DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD)- School counselors in Dorchester School District Two (DD2) and the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) are educating parents about different social media apps and how to monitor their children on each.
The final chance to hear from experts on social media monitoring is Tuesday night at Ashley Ridge High School starting at 6:30 p.m.
The presentation will go through many different parts to help educate parents and give them tips on how to speak with their children about monitoring their online activity.
DD2 Helping Parents with Range of Social Media Topics
- Digital Footprints
- Different Social Media Apps
- Hidden Apps
- Dangers of Gaming Apps
- How to Monitor Devices
- Cyberbullying
- Sexual Exploitation
- Sexting
- Laws and Statutes
- School Shooting Threats
- How to Find Support
“We are making sure (parents) know how (children) are engaging and using the online platforms so that they are able to have conversations with their students and strengthen the relationships that they have in the home so they can open those lines of communication and be the support that they need to be for their students on a day to day basis,” said Gailia Mercer-Brown, the Assistant Director for School Counselors in DD2.
Trends and social media challenges are being spoken about in addition to the many apps that parents are being educated about.
“There are trends and what is a trend today might not be a trend tomorrow,” said Mercer-Brown. “It’s very important for parents to think about how they can securely monitor those devices and know what your children are accessing.”
Parents need to do their homework on the different apps as well. TikTok and Snapchat have differences in certain settings compared to Instagram and Facebook.
“Different apps structure their parameters and parental controls differently,” said Mercer-Brown. “There are so many different apps that are created. If parents are aware they are able to monitor them accordingly.”
In the presentation, experts talk with parents about the best apps to use for social media monitoring. Most cost a fee every month and work for iOS and Android devices.
Using parental controls on different devices is also a way to keep tabs on your child’s social media presence and screen time.
The full presentation can be found below courtesy of DD2.
Mercer-Brown says that most parents are thankful to learn about the experiences with social media that DD2 staff members and local sheriff’s deputies have had. She says that those stories help them implement social media monitoring plans at home.
“We want (students) to have positive digital foot prints and we need to educate them as well as their parents on how they can effectively do that,” said Mercer-Brown.
