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Digital Literacy and Social Media

Unlock the power of social media with our free comprehensive teaching unit designed for 6th to 9th graders. Help your students navigate the digital landscape responsibly and confidently while learning valuable skills in online communication, privacy, and digital citizenship. With engaging lessons, interactive activities, and real-life examples, this social media teaching unit equips students with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions in the online world. Download now and empower your students to become responsible digital citizens! Availble in google slide format and printables. Why pay at TPT, always free here.

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Social Media in Education: 13 Ideas for the Classroom

Since gaining widespread popularity in the early 2010s, social media has been a controversial topic when it comes to using it for education. However, many educators are now embracing social media as a teaching tool with a wide array of benefits for learning.

From parent-teacher communications to organizing group projects to developing digital literacy, social media has the potential to enhance the curriculum at any grade level — provided it is used responsibly. Here, we’ll explore eight platforms and five possible uses for social media in the classroom, plus some best practices for keeping it a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone.

How Social Media is Reshaping Education

Pros & cons of social media for students, 8 ways teachers can use social media in the classroom, 5 social media lesson ideas to try, faqs about social media in education.

As around 60% of the world’s population knows, social media can be an effective way to share news, find communities, build social networks and disseminate information instantly to a broad audience. According to Pew Research, 95% of American teens use at least one social media platform — so it makes sense that educators would seek to engage their students using technology they already interact with daily.

Teachers can use social media to organize group projects, communicate with students outside of class, share resources, and much more. Social media also has the potential to connect schools to the wider community for purposes including:

• Sharing school news
• Promoting school events
• Holding virtual town hall meetings
• Advertising fundraising initiatives
• Sending out emergency alerts

Since 90% of U.S. adults are also on social media (and many likely access it on their phones ), it is an incredibly useful medium for sending real-time communications to parents and guardians of school-aged children.

Of course, a tool as powerful as social media requires its users to exercise great responsibility to maintain a respectful, safe online environment. Teachers and students should be clear on both the benefits and risks before using these tools for educational purposes.

Benefits of social media in the classroom:

• Real-time communications can increase student engagement, collaboration, communication and overall participation.
• Many students may find it easier to participate in online discussions than in the classroom.
• Students can easily ask each other or their teacher questions about assignments outside of class.
• Students and teachers can quickly share helpful resources at any time.
• Teachers can easily share announcements with the entire class.
• Social media can provide a contingency plan for last-minute remote learning scenarios .
• Students can organize school events with each other or with the help of a teacher.
• Teachers can augment an online-only class by establishing a social media page or account strictly for building community.
• Students can practice using social platforms responsibly, including maintaining a respectful online discourse.
• Parents can stay informed of school news via a convenient, easily accessible platform.
• Teachers can communicate directly with parents as needed, especially if parents cannot attend an in-person meeting.
• Educators can build and enhance their own tech literacy skills to add to their portfolios.
• Most, if not all, social media platforms are free.

Downsides of using social media in the classroom:

• Social media can be a major distraction in class, especially if students are accessing their personal accounts independently. Private side conversations, off-topic activities and mindless scrolling can all happen when students are granted in-class internet access.
• If students primarily use social platforms to participate in class discussions, they can miss out on practicing face-to-face conversations and respectful in-person discourse.
• Some students may see social media assignments as an opportunity to cyberbully their classmates , so it’s critical that teachers set firm ground rules about responsible social media use.
• There is always a risk of a group member posting inappropriate content or language, since it is difficult to manage how students use social media platforms independently. Teachers must be responsible and attentive administrators to prevent and address inappropriate behavior.

While fewer school-aged young people are using Facebook today (about 32%, Pew finds), it can still be a useful tool for maintaining an online community, posting updates, sharing links and asking questions. Facebook can be used to organize specific projects, communicate with classes, form student clubs, plan events and more. The instant group chat function can facilitate real-time discussions, and Facebook Live enables teachers to lead virtual lessons, stream lectures and hold Q&A sessions. As administrators, teachers can set Facebook groups to private or invite-only to maintain a safe space for students.

Twitter can serve as more of a bite-sized message board where teachers can post short project updates, announcements, links to helpful resources or answer students’ questions. The platform can also serve as the basis for lessons in using concise language , since each post is limited to 280 characters — a valuable skill for both essay writing and future professional communications. Teachers can create dedicated handles or hashtags for each of their classes and invite both students and their guardians to follow along.

Blog posts provide another way for students to practice their essay writing, an increasingly important skill for higher grade levels. Instead of maintaining physical reading journals, students can submit weekly blog posts with their reflections and responses to assigned readings. Teachers can also use blogs to communicate project instructions during remote learning days or vacations and even write up a semester report for parents and guardians to review.

This is an excellent tool for sharing visual resources like infographics, artistic inspiration, tutorials or examples of finished projects. Many teachers use Pinterest to collect and organize their own lesson ideas, so creating a board (or several) where students can pin their own resources encourages collaboration and learning ownership. While students of all ages respond well to visuals, Pinterest may be particularly popular with younger students who are still practicing their reading skills.

Another great visual platform, Instagram can be useful for teachers to share updates, for administrators to post announcements and for students to post project results or follow accounts that are relevant to course content. Teachers can create class-specific accounts where they post assignments, instructions, resources, updates, and more.

This online community provides a space for anyone to unite around any interest imaginable — from fitness to classic film trivia to poetry. Reddit has a bit of an “anything goes” reputation for its lax posting guidelines, but moderators are typically on hand to mitigate any inappropriate or improper use of the platform. There’s a subreddit for every academic subject, so students can peruse threads for project research (while still verifying any information therein) and even post their own questions for the Reddit community to discuss.

Similar to Reddit, YouTube hosts video resources on any topic under the sun. Teachers can easily share educational videos, tutorials and any other type of video content. YouTube is also a great hosting platform for video projects, where students can upload finished videos for their teachers, classmates and guardians to watch on a private class channel.

This professional networking platform is mostly used by people in the post-school workforce, so high school students may not even be aware of it yet. However, whether they decide to attend college or not, learning how to market their skills and build a professional network can help students navigate the job market after graduation. LinkedIn is also a great place to find articles and other resources to help young professionals build their industry knowledge and skills.

The ideas in this section are merely suggestions for unique ways to use social media in the classroom — but the internet is your and your students’ playground! Use these ideas as jumping-off points for your own social media-based lessons.

• Use blogs to chart learning progress. Blogs can be useful tools for language learning, whether that’s practicing how to craft a five-paragraph essay or improving one’s French writing skills. But this long-form writing platform can also be used to track students’ progress in any subject. For example, have chemistry students write biweekly posts summarizing everything they’ve learned in class, and ask them to revisit and write about certain topics once a semester to practice knowledge retrieval. These posts can also serve as test prep and reminders of any concepts students may need to review.
• Use Instagram or TikTok for visual responses. Most social media platforms popular with young people are visual-based, meaning they rely on images and videos to convey information. Writing skills are essential for school, but sometimes it’s easier (and more fun) for students to engage with their learning using formats they’re more comfortable with. Instead of a written response to a textbook chapter, have students react using an appropriate TikTok trend. If students are required to show their work, ask them to create an Instagram carousel or Reel of their process and post it to a class-specific account.
• Use Twitter to illustrate the dangers of misinformation. Learning to find and cite accurate sources is a key skill for students, especially at higher grade levels. Unfortunately, misinformation is easy to encounter on social media, where anyone can make a claim or spread false information without providing a source. Show students an inaccurate tweet or other social post and ask them to verify or debunk its claims. Have them document their research process and cite the sources they used to fact-check the post.
• Use LinkedIn to help older students craft their resumes. Marketing themselves in a professional sense isn’t always a skill young people learn in school, but it’s a skill that proves useful for nearly every adult. Have students use LinkedIn to craft a professional objective, organize and explain their work and educational experiences, ask for recommendations and start making connections with potential mentors and employers.

Best Practices for Social Media in Education

For many young people, social media is a part of their (and their parents’) everyday lives. Chances are, if a teacher chooses to incorporate social media into a lesson, many students will already be familiar with the platform and how to use it. Since students may be accustomed to using social media outside of an educational context, it’s crucial that teachers set ground rules and expectations for the appropriate use of these tools.

