Headmaster's News

As any parent of a teenager knows, social networking sites are fast becoming an obsession among our children.

 

The old adage ”everyone else is doing it” plays a key role here as most teenagers are quick to point out that as virtually all of their friends and classmates use a social networking site (Facebook seems to be the most popular by far); if they aren’t “in on the game,” well, then they aren’t “in.”

 

From a parent’s perspective, therefore, it can be hard (if not impossible) to exclude or limit your child’s access to Facebook as in doing so you may be likely to cut him off from the main social conduit in regular use by his peers. No adult needs to be reminded that the teenage years are all about friends, connections and relationships with others. Few if any parents would want to take an action that would risk cutting off their child from this important part of his development.

 

With that said, it is hard not to reach the conclusion that social networking sites are here to stay and will (if they don’t already) play a large role in the lives of our boys and their friends as they grow older.

 

Like any new social phenomenon, however, it is wise as a parent to approach your child’s use of social networking sites with some caution.

 

The first area of concern is probably the most obvious and the easiest to monitor. Specifically, content. As each user of Facebook, for example, creates his or her own site (replete with information and photos), it is important to remind your son that anything that is on his site instantly becomes available to a large and often unknown audience. He will be quick to tell you that only people he has “friended” are allowed access to his page but as many users tend to “friend” virtually everyone who requests and as no one can control who else is viewing your page - along with someone you have “friended” - the reality is that social network users should be really careful about what they choose to put on their page. I suppose it should be no surprise to learn that many prospective employers as well as college admissions offices have acknowledged their use of Facebook as they evaluate candidates for jobs or admission.

 

The second area of concern is more subtle and, in my view, more insidious. Specifically, many scientists have recently begun to warn us that use of social networking sites is causing alarming changes in the brains of young users.

 

A recent article in the Daily Mail noted that the regular use of Facebook and Twitter to name a few seem to shorten attention spans, encourage instant gratification and make young people more self-centered. One scientist, Susan Greenfield (an Oxford University neuroscientist and Director of the Royal Institution) was quoted in the article as follows:

 

Some food for thought the next time your son flips open his lpatop and checks on his friends (or, perhaps more accurately, checks on himself.)