Social Media Tweet. Tag. Post. Hashtag. Like....what does it mean?
In our world of split-second connection it's easy to get left behind, and many of us born pre-Y2K have probably learned a thing or two about social media from those born in digital age. However, it's important to understand how students engage with social media in order to help students create healthy digital habits.
Facebook is the wildly popular social media site that connects hundreds of millions of users of all ages. Users upload a profile which includes personal informations such as their full name, picture, location, occupation, as well as preferences such as favorite quotes, movies, restaurants etc. Users can interact with each other by becoming friends, writing on each other's walls, joining groups and uploading photos and videos of each other. For more information about Facebook, and tips for helping your student use Facebook safely, please see this guide for parents from Common Sense Media.
Instagramallows users to take pictures with their smart phones, and then edit, share and geotag their photos with their followers (if their account is protected) or with the entire Instagram community. Hashtags can be used in the photo's captions to link and categorize photos. Clicking on a hashtag will bring up other users' photos with the same hashtag. Here's Instagram's guide for parents.
Twitterusers can post 140 character "tweets" to their followers (for protected accounts) or to the whole Twitterverse if they haven't adjusted their privacy settings. Twitter can also be used to post photos and links to gifs, memes and videos. Read more about Twitter's safety tips!