The following are some best practices that will keep social media a safe and productive place for students and their teachers:

Set professional boundaries: Many teachers also likely have personal social media accounts, so when using these platforms for lessons, it’s best to create an entirely new account dedicated solely to academics. Keep accounts private and invitation-only so that no one besides students and their parents can access the content. No one, teachers included, should be posting anything about their personal lives or content that is unrelated to the course. Invite students to create new user accounts as well to avoid mixing their personal and academic business.

Prioritize increasing digital literacy: Generations of digital natives (including today’s school-aged children and many of their parents) have likely already been practicing online etiquette, but it never hurts to review both practical and appropriate ways to use social media. Remind students that anything they post online has the potential to exist forever, which becomes especially important as they begin to apply to colleges and search for jobs. Students should conduct themselves online just as they are expected to in school.

Promote student achievements: You and your students put in a lot of work during the school year — share your accomplishments with the community! If your school has a public social media account, provide the account manager with information about your class’s latest project or an upcoming showcase so members of the community can see what students have been up to. Not only does this give students an opportunity to show off their work, but it also serves as promotional information for anyone considering enrolling their own children in the school.

Manage multiple accounts from the same place: If you manage multiple accounts for one or more classes, use a tool like Hootsuite or Facebook Publishing (which integrates Facebook and Instagram) to draft and schedule posts for multiple platforms at once. This is especially helpful when students and parents need the same information, but each group predominantly uses a different platform.

Part of a teacher’s job is to never stop learning, whether it’s about the subject matter they teach, new educational tools or innovative ways to engage students. The University of San Diego offers multiple courses for educators in the Professional and Continuing Education program, including classes covering educational technology , digital literacy , equity in the classroom and more. USD also offers certificate programs that focus on specific aspects of education, so that teachers can build a suite of skills in areas like STEAM education or supporting English language learners .

For a full range of USD courses available through the PCE program, explore all course offerings here .

How can I ensure students’ safety on social media?

To protect students’ privacy, keep all class-related social media accounts private or invitation-only and encourage them to set their own accounts to private or create new class-specific profiles. Review proper online etiquette and behavior with students and establish firm consequences for cyberbullying. As a teacher, it’s critical to maintain professional boundaries online, so avoid discussing or posting anything personal on school social media accounts. You may even want to grant access to students’ parents so they can monitor how their children are using these spaces.

How can I use TikTok in my lessons?

According to Pew Research, 67% of U.S. teens use TikTok , with 16% on the app almost constantly. Since so many students already gather in this digital space, teachers can engage them by creatively incorporating it into lessons. Ask students to film reactions to course content using TikTok trends, conduct research via subject matter experts’ posts, or create response videos in place of traditional project reports.

Which social media platform is best for communicating with parents?

It depends on what kinds of content you want to share and which platforms parents and guardians are comfortable using. At the beginning of each school year, send out a survey asking parents to indicate their preferred social media platform, then use the top two results for parent-facing communications. With so many people on multiple social media platforms, it’s best not to limit school news to just one; fortunately, managing multiple accounts at once is simple with social media management tools like Hootsuite and Facebook Publishing.

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Using Social Media for Teaching

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Many of our students participate in social networks like  Facebook ,  Twitter ,  Instagram , and  Snapchat . All of these social networks are rife with opportunities for critical thought and discussion; indeed, what makes teaching with social networks often so appealing to instructors is the organic way in which thoughtful discussions about a variety of topics can emerge from the social networks' infrastructures. Teaching with social networks can also be an appealing prospect because they are a way for students to examine critically a space that they use regularly. In other words, social networks can be a space where students can see the rhetorical work that they do in their classrooms have public and social impact.

Instructors should consider the implications of using social media for teaching carefully. There are myriad benefits to helping students write in a space with an authentic audience, and there are also substantial risks for student privacy. Some of the benefits of writing in a social network include engagement with an authentic audience, the potential for engaging in a conversation with people outside of the classroom environment, and an awareness of genre and rhetorical conventions that guide much of contemporary connections. Yet the risks should also be noted: students may not feel comfortable merging their "social" and their "academic" identities together in the space of the composition classroom. Further still, students may not like their academic work to be exposed in spaces that can be accessed by anyone, including future employers.

This page offers some resources for assessing whether teaching with social media is appropriate and some strategies for incorporating social media use into a class.

When is Using Social Media in a Composition Class Appropriate?

• When the instructor wants the student to write to an authentic public
• When the instructor's course theme intersects with a particular movement or idea that is spread through a particular social network
• When the instructor wants students to learn about digital genre differences and wants students to engage with and enact those differences
• When the instructor wants students to conduct research in social media environments
• When the instructor gives the students a specific prompt or purpose for engaging in the social network

How Can I Make Social Media Participation Safe for My Students? 

If your students are writing for a larger public, there is no way to control what all of the interactions will be like. That said, there are some steps as an instructor that you can take to make students feel safer when contributing to a public online environment: 

• Give students the option to opt out of posting directly to social media.  Some students may not feel as though they can post directly to a social network even if they want to participate in the activity. You may want to give students the options to post as though they were sharing directly in a social network, but have them submit evidence of their work directly to you in an alternative platform or format. 
• Give students the option of using an alias rather than their real identity online.  Some students may want the experience of engaging in the activity on the social network itself, but may not necessarily want to use their real names or identities. You may ask students to submit what their alias is to you privately, but to maintain their interactions online via whatever public alias they so choose.
• Provide feedback on the students' social media engagement outside of the social media platform itself.  If you reveal information about a student's grade or progress in the course in an online, public space, that may be considered a FERPA violation. FERPA is designed to protect student privacy and to help them feel safe in their learning environment. Make sure students have clarity on where you're giving them feedback on their work. 
• Discuss shared ethical guidelines for social media usage among your class community.  Even if you and your students can't control what people outside of the class environment share or do on social media, your class community can develop some shared guidelines and principles to foster class community. Conversations about ethics can be challenging, but developing shared trust is critical to helping students engage on platforms without fear of being silenced or shut down.

Resources for Learning More About Using Social Media as a Teaching Tool

"8 Things You Should Know Before Using Social Media in Your Course:" Jennifer Rafferty, Online Learning Consortium (April 10, 2017)

"Learning in Bursts: Microlearning with Social Media:" Stephanie Trowbridge, Clair Waterbury, and Lindsey Sudbury ( Educause Review , April 10, 2017)

"Meet Your Students Where They Are: Social Media:" Greg Heiberger and Reynol Junco ( NEA Higher Education Advocate, 2011)

Walls, Douglas M., & Vie, Stephanie. (2017). Social Writing/Social Media: Publics, Presentations, and Pedagogies. Perspectives on Writing. Fort Collins, Colorado: The WAC Clearinghouse and University Press of Colorado.

Internet Safety Poster

Students create posters promoting online safety to raise awareness of this important issue at their school..

Apps: Wixie ® or Pixie ®

After investigating what it means to be safe online, students will decide which issue they feel is most important and create a poster to inform students at their school.

According to research by Common Sense Media , kids age 0 to 8 spend 2.5 hours in front of a screen each day, with 48 minutes of that time being, on average, on a mobile device. Students are in front of screens for a variety of reasons, whether entertainment, gaming, socializing, creating, or researching.

Even young learners often have accounts with passwords to do homework, and access sites and content that are not always pre-screened by an adult, which means they may also interact with people they may or may not know. This growing access to information, television, video, social media, and gaming means online safety for young children is more important than ever.

Engage students in conversations about how they use devices at home. See if you can get them to come up with the ways they interact with other people online (Facetime with grandma) and what websites they might use (YouTube, Spelling City). Don’t forget the gamers and the games they play!

Next, ask them how often they think about safety as they do these activities. Young students may be unaware of any online safety issues, so listen closely to your students so you can direct conversations in a way that are appropriate to their experiences and emotional development.

To get them thinking more about this topic, watch a video together, like this one from B4UClick .

