Social Media

Four students in California are suing their school district after they were suspended for "liking" racist posts on Instagram. At issue is whether the action infringed on students' free-speech rights since the responses to the posts were input off campus. Schools have broad authority under federal law to limit speech at school that they consider disruptive, according to First Amendment scholars, but courts have disagreed about whether schools can punish students for off-campus speech that causes disruptions at school. As critics also point out about this generation, “Likes” are ambiguous and could signify agreement, but also just as likely, disagreement, with a nod to the right to speak freely, making this yet another topic to discuss with your children.

Yik Yak, the anonymous, location-based messaging app once popular with high school and college students, is shutting down at the end of this school year. The mobile app, which for a time allowed for anonymous messaging on school campuses, raised concerns about cyberbullying and was blamed for conveying numerous bomb and other threats that temporarily closed down many schools. Eventually, the unfiltered vulgarity and threats so prevalent on the site prompted the company to implement mandatory user names, much like Twitter. The lack of anonymity led many of the site's most ardent users to delete their accounts, seeing little use for a group messaging app when more established apps like Twitter or Snapchat offered the same functionality.

Yik Yak, the anonymous, location-based messaging app once popular with high school and college students, is shutting down at the end of this school year. The mobile app, which for a time allowed for anonymous messaging on school campuses, raised concerns about cyberbullying and was blamed for conveying numerous bomb and other threats that temporarily closed down many schools. Eventually, the unfiltered vulgarity and threats so prevalent on the site prompted the company to implement mandatory user names, much like Twitter. The lack of anonymity led many of the site's most ardent users to delete their accounts, seeing little use for a group messaging app when more established apps like Twitter or Snapchat offered the same functionality.

It all used to be so simple: Break the rules, get grounded and be forbidden from hanging out with your friends. These days, of course, social media makes anywhere a teen hangout, and parents looking to ground their kids might choose to cut off access to social media instead. But that punishment might not have its desired effect — and could even have some harmful consequences for teenagers, according to a new study published recently.

Teens forced to take a break from social media lose more than just a few days gossiping with friends, according to the research funded conducted by the University of Chicago's independent research organization, NORC. “The side effect of  [a forced break] is taking away from potential emotional support and from access to information,” said Amanda Lenhart, the study's lead researcher and an expert on social media behavior. “That's not just what's happening in friends' lives, which is one component, but also hard news, current events and that type of information.”

There is no denying that grounding a child from social media makes an immediate impact, Lenhart says. But the survey suggests that it may have a more negative effect than parents realize. The 38 percent of teens who were forced to take a break were more likely to report being anxious about being away from social media and more likely to increase their social media postings after being allowed back on their networks. On the other hand, teens who opted to take voluntary breaks from social media — 65 percent of those surveyed — tend to handle the lack of constant contact with friends and the online world much better than teens who had it snatched away from them. Across the board, these teens were more likely to say they felt relieved about taking a break and thought the break helped them connect with important people in their lives.

It all used to be so simple: Break the rules, get grounded and be forbidden from hanging out with your friends. These days, of course, social media makes anywhere a teen hangout, and parents looking to ground their kids might choose to cut off access to social media instead. But that punishment might not have its desired effect — and could even have some harmful consequences for teenagers, according to a new study published recently.

Teens forced to take a break from social media lose more than just a few days gossiping with friends, according to the research funded conducted by the University of Chicago's independent research organization, NORC. “The side effect of  [a forced break] is taking away from potential emotional support and from access to information,” said Amanda Lenhart, the study's lead researcher and an expert on social media behavior. “That's not just what's happening in friends' lives, which is one component, but also hard news, current events and that type of information.”

There is no denying that grounding a child from social media makes an immediate impact, Lenhart says. But the survey suggests that it may have a more negative effect than parents realize. The 38 percent of teens who were forced to take a break were more likely to report being anxious about being away from social media and more likely to increase their social media postings after being allowed back on their networks. On the other hand, teens who opted to take voluntary breaks from social media — 65 percent of those surveyed — tend to handle the lack of constant contact with friends and the online world much better than teens who had it snatched away from them. Across the board, these teens were more likely to say they felt relieved about taking a break and thought the break helped them connect with important people in their lives.

Numerous surveys show that Snapchat is one of the most used messaging apps by teens, but many parents have never used the app. In case you are not aware, Snapchat is an application for mobile devices, where photo and video messages disappear after they are viewed by the recipient. To help parents get up to speed on the app, USA Today has created a primer, or a Snapchat 101 for parents. The primer covers what the app is, what it does and why it is so popular. It also covers why many parents are concerned about this app (the disappearing content has been known to foster sexting and cyberbullying) and suggests ways to protect teens who use the app. If you find the article useful, you might also want to check out USA Today’s intro for parents to Musical.ly, an ultra addictive lip syncing app.

Numerous surveys show that Snapchat is one of the most used messaging apps by teens, but many parents have never used the app. In case you are not aware, Snapchat is an application for mobile devices, where photo and video messages disappear after they are viewed by the recipient. To help parents get up to speed on the app, USA Today has created a primer, or a Snapchat 101 for parents. The primer covers what the app is, what it does and why it is so popular. It also covers why many parents are concerned about this app (the disappearing content has been known to foster sexting and cyberbullying) and suggests ways to protect teens who use the app. If you find the article useful, you might also want to check out USA Today’s intro for parents to Musical.ly, an ultra addictive lip syncing app.

Leaked documents from Facebook's team in Australia allegedly show the social giant's ability to identify teens who feel "worthless," "useless," "stressed," "silly," "stupid," and "defeated" and then, at least in one case, help advertisers to target ads to them. The leaked documents, the subject of an article in an Australian newspaper, also detailed how advertisers could use Facebook's algorithms to find teens who were interested in "working out and losing weight" and promote health products. Facebook's team in Australia was reportedly looking to capitalize on the 6.4 million teens that use the social network in their geographic region. Facebook denied the allegations and called the article's premise "misleading". 

"Facebook does not offer tools to target people based on their emotional state," the social network said in its official response on Sunday. "The analysis done by an Australian researcher was intended to help marketers understand how people express themselves on Facebook.” According to the response, the research results were never used to target ads and were based on data that was anonymous and aggregated. Critics, however, worry that the emotional state of those who use the social network may now become a new commodity to be bought and sold.

Leaked documents from Facebook's team in Australia allegedly show the social giant's ability to identify teens who feel "worthless," "useless," "stressed," "silly," "stupid," and "defeated" and then, at least in one case, help advertisers to target ads to them. The leaked documents, the subject of an article in an Australian newspaper, also detailed how advertisers could use Facebook's algorithms to find teens who were interested in "working out and losing weight" and promote health products. Facebook's team in Australia was reportedly looking to capitalize on the 6.4 million teens that use the social network in their geographic region. Facebook denied the allegations and called the article's premise "misleading". 

"Facebook does not offer tools to target people based on their emotional state," the social network said in its official response on Sunday. "The analysis done by an Australian researcher was intended to help marketers understand how people express themselves on Facebook.” According to the response, the research results were never used to target ads and were based on data that was anonymous and aggregated. Critics, however, worry that the emotional state of those who use the social network may now become a new commodity to be bought and sold.

A recent survey reveals that Instagram and Snapchat are the social media platforms of choice for a majority of teenagers, according to The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs research done late last year. The survey also reveals social media use trends related to race and class, indicating that black teens are often the first to move to new platforms. Amanda Lenhart, the lead researcher on the poll, whose work has focused on teenagers and social media use, writes "It speaks to the level of embeddedness of the technology in black youth's lives and their willingness to move into new platforms more quickly than their counterparts."