their reasoning.
- Private and Personal Information
- Savvy Talk

What makes a good online profile name or screen name?

Explain that some online names may provide clues to one's identity. Have teens consider why the online name "jayhawksjess09" is too revealing (the Jayhawk is the mascot of the University of Kansas, located in Lawrence, Kansas, "Jess" could be short for Jesse or Jessica, and "09" could be a graduation year.) Have teens brainstorm some good alternative online names—names that are random combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols.
- Protecting Private Identity Information

Is it OK to post a picture of yourself on the Internet for everyone to see?

Because photos in combination with textual clues can help someone locate a teen, choosing to post a photo on the Internet requires careful consideration. Have teens imagine a scenario in which a photo and other posted clues can lead to such an unsafe situation. Sometimes, teens post photos of themselves that they wouldn't want their teachers, parents, or employers to see. Discuss the possible unwanted consequences of such an action.
- Protecting Private Identity Information