If your school, or district, doesn’t have an Internet Safety Curriculum, the National Center for Missiong and Exploited Children has lots of free NetSmartz™ resources, including several for Internet Safety. Many companies that make online games for kids, like ABCYA , have created free materials to support thoughtful implementation at home and in the classroom.

Once students have spent time learning and talking about Internet safety, let them know that it is their job to inform other students at the school about these issues and help them act safely when they are online.

Ask them to think of one thing they learned that they will be sure to do in the future when they are online and write it on a large sentence strip in the format of “I will (remember to.not/never)…”

Sit together in a large circle and ask each student to read their idea to the class. After each student shares, place the sentence strip in the middle so everyone can see it.

As successive students share their ideas, work as a class to place them in groups, based on similarity. For example, “I will not share my name or address with someone I don’t know,” is similar to “I will create a username that is not my actual name.”

Once all of the ideas have been shared, it is time to change the text into a rule. If the groups of topics are near the same size, you can form teams around each idea. If not, move students appropriately.

Ask teams to use the ideas in the grouping in front of them to write their own Internet Safety rule. Have each team share their rule with the class and write them on an anchor chart.

Next, ask students to choose a single rule from the list and use a publishing tool, like Wixie, to develop a poster with this rule that will help other students act safely when they are online.

If your devices have microphones, have students record their rule onto their Wixie page.

Print two copies of each student’s poster. Students should take one home to inform their family members about Internet safety and to remind them of one way they can be safe online. Hang the other posters in the school hallways or other places students will see them.

Combine student pages together using Wixie’s Project Wizard feature. Then, share the slideshow (especially if there is voice recording) at a school assembly or send the slideshow URL to other teachers so they can present to their students before they begin working online.

Begin informally assessing student experience with Internet Safety as they share a bit about the activities they do on devices, and online, at home. Continue formative assessments of their understanding as you watch and discuss videos, or complete your site’s Internet safely materials.

You can evaluate their understanding of Internet safety as they write “I will…” sentences to describe new online safety actions they will take individually. You can evaluate student thinking as they class works to group these ideas and then translate the statements into a rule.

Once their posters are complete, you can use them as a summative assessment to determine their understanding of the rule and how it helps keep them safe.

ABCYA: CyberFive

NetSmartz Workshop: Internet Safety

Planet Nutshell: NetSafe Playlist

ISTE Standards for Students:

2. Digital Citizen Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical. Students:

a. cultivate and manage their digital identity and reputation and are aware of the permanence of their actions in the digital world.

b. engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including social interactions online or when using networked devices.

c. demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the rights and obligations of using and sharing intellectual property.

d. manage their personal data to maintain digital privacy and security and are aware of data-collection technology used to track their navigation online.

d. build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.

6. Creative Communicator Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals. Students:

d. publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.

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Learn more about the various social media-related dangers:

Cyberbullying

About 88% of social media-using teens have witnessed other people being mean or cruel on social networking sites. Approximately 34% of students report experiencing cyberbullying.

Sexual Harassment

Some 21% of women ages 18 to 29 report being sexually harassed online. About 53% of young women ages 18 to 29 say that someone has sent them explicit images they did not ask for.

Social media has been infiltrated with propaganda by a hostile foreign government in an attempt to influence our democratic elections.  On Facebook alone, Russian-influenced content reached 126 million Americans between June 2015 and August 2017. 

Depression And Suicide

In 2018, the average teen spent 9 hours a day online. Teens using social media more than 5 hours daily were 70% more likely to have suicidal thoughts or actions than those who reported one hour of daily use. 

Hate Speech

About 64%of U.S. teens have encountered hate speech online.

Our Most Viewed Tips

Block and report, phone inspections, phone time challenge.

It is simple. It is intuitive.  It can make social media safer for us all.  But, most adults and teens are not doing it: blocking and reporting obscene, hateful, and threatening content. 

Cyberbullying, hate speech, sexual harassment, propaganda are just some of the social media-related dangers that come in the form of posts, comments, or messages.

To be clear, the harm this content can cause is severe.  Ten percent of cyberbullying victims attempt suicide.  Social media-spread hate speech has spurred horrific mass shootings.  And, propaganda has the potential to fundamentally undermine our democracy.

In theory, we should have more control over these dangerous posts, as all social media content exists entirely by the consent of the social media platform.  That means that the content can be de-emphasized or removed.  And, the poster can be hidden from individual feeds or removed from the platform altogether.  Ultimately, if the platform can quickly remove harmful content, the platform can limit its harm. And, if the platform can remove or deter offenders, especially repeat offenders, the platform can prevent harm altogether.

That is why we emphasize to teens and parents the importance of developing a habit of reporting harmful content to the platform and then blocking the offender from their own social media pages.  By blocking and reporting harmful content, we can not only protect ourselves, individually, from dangerous content, but, through reporting, we can do our part to make the entire social media community safer.

Unfortunately, blocking and reporting will never be a complete remedy:

• Reporting problematic content does not always result in having the content removed from the platform.
• Platforms’ guidelines for removing content can vary widely.
• Reporting will not completely stop determined, sophisticated actors, especially those using bots, that conceal their identities online for the purpose of spreading harmful content.

But, even though blocking and reporting are not complete defenses against social media-related dangers, they are still very important actions to undertake.  Not only does the habit of blocking and reporting help the platform remove unscrupulous or dangerous users but it also encourages us and our teens to habitually look at content critically instead of mindlessly consuming and absorbing.  One of the biggest dangers we face from hateful or obscene content is that it becomes normalized and no longer shocks our collective conscience.  By actively engaging their minds and being on the lookout for inappropriate or dangerous posts when scrolling through social media, our teens are constantly defending their minds from racism, misogyny, homophobia, and propaganda.

That is why the importance of blocking and reporting should be one of the first conversations you have with your teen when you allow them into the world of social media.

We know that it is very challenging to teach teens about both the lack of privacy and the permanence of their messages, posts, DMs, tweets, and snaps.  But, we have a way that will help you teach them….

As we remind you often, your teens are on their phones and social media on average 9 hours a day.  That time is spent posting on Snap and Insta, tweeting, and sending messages on WhatsApp or Discord.  Eventually, those all become thousands of communications over millions of minutes.

With all those communications over all that time, conversations via social media become very normal and habitual for teens.  This normalcy can eventually lead the teen to a false expectation of privacy and a disregard for the permanence of digital messages, concerns we typically do not have when we engage in direct verbal conversations.

So, even if most teens who enter the world of social media start off with strong habits and a firm understanding of what they should and should not be communicating via social media, time can naturally create bad tendencies or carelessness.  Their social media communications may eventually come to contain angry sentiments, hateful comments or inappropriate attempts at humor, private confessions and admissions, and messages of a sexual nature.  Eventually down the line, most of us, not just teens, will be reminded that the privacy we thought we had on these platforms is illusory, and the inappropriate joke we messaged out so long ago will come back to haunt us.

Young adults just joining the world of social media and texting need an ongoing reminder that (1) anything they do on their phones is NOT private and (2) is likely permanent.  Many parents pass on this message to their children when handing over the phones initially but time weakens the lesson.   (This, by the way, is true for adults as well….)

What You Can Do

First, consider having that initial conversation when you hand over the phone to your child that what they post on social media and message over their phones is not private and likely permanent.  Then consider having that same conversation at least yearly as a reminder.  And, then on an ongoing basis, be on the lookout for any real-life cases you can share with your teens to serve as actual examples of the dangers associated with careless texting and posting.

Second, we recommend physically taking the phone from your child to conduct an inspection every month or every other month.  To be clear, taking the phone for a physical inspection is NOT an invasion of privacy.  In fact, the whole point of this exercise is to reinforce that you are not invading your teen’s privacy.  You are teaching that anything your teen does on the phone and social media is NOT private.  The act of physically taking the phone is a frequent, visceral, but safe, reminder of this lesson and is meant to create a lifelong habit of thinking through how we communicate through our phones before we hit send or post.

Physical phone inspections work best with young teens just learning how to use smartphones and social media.

Effective strategies for limiting teens’ screen times is one of the top requests we receive from parents, because, as everyone knows, teens are using their smartphones, mostly for social media, a lot.  A U.S. survey from 2018 showed that 70% of teens check social media several times a day, up from just 34% in 2012. Sixteen percent of teens check their social feeds nearly constantly, and another 27% do so on an hourly basis.  So, this month we are providing another tip to help both you and your teens decrease the phone time.

We stress here at the Organization for Social Media Safety that neither smartphones, generally, or social media, specifically, are inherently detrimental to adults or teens.  Plenty of educational and social benefits can derive from phone and social media use.  But, when teens, and adults, are starting to rack up multiple hours per day on their phones, the danger becomes the loss of other important activities that are being crowded out.

We must continue to be aware of two important considerations.  First, social media is designed to be addictive.  So, we need to watch for habitual use.  Are you or your teen reaching for the phone when you wake up in the morning or right before you go to sleep?  Are you or your teen using the phone as a crutch in social situations, including during mealtimes?  Are you or your teen mainly using social media when taking breaks from work assignments? These are all signs of habitual use.

Also, we need to be mindful of the strong correlation between excessive phone use and mental health issues. Teens who used their phones for more than 5 hours a day were 70% more likely to have suicidal thoughts or actions than those who reported one hour of daily use. Teens using social media every day were 14% more likely to be depressed than those who used social media less frequently.

So What to Do – Share your Use Publicly!

To reduce your family’s phone use, we are proposing the Phone Time Challenge, which relies on some psychological hacks, like gamification and public accountability.

Both Android and iPhones have software, named Digital Wellbeing and Screentime respectively, that provide detailed information on your daily and weekly phone and app consumption.  Now, it is time to really use them!

(You can find more information  here  about your phone’s time trackers.)

Put a calendar up somewhere central and visible in your house and every day at the same time, perhaps nightly at dinner or some other convenient time everyone is together, write each person’s daily usage times on the calendar.  (Make it a fun, daily family ritual.) You can do just overall time or also include social media usage. Then, after a one-week diagnostic period (you will likely be surprised at how much you are really using your phone!), everyone should write down their weekly goals at the top of the calendar.  (Don’t have a calendar?  You can download one  here .)

This challenge also works if you would like to try it on your own.  Just share your goal and times on social media once a week with all your friends for a month.

Take the Phone Time Challenge for at least a month, just one month, and let us know how it goes!   Email us  pics of your calendar or share them with us on  social media .  #phonetimechallenge

For more tips and best practices, check out our newsletter .

A comprehensive guide to using social media when your safety’s at risk

The more security barriers you put up, the harder it is for someone to get through.

By John Kennedy , Sandra Gutierrez G. | Published Feb 24, 2022 9:00 PM EST

Social media platforms give everyone with internet access the ability to quickly circulate and discuss developing news stories. And if you happen to be near or involved in a significant event, your voice can help others understand what’s happening while traditional news organizations piece everything together. This can, however, be dangerous if you’re posting from a place where you might be under surveillance, a potential target for a cyberattack, or at risk of physical harm. Consider this your guide to more safely sharing info from unsafe places. 

These tips are good advice for everyday social media use, too—but they become even more important when you have a reason to keep certain people from seeing your posts, figuring out your location, or even taking over your account to spread disinformation.

So before you hit send, tweet, publish, or whatever, run through this checklist. And if you prefer one app or site over all others, we recommend digging deep into its settings on your own. None of these tweaks will make you invincible, but they will make you more secure.

Secure your accounts

Cyberattacks are common in conflict areas and during protests , whether they’re initiated by governments, dissident groups, or just malicious third parties taking advantage of a hairy situation. If someone out there doesn’t like what you’re posting, you may be targeted. This is why it’s critical that you make your accounts as secure as possible. 

A long, unique password is your first defense against malicious intent. If one or more of your accounts doesn’t have one , it’s important to change it as soon as possible. If you can’t come up with a good password on your own or think you might forget it, use a password manager . These services will suggest secure credentials to protect your content and will safely store them for you. You can download a dedicated app or use the managers built into your browser or phone. 

Once you have a good password, add an extra layer of security by enabling two-factor authentication (2FA). This feature is highly efficient at preventing cyberattacks , so most online platforms—including Google, Apple, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram—have it built in. If you need some help setting it up, most sites provide instructions, too ( here’s TikTok’s , for example).

When you turn on 2FA, your device will prompt you to provide something other than your credentials to access your platforms—this can be an automated code, a biometric like a fingerprint, a security key, or even a tap from another trusted device . If your credentials leak onto the web as the result of a data breach or you lose control of your account to a malicious party, 2FA can prevent others from accessing your data. 

Some platforms have also added their own safety check prompts, which you can follow to gain greater control over who can access your account. For more details on these built-in procedures, we have a guide that will help you secure mainstream accounts such as Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft. Google offers even more tools and settings to protect your data, and we have advice for all their apps too. 

Protect your location

As you may already know, friends, authorities, and people with bad intentions can potentially determine where you are using content you post to social media. In the best situations, this is shady; in the worst, it’s dangerous—you might be putting yourself or people around you at risk. If your safety is in question, your first step is to skip any geotags and avoid proactively providing location information. 

Start by making sure your phone isn’t giving you away. On iPhones , open the Settings app, go to Privacy , tap Location Services , and turn off the toggle switch at the top of the next page. On Android devices, swipe down from the top of the screen with two fingers to open the Quick Settings menu and tap Location to turn it off. You can also go to Settings , Location , and turn off the toggle switch next to Use Location . Keep in mind the exact paths for menus and options on Android may differ depending on your phone’s manufacturer. 

Next, avoid adding location data to your posts. This is fairly easy, as this is usually an option you have to actively choose. If you want to remove geotags from past publications as well, your ability to do so will depend on the platform you’re using. On Instagram, for example, go to a specific post, tap the three dots in the upper right, and go to Edit . If you tap your location right under your username, you’ll realize you can’t remove it entirely, but you can change it to something more general (like a city or a country instead of a neighborhood), or something completely different. Tap the check mark in the upper right corner of your screen to save your changes. 

[Related: Smartphone location data still poses a real risk for the military and its personnel ]

Twitter lets you do more comprehensive editing and allows you to remove all location data from your posts. To do this, log onto your Twitter account on the web (you can’t do this from a mobile device), go to Settings , and then Privacy and Safety . Next, go to Your Tweets and click on Add location information to your tweets —in bright red letters you’ll see Remove all location information attached to your tweets . Click on it, and then click Delete on the emerging dialog box. This will retroactively remove all location tags from your tweets. Still, there are three things you’ll need to keep in mind. First, depending on how many times you’ve tweeted, it can take time for this setting to take effect, so remain cautious with what you publish. Second, this only works on Twitter’s web platform and its apps for iOS and Android, so people looking at their timeline from third-party platforms might still see past geotags attached to your tweets.

All of this will help you protect your whereabouts, but only to a certain extent. Authorities and other powerful third parties can determine your location from your IP address or from data provided by telephone service providers, who can easily keep tabs on you based on your proximity to their antennae. If this is a concern to you, you may want to consider setting up a virtual private network (VPN) on your mobile device. 

As its name suggests, a VPN provides you with a secure connection that disguises your real IP address with a fake one. This results in a highly secure online experience, and also has the benefit of allowing you to access content or websites restricted to users in your physical location. If you’re not familiar with VPNs and don’t know where to start, we have a list of the best services to choose from and a handy guide for how to set one up on your device .

Protect your posts

Even though you may have disabled geotagging and thoroughly locked down your accounts and devices, a post can inadvertently disclose more about you and your location than you intend. Careful editing, framing, and built-in settings can mitigate this risk.

The easiest solution here is to make some or all of your posts private. To shut out everyone but your closest friends, wall off your entire account. From the Twitter app, for example, tap your avatar and go to Settings and privacy , Privacy and safety , and Audience and tagging . Once there, turn on the toggle switch next to Protect your Tweets . This will make it so only people who follow you can see your tweets, and you’ll have to manually approve any new follow requests. Keep in mind that this will not affect the audience you already have, so if you have lots of followers, you may want to take a minute to check that list and remove anyone suspicious .

