Digital Smarts - Digital Drama Trends for Back-to-School

Common Sense Media has an excellent article on the digital trends that every parent should be aware of this school year. Some of the biggest trends this year seem to be different types of impersonation - from creating a fake social media page or bogus email account, to swiping someone’s device and texting under their name. The practice (sometimes called e-personation) violates websites’ terms of service, even if not done maliciously,  and in some states it is actually illegal. Another digital trend to be aware of is “catfishing.” Catfishing is creating a false online identity to lure an unsuspecting person into an online relationship. Teens are using apps that facilitate online relationships  such as MeetMe and Badoo, making it easy to fall victim to Catfishing. Something else to remind your kids is that so called “self-destructing” apps like Blink, Snapchat, and BurnNote that claim to delete the messages or pictures you send are not totally safe. Pictures rather than texts are also the main fodder for digital drama these days. Posting less-than-flattering pics of someone, texting a snarky (or downright mean) caption for an Instagram photo, blackmailing others with embarrassing pictures, and uploading super awkward pictures (called cringepics because they're so cringe-inducing) -- these all are violations of trust that can destroy friendships.