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Bridging the Digital Gap:

A Parent's Guide to Social Media

By Stephen Santilli, Assistant Superintendent; Jennifer Holmstrom,
Assistant Principal; and Marissa Russo, Student Assistance Counselor,
Egg Harbor Township School District

In case you haven’t heard, While we could give you an extensive 9,000 photos shared every second.
“there’s an app for that!” overview of every app on the market It’s logo is a ghost because it’s
most commonly referred to as the
today, the truth is by the time this hits
That’s right, there’s an app for just print, more apps will be available! “disappearing photo” app. As of
about everything. Apps cover every Therefore, our goal is to provide February, 2017, Snapchat had 161
cross-section of society, and the ones a solid framework of some of the million daily active users, which is the
most heavily utilized by children and most popular apps, familiarize you equivalent of approximately half of the
teens are those that lend themselves with potential risks, and offer some United States! Here are some other
to digital socialization, or social media. best practices for helping your child “hot” apps to consider:
As teens and children further delve navigate social media. 1. Instagram: Arguably the most
into social media, adults are beginning popular teen app today, which
to wonder - do we have a role in this Social Media Apps Overview: allows the user to instantly post
and if so, what is it? pictures from any smartphone.
Simply put, adults need to be the The proof is in the numbers – and the Through the use of hashtags
numbers are astounding. Snapchat,
largest stakeholders in social media. the second most widely used app the user can reach a wide
Both parents and educators alike amongst teens, has over 400 million audience as they caption their
should stay connected, not just for snaps shared per day, and almost photo or share their “story.”
themselves, but for today’s youth.

Educational Viewpoints -66- Spring 2018