You’ll find the settings are similar on other sites. On Instagram, go to your profile, tap the menu button (three lines) in the top right, then Settings , Privacy , and turn on the toggle switch next to Private Account . On Facebook, find the menu button (down arrow), Settings , Posts (under the Audience and Visibility heading), and work through each option to choose the audience for your future and past posts. Your options are: Public , Friends , Friends except , Specific friends , and Only me . For TikTok, enter your Profile , tap the menu button (three lines), then Privacy , and activate the toggle switch next to Private account .

Even if you don’t want to go entirely private, not every post needs to be broadcast to the world. Sometimes you just want friends and family to know what’s going on, or that you’re safe. The downside here is that not every social network lets you selectively hide posts. You can’t make one tweet private, for example, while keeping your entire Twitter account public.

On Instagram, the aptly named Close Friends feature can help you limit your Instagram Story to a select audience. Tap the menu button (three lines), then Close Friends to add and remove people from this group. When you post to your Story, simply tap Close Friends at the bottom of the screen and only the people on that list will see it. 

Facebook also lets you hide individual posts: when you create one, tap or click Share with under your name to access audience-limiting options. When you make a TikTok, the app asks you Who can watch this video right before you post. Tap that option to select Only me , Friends (people you follow back), or Followers .

If you want to let the public see your post, there are still ways to limit inadvertent disclosure of private information. You can blur the faces of other people in your photos , or blur your entire background to obscure your location. There are apps and browser-based tools that can help with this, but you can also get by with just your phone.

On Android, you can edit images right in Google Photos—open a picture or video in the app, and tap Edit at the bottom of your screen . Scroll the options there until you find Markup to access the drawing tools. You can also keep going to the end ( More ), where you’ll be able to open the file directly in other image-editing apps. Google’s Snapseed (also for iOS ) is free and its healing tool (the bandage icon) can help you remove landmarks or details with just a tap. Pixel 6 phones have this feature is built in and enhanced with artificial intelligence. To find it, open a picture in Google Photos, go to Edit , Tools , and choose Magic Eraser .

On iOS, open a photo, tap Edit , and hit the markup icon (a pen tip) in the top right. Here you can select different digital drawing tools and color over anything you don’t want people to see. Unfortunately, you can’t mark up a video on iOS. 

[Related: 3 free video editing tools anyone can use ]

When you don’t have time or the ability to edit photos or video, think about what’s going to be in the shot before you take it. If there’s anything in the background that could give away your location, keep it out of view. Major landmarks are, of course, easy to pinpoint, but even minor ones can tip off someone who’s familiar with the area.

Check to see if you’ve been hacked

If you fall victim to a cyberattack (or think you may have), here’s what you can do. 

First of all, make sure you’ve actually been hacked . To do so, start by checking if there has been any abnormal activity (like logins you don’t recognize or posts you didn’t make). If you find anything unusual, or if you don’t but still feel unsafe, lock down your accounts . 

Sometimes the realization that you’ve been hacked comes only after you notice you no longer have access to your accounts. It happens—which is why most social media platforms have integrated alternative ways to verify your identity and claim ownership of your data. In this case, try our suggestions for how to break into your Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, and Instagram accounts . Some platforms already have established protocols where they may ask you for selfies holding a paper with a particular code, or to send a picture of your driver’s license or national identity card, so don’t be surprised if that’s the case. 

Other platforms, such as TikTok, are a little more complicated to navigate if you lose access. The clock app is adamant that its users tell the company not only their email address but also their phone number, which by default makes it trickier for fraudsters to steal your account. 

But if by any chance you are targeted and you lose access to your email and your phone , you can try recovering your account by contacting TikTok directly via their feedback platform or reporting a problem. From the login screen, tap the question mark in the top right corner, find Topics , and go to Logging in . There, use your username to recover your account, and when it asks to verify your identity via email, tap Need Help at the bottom. A new screen will appear and you’ll be able to type in a message explaining your situation—don’t forget to provide a secondary email address so you can actually receive help. Because neither of these methods is solely used for account recovery, it’s unclear how long it’ll take for somebody at TikTok to get back to you, but they should be able to help once they do. 

Still, the best way to keep yourself safe is prevention. Run periodic security checks, keep your accounts secure (see above), and always link them to alternative methods of contact, like your phone number or a secondary email address.

Deactivate or delete your account if you need to

If you believe you’re in danger, under surveillance, or have no desire to post and would prefer to go dark, you can easily deactivate or delete your social media accounts. Deactivation is temporary and reactivation may only require logging back into your account, but deletion is permanent (though your data may stick around for a set amount of time in case you change your mind).

We have previously covered the deletion process in detail , including how to save your data beforehand, but we will touch on the basics here.

Facebook puts both options in the same place. From a web browser, click the menu button (down arrow) in the top right, choose Settings & privacy , then Settings , Your Facebook Information , and Deactivation and deletion . Proceed with one of those options from there. If you delete, know that Facebook may retain your data for up to 90 days.

Twitter only offers one option, but it does both things. You’ll need to visit your settings page on the web and click Deactivate your account . If you’re fine with the details listed there, click Deactivate . Twitter will keep your data for 30 days (or a year if you’re verified), but after that it’ll be gone forever.

Instagram makes the job a little harder by putting deactivation and deletion in separate places. To deactivate, log into the Instagram website , click your avatar, choose Settings , Edit Profile , and find Temporarily disable my account . It’s a link to the right of the Submit button, so it’s easy to miss. To ditch your account entirely, go to Instagram’s Delete Your Account page online. Log in, tell Instagram why you’re leaving, enter your password, and hit Permanently delete my account .

Finally, on Tiktok, go to your Profile , tap the menu button (three lines) in the top right, then Manage account , and Delete account . The app will ask why you’re leaving (as apps usually do), and give you the option to download your data. Then you’ll need to confirm you really want to delete your account. TikTok will deactivate your account for 30 days, and you can reactivate it during that time, but then it’ll be gone forever.

John Kennedy is PopSci's DIY editor. He previously covered legal news for Law360 and, before that, local news at the Journal Inquirer in Connecticut. He has also built and remodeled houses, worked as a fencing coach, and shelved books at a library. When he's not taking things apart or putting them back together, he's playing sports, cooking, baking, or immersed in a video game. Contact the author here.

Sandra Gutierrez is the former Associate DIY editor at Popular Science. She makes a living by turning those “Wait, I can make that!” moments she has while browsing the internet into fully-fledged stories—and she loves that. Contact the author here.

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Topic Sections

Introduction

Browsing Securely

Social Media Safety

Keep Your Websites Online

Protect Your WiFi Network

Staying Safe on the Internet

Last Updated: July 2022

Your organization can reveal a lot – and sometimes more than it intends – by posting and commenting on social media. Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or region-specific social media sites such as VKontakte and Odnoklassniki, you should always think carefully about what you post, and properly configure any privacy settings that may be available. This is true not only for your organization’s official pages, but also in some cases for staffs' personal accounts and those of their family and friends too.

Social Media Security and Civil Society

Even low risk organizations can be targeted and harassed on social media without proper security policies in place. In this example from 2018, a non-profit animal shelter lost thousands of dollars and alienated supporters after an unauthorized account administrator set up a fake fundraising effort, and fake accounts impersonating employees appeared on the platform. If hackers will go to those lengths to make a few thousand dollars off of an animal shelter, you can imagine the damage sophisticated adversaries might be able to inflict if they were to gain access to your organization’s accounts or successfully impersonate you online.

In addition to hacking accounts, civil society groups and individual users in many countries are also facing repercussions for content posted on social media. In one example in Zambia from 2020, police arrested a 15-year-old student for allegedly defaming the president in a Facebook post. The child, who posted under a pseudonym, was identified by the phone number used to register the account and his internet protocol (IP) address.

Develop an organizational social media policy

Assume that anything posted on social media could become public knowledge, and craft an organizational social media policy accordingly. This policy should answer questions such as: Who has access to your social media accounts? Who is allowed to post and who needs to approve posts? What information should/should not be shared on social media? If you post photos, location information, or other identifying information about your staff, partners, or event attendees have you asked for their permission, and have they considered the risks?

In addition to developing your policy and making it clear to staff, be sure to properly configure your privacy and security (often referred to as “safety”) settings. Some key questions to ask yourself as you decide what privacy and safety settings make the most sense for your personal and organizational accounts, include:

• Do you want to share your posts with the public, or only with a specific group of people internally or externally?
• Should anybody be able to comment, reply, or interact with your messages or posts?
• Should people be able to find you or your organization using your email address or (personal or professional) phone number?
• Do you want your location shared automatically when you post?
• Do you want to block or mute hostile accounts?
• Do you want to block specific words or hashtags?

Each social media site will have different privacy and safety settings, but these general concepts apply universally. As you consider these questions, take advantage of helpful privacy guides from the major platforms: Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , and YouTube . For Facebook in particular, be cautious about your privacy choices regarding Groups. Facebook Groups are a popular spot for engagement, advocacy, and information sharing, but unrestricted groups can be joined by anyone. It is not uncommon for “fake” accounts to pose as real people in an effort to infiltrate private social media groups or pages. Therefore, accept “friend” and “follow” requests carefully. Remember that your organization’s social media accounts are only as secure as the accounts that are “linked” to it. This is especially important to remember for Facebook, where your organization’s page may be managed by someone’s linked personal account.

Online Harassment

Unfortunately, many organizations face significant harassment online, especially on social media. Such harassment is often directed with even more intensity at women and marginalized populations. Online violence against women in particular can create a hostile environment that leads to self-censorship or withdrawal from political or civic discourse. As identified in NDI’s Gender, Women, and Democracy team’s Tweets that Chill report, when attacks against politically active women are channeled online, the expansive reach of social media can magnify the effect of harassment and psychological abuse, undermining women’s sense of personal security in ways not experienced by men.

As your organization develops its social media policy, it is important to be cognizant of these dynamics. Build into your security plan structured support for staff who face negative messages, insults, and threats on social media, both as part of their jobs and in their personal lives. Develop an anti-harassment infrastructure within your organization, including surveying your staff to understand how online harassment impacts them and create a rapid response team to help staff face challenging situations. PEN America’s Online Harassment Field Manual also provides detailed recommendations on how you can support staff who face such harassment. You might consider, if your staff are comfortable doing so, reporting incidents of harassment and/or problematic accounts directly to the platforms as well.

When engaging with staff who have been the victim of harassment online (and in the physical world as well), it is important to be sensitive. As outlined by the Association for Progressive Communications’ Women's Rights Programme’s Take Back the Tech , understand that a survivor may be dealing with trauma, and recognize that violence (online or offline) is never the fault of the survivor. Ensure such issues can be raised and discussed (if staff are comfortable doing so) in a confidential and safe environment, with the option of anonymity. And include in your organization’s security plan a list of local professionals, organizations, and law enforcement agencies that you can connect staff to for legal, medical, mental health, and technical assistance if needed. For additional ideas, check out Feminist Frequency’s Online Safety Guide .

Share with Care: Staying Safe on Social Media

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Sign up to stay connected and stay secure, hey, f riends, followers, lurkers, and posters: you don’t have to overshare  .

No matter whether you’re a pro influencer or a newbie with three followers, you need to think about cybersecurity and protecting your personal data while using social media. Nowadays, your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube accounts are basically as critical as email, even if you don’t post often. Here is how you can keep your account secure, enjoy your online social life, and ghost any scammer that slips into your DMs!

Prize your personal info  

We want everyone out there to be snobby about sharing their personal data – there is nothing rude about it! Your data is worth billions to social media companies, but you can control what is collected. Your personal data is valuable, treat it like cash! Strike up a habit of paying attention to what data a social media platform is requesting (like your current location) and think about your answers.  

Check your settings 

Even if a social media app or website never asks you for data, you should assume it is still collecting it. Routinely (every month or so) check your privacy settings and ensure everything fits within your comfort level.   

On mobile devices, social media apps might ask for you to give them access permissions at all times, but you don’t have to agree. Here are some default settings you should usually turn off, unless you need it for the app to function and you trust the app:  

• Camera – off  
• Microphone – off  
• Location – off  
• Sync contacts – off  

Enable MFA 

Multi-factor authentication ( MFA ), sometimes called two-factor authentication or two-step verification, requires anyone logging into an account to prove their identity multiple ways. Typically, you will enter your username, password, and then prove your identity some other way, like with a fingerprint or by responding to a text message. Why go through all this trouble? Because MFA makes it extremely hard for hackers to access your online accounts, even if they know your password .  

Passwords: Think long, strong, unique 

Every one of your social media accounts should be protected by an awesome password created with these three guiding principles in mind:  

• Long: Every one of your passwords should be at least 12 characters long. Length is more important than complexity.   
• Unique: Each account needs to be protected with its own unique password. Never reuse passwords. This way, if one of your accounts is compromised, your other accounts remain secured.
• Complex: Each unique password should be a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters (like >,!?). Again, remember each password should be at least 12 characters long. Some websites and apps will even let you include spaces.    

How do you keep track of all these unique passwords? Simple – use a password manager !  

Share with care!  

Be cautious about how much personal information you provide on social networking sites. The more information you post, the easier it may be for a hacker or someone else to use that information to steal your identity, access your data or commit other crimes such as stalking. Also, think about who can see your social media musings – most platforms allow you to limit who can see or engage with your posts if you don’t know the whole world to know your business.   

Posts are like ghosts  

Even though many of us have been on social media for a decade or more at this point (maybe even most of your life!), it bears repeating that you should think about everything you post, message, or say online, because it can live forever. Posts are like ghosts; you don’t want what you say to haunt you. This is true even for apps that automatically delete posts, like Snap. Someone who sees it can screenshot or screen-record what you post.   

Be choosy about friends and followers  

Remember that not everyone who requests to follow you has friendly intentions in mind. Depending on the information you have visible on your profile, someone who friends or follows you might know your contact info, general location, age, and other data. This is why you want to think twice before accepting a request or invitation to connect from just anyone. Many social media networks have tools that allow you to manage the info you share with friends in different groups. If you’re trying to get your influencer hustle going, create an open profile or fan page that encourages broad participation but limits personal information. Use your personal profile to connect with your real friends – typically ones you know IRL.  

Block the bullies!  

While cyberbullying is often framed as an issue for children, anyone can be a victim. When it comes to the bullies of the 2020s, social media is now the unsupervised playground for us all. We recommend that you just block them – there’s no need to give them more of your time and energy. Every platform has simple ways you can block and report users engaged in bullying behavior. There’s no shame in having a strong blocking game!  

Don’t take the phishing bait!  

Phishing  is when cybercriminals use fake emails, social media posts, or DMs with the goal of luring you to click on a bad link or download a malicious file. If you click on a phishing link or file, you might hand over your data to hackers. A phishing scheme can also install malware onto your device. If you get suspicious, typo-ridden, or too good to be true messages from someone you don’t know on social media, assume its phishing – delete it! You can usually report such messages to the social media platform, too. You might get a message or post from someone you know that seems like phishing (“when did Bill get into selling designer sunglasses?”). Assume it is phishing and delete. Use another method to contact the sender and let them know about the weird message.  

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Privacy Overview

5 Ways To Improve Social Media Security Awareness at Work

Being active on social media comes with some security risks. We’ve got tips to help improve your workplace social media security awareness.

Table of Contents

Building social media security awareness at work may not be as exciting as, say, developing TikTok engagement strategies. But it’s still a critical function for social teams at organizations of all sizes.

That’s because social media threats don’t just impact your brand’s social accounts. If they aren’t handled, security risks can infiltrate an entire organization. They can even threaten the safety of your company and customers.

To protect your brand while maintaining your audience’s trust, you need to raise social media security awareness.

In this article, we’ll review some common security risks on social media. We also discuss best practices and ways to promote workplace social media security awareness.

Bonus: Get a free, customizable social media policy template to quickly and easily create guidelines for your company and employees.

What are common security risks on social media?

When you’re active online, you expose yourself to a range of security risks — from phishing attacks to stolen passwords. Having active social media accounts poses similar risks.

These security risks become amplified when you’re responsible for managing multiple accounts, training employees, and maintaining your brand’s online reputation.

Here are some common cyber security risks on social media:

Malware is a type of malicious software. It infiltrates a server, network, or computer and is intended to cause harm. If your brand’s social accounts get infiltrated by malware, you risk exposing the entire organization to the virus.

When a hacker poses as a reputable business or source in order to solicit data, information, or money, it’s called “phishing.” Phishing attacks often promise a reward in exchange for personal information or purchase.

Identity theft

From catfishing to fake profiles, identity theft is another common risk for businesses on social media. Creating a fake profile using your brand name or likeness harms your reputation. It can also put your followers at risk. For example, the fake account could run a giveaway to collect followers’ information.

Data breaches

A data breach is when sensitive data about your company, employees, or customers is compromised by an unauthorized source.

Similar to identity theft, there are also scam ads on social media. In these scams, accounts make fake claims to trick customers into giving them money or information. The TV show ‘Shark Tank’ recently shared a PSA warning its viewers about social media ads from businesses making false claims:

Reputation damage

If any of the above risks occur at your company, it could greatly damage the brand’s reputation. Especially if customer data or confidential information is exposed. Your customers’ trust in your brand would diminish. Regaining that trust would take a lot of effort and time.

While these risks sound daunting, don’t let them scare your company from being active on social media. You can prevent and mitigate these risks. You just need the right protocols, policies, and training.

How to improve social media security awareness for your organization

The role of social media security doesn’t fall solely on the social team. Every member of the organization plays a role in protecting company, employee, and customer information.

It’s your responsibility to ensure everyone in your organization is aware of the risks associated with social media. They should also be aware of the protocols to keep the company and sensitive data safe.

Here are a few ways for your social team to improve social media security awareness at work.

1. Create a social media policy

Companies and social teams should encourage their employees to discuss the company on social media. After all, employee advocacy is a great way to extend your reach on social. But you need a good social media policy to ensure everyone stays safe online.

That’s why creating a social media policy is the first step towards improving social media security awareness. This policy should includ e guidelines and protocols for employees when using social media.

A social media policy is designed to protect the business and its employees by ensuring everyone is compliant. Outline what employees can and cannot share on social media. Provide guidelines for people working with the company’s social accounts.

Collaborate with your legal, PR, and IT teams to create a comprehensive social media policy. It should cover all aspects of security, including compliance, cyber threats, and confidentiality.

When multiple departments are involved in creating your policy, you can be sure that you’re accounting for every potential risk.

2. Educate your employees

The ultimate responsibility for social media security often falls on the social team. But other employees also play a major role too. To some extent, we’re all responsible for making sure the company is protected.

Social media security awareness begins when new employees onboard at the company. Make sure they’re aware of the social media policy and that it’s clear to follow.

But the awareness shouldn’t end there — after all, social media security training is an ongoing effort.

The social team can host regular training sessions to ensure employees stay current. These sessions should cover the company’s social media guidelines and the latest risks of social media.

Share important platform updates, new or developing risks, and reminders about your social media policy. During your training session, open the line of communication. Make sure people feel comfortable asking questions about social media security risks.

3. Enable two-factor authentication

Using two-factor authentication to log into online accounts is commonplace at this point. You use two-factor authentication for both personal and professional accounts. This method provides an extra layer of security, so using it for your business’s social media accounts makes sense.

Two-factor authentication isn’t just for your company’s social accounts. You can also enable it for any external tools that are connected to your social accounts.

Encourage employees to use two-factor authentication for their personal accounts. This is especially important if they plan to share anything related to the company.

4. Use a tool to control access to your accounts

It doesn’t matter how big or small your team is. You still need to be careful about who has access to your company’s social media accounts.

For example, let’s say you give someone full admin access to your company’s Facebook Page. The admin role can control who else has access and can even remove people from accessing the page.

If the person with full admin access leaves the organization, it can quickly become a security issue. Your team may even be locked out of the account. If you want to regain access, you’ll have to work with the platform to sort things out.

You can avoid security and access issues by using a social media management tool (like Hootsuite). This prevents people from having direct access to your social media accounts. A tool can create an additional protective layer between your business and those helping to run the accounts.

5. Monitor your social accounts

Social listening is a critical practice that applies to many functions of the social team, including security. When it comes to security, use social listening to monitor for suspicious activity. If you want a quick tutorial on social listening, follow the steps in the video below:

Look out for unusual log-in attempts, suspicious links in your inbox, or fake accounts. If anything seems out of place or fishy, flag it and alert the rest of your team. Even if it ends up being a false alarm, it’s better to be safe than risk compromising your data or brand reputation.

For creators, Meta is taking additional action to help protect your identity through Meta Verified . The subscription includes a verified badge that authenticates your account. Verified also includes additional account monitoring and protection.

Social media security awareness FAQs

What are security issues in social media.

Security issues on social media are similar to cybersecurity threats. They include data breaches, malware or phishing, fake accounts, and scam ads.

Why is security important in social media?

Social media security helps protect your business, employees, and customers from cyber threats. It’s also important to prevent risks that can harm your brand’s reputation.

How do you ensure security in social media?

There are a few best practices to help ensure security on social media for your business. Start with a clear social media policy, two-factor authentication, ongoing employee training, and continuous monitoring.

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Sam Lauron is a freelance writer who works with B2B and SaaS companies in marketing, ecommerce, business, and related tech. With a background in editorial writing and content marketing, she uses her communications and research skills to produce helpful content that inspires and informs readers.

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Counselor Keri

Resources to Spark Student Growth

• Classroom Guidance
• Middle School
• School Counseling
• Social Media

Social Media Lesson: Social Media Stress in Teens

Spread the word:

While I do my stress management unit with my 7th graders, one thing always pops up as a stressor: social media. My students talk about everything from feeling like to need to buy cooler things to feeling like they need to look differently after comparing themselves to their peers and to celebrities online. Ironically, I got an idea for a lesson while scrolling Instagram. Social media can be awesome too, after all. If social media is a stressor for your students, keep reading to find the social media lesson that was a huge hit with my middle school students!

To kick things off, I had my students work with a partner to talk about this: how might social media affect your mental and emotional health? There were some really insightful thoughts that came from this activity:

• Can social media have positive and negative influences?
• If you don’t use social media, can it still affect your mental health?
• Can you get addicted to social media?

After this discussion, we watched a TedTalk about exactly this. Many of the students’ questions were answered by this talk!

Afterward, we talked about highlight reels and social currency. This really resonated with my students, as they said they often deleted pictures that didn’t get enough likes or felt the need to constantly check how many likes they get.

At this point, I had a few students who shared that they had actually deleted certain social media apps and talked about how they felt better. Others chimed in to say that they just unfollow accounts that make them feel bad about themselves. Some students said they could never delete apps or unfollow people for fear of being left out or making others upset. I was happy to sit back and let them take the lead on this discussion and it was a really productive talk! But at the end we arrived at one question: how can teens use social media in a way that doesn’t cause unnecessary stress?

Instagram Inspiration

You might remember I mentioned that my inspiration for this lesson came from Instagram. One of my favorite accounts to follow is Positively Present by Dani DiPirro. She’s an artist who posts encouraging, inspiration, and funny illustrations that I always find myself saving. She created an illustration of “apps I need on my phone,” and I knew this would be the perfect thing to show my students.

Creative Activity:

Then, I challenged my students to create their own phone apps to describe things that create happiness in their lives instead of stress. There were some really insightful responses like hugs from parents, puppy snuggles, time with a book, and more. I won’t post any of the students’ work here, but I will share the exemplar I made to show them:

Is social media a stressor for your students? This activity was loose and mostly student-led, which is what I loved about it! You can download the free outline and handout for the social media lesson here . It was a great way to get those students who do experience social media-related stress to think about alternative activities where they can put their attention.

Published by Counselor Keri

Keri Powers, MA EdHD, MEd, NCC I am a mental health counselor turned school counselor and curriculum writer hoping to spark social, emotional, and academic growth! This school counseling blog will deliver fresh ideas to help you deliver your best program yet! View all posts by Counselor Keri

One thought on “ Social Media Lesson: Social Media Stress in Teens ”

Love this lesson plan. I think I’ll offer it to my gr. 6/7/8 classes at the beginning of next school year!

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Can kids safely navigate social media? Experts, litigation want to make it possible

Social media, with all its potential harms, can also be something that fosters healthy dialogue, fun and safe boundaries for kids.

Samantha Sharpe, a 36-year-old mother, keeps that in mind both as a digital creator and as a parent of three teenagers.

Going by Samantha Danielle online , she's built up around 15,000 Instagram followers through sharing her lifestyle and perspective as a mother. While she shares honestly and openly about her journey, she's also an advocate for setting healthy boundaries for herself — and her children — when it comes to social media.

She makes sure her kids, who are 14, 16 and 18, know they are in control of what's shared about them. She also assures them they don’t have to do anything for the sake of posting on social media, both on her account and their own pages.

"I have asked my kids straight up: Are you OK with me sharing this? Do you want to be a part of this?" Sharpe said. "I don’t overshare them … They’re not on-air talent."

As her kids grew older, Sharpe dove into research on how best to introduce them to social media and what guidelines to put in place. For her, it starts with a serious conversation about how they use technology before she puts an iPhone or other digital device in their hands. She makes sure they understand the risks, establishes firm rules and sets up parental controls.

While social media can be a positive part of family life, Sharpe said she's ever-aware of the pitfalls it can have, especially on apps that make it difficult for parents to monitor what's happening or that are designed to get kids hooked.

In recent years, hundreds of parties, including parents, youth, school districts and even states, have joined lawsuits and cases against social media companies to hold them accountable and create meaningful safeguards. Top medical experts and lawmakers have also added their voices to the conversation about keeping kids safe online.

Here's a look at what that push for change looks like.

Legal action mounting: Can parents, school districts suing social media companies make platforms safer?

A warning and a call to action

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Hallegere Murthy recently called for "immediate action" by tech companies and lawmakers to protect children on social media.

The advisory, issued last spring, included a dire warning about the harms of social media for kids. For example, children who spend more than three hours a day on social media are twice as likely to face mental health problems including depression and anxiety. That concern only compounds in light of a recent survey that revealed U.S. teens report an average 3.5 hours of daily social media use, according to the advisory.

"At a moment when we are experiencing a national youth mental health crisis, now is the time to act swiftly and decisively to protect children and adolescents from risk of harm," the advisory stated.

A call to action: US surgeon general wants to protect kids' mental health on social media

The surgeon general is far from the only one talking about action.

In a rare moment of bipartisanship in January, members of the U.S. Senate pressed CEOs from TikTok, Snap, X and Meta about dangers of their platforms for children . They asked about issues like enabling sexual predators, the glorification of suicide and eating disorders, bullying and the platforms' addictive features.

Legal action is also mounting against social media companies.

A growing body of research reflects much of what a sprawling case against Meta, Instagram, Snap, TikTok, YouTube and others argues. Plaintiffs cite harmful factors like endless content, a lack of limits on screen time, algorithms designed to keep kids online, constant notifications and filters that can change the way people look and cause negative body image messages. They also point to heightened risks of interactions with child predators, driven by nonexistent or lax age verification rules, private chats and geolocation features.

The case goes so far as to say social media platforms have "rewired how our kids think, feel and behave." It argues things such as "likes" on posts and mindless scrolling have displaced real, close friendships and creativity, play and sport. That leads to disconnection, disassociation and harm.

Read more: TikTok, Snap, X and Meta CEOs grilled at tense Senate hearing on social media and kids

How to create safe, fun space for kids with social media

Dr. Katherine Spencer, a pediatric psychologist at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, is also the mother of a young teen. Like Sharpe, she believes that social media can be a wonderful, fun space for families to share with the right rules in place.

For now, she's holding off on letting her child use social media, but for those considering introducing their kids to it, she recommends examining the following questions:

• What is your child's intellectual ability? Consider if they're mentally ready to navigate social media.
• What is your child's judgment like? Are they consistently making good choices?
• Is your child already able to balance their time with other digital media, like TV and the internet, with their school work and other activities?
• Have you set family guidelines on what's safe and unsafe when it comes to digital or social media, along with what's good and bad for them to consume?

She also recommends setting parental controls that limit how long and how often children can access social media. She said it's important to have passwords to all their accounts and the ability to see all the content children post, like and view.

Sharpe, the digital creator, said she uses parental controls for her younger kids, which gives her full access to their accounts. As they get older, she has a conversation about giving them more leeway. She said it's important to keep conversations open and honest with her kids so she can spot the first signs of trouble before it escalates.

She also joked that her kids apply the same rules to her, often calling out her own unhealthy habits.

The conversation around social media doesn't always have to be about boundaries or rules, too, Sharpe said. It can be a way to bond as a family. Her 16-year-old daughter, for example, loves to make TikToks and often asks her mom to join.

“She's a social media girl. … She loves to talk about it," Sharpe said with a smile. "She loves to even critique me and be like, ‘That's not cute, mom.'"

Sharpe is also big about family time that has nothing to do with social media, like playing games, watching movies or getting outside. She emphasizes to her kids that it's important to give their brains a break from their phones and social media.

Vanderbilt psychologist witnesses harms of social media

In her work at the children's hospital at Vanderbilt, Spencer has seen the harmful effects of social media firsthand. She said the fallout can be especially harsh for children who are still developing.

As an example, Spencer said she's seen children with what's called a "TikTok tic." Tics are often associated with Tourette's Syndrome, which can cause people to make sudden twitches, movements or sounds repeatedly. According to a 2022 article from Harvard Health Publishing , neurologists saw an unusual increase in children exhibiting tics, especially among teenage girls, in recent years.

"After ruling out other explanations, the tics in these teenagers seemed related to many hours spent watching TikTok videos of people who report having Tourette syndrome and other movement disorders," the article said.

Spencer has also seen children use social media to measure their self-worth or to seek information and connections that reinforce negative, destructive habits or ways of thinking. Negative messages about body image or conversations about self-harm on social media have also impacted her patients. Additionally, she's seen social media use disrupt sleep and aggravate anxiety and depression.

Navigating social media: How do I keep my kids safe online?

Even with her observations and research, Spencer said she and other experts are still catching up on the full effects of social media.

"We just don't know the long-term effects," she said.

When it comes to directly linking the ongoing youth mental health crisis with social media, Spencer was cautious.

"I don't think that we can prove any specific causation," she said. "But it's certainly a part of it."

Amid the growing pressure to rein in social media companies and make their platforms safer, Sharpe, the digital creator, sees it as a two-way street. While she supports holding social media companies accountable and adding more safeguards, she also said it's important that parents educate themselves and develop clear, healthy rules for their children.

She echoed Spencer's thoughts on how the rapidly evolving landscape of social media complicates the matter.

"I always say it's a first-generation problem," Sharpe said. "We're all learning and navigating together."

More resources

Read the full U.S. Surgeon General's advisory on social media at hhs.gov/SurgeonGeneral/priorities/youth-mental-health/social-media . The page also includes in-depth resources, steps to take action and access to expert advice.

Evan Mealins contributed to this story.

Reach children's reporter Rachel Wegner at [email protected] or find her on social media @RachelAnnWegner on Twitter, Threads and Bluesky.

Milwaukee Brewers Boot Former Highly-Regarded Prospect Off 40-Man Roster

In a series of roster moves on Wednesday, the Milwaukee Brewers designated former highly-regarded prospect Vladimir Gutierrez for assignment.

• Author: brady farkas

In this story:

They'll now have a week to trade him, release him or outright him to the minors. He never even pitched a game for the Brewers after being claimed off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays earlier this year.

Per the team on social media:

RHP Tobias Myers selected from Triple-A Nashville. LHP Jared Koenig optioned to Nashville. RHP Vladimir Gutierrez designated for assignment.

RHP Tobias Myers selected from Triple-A Nashville. LHP Jared Koenig optioned to Nashville. RHP Vladimir Gutierrez designated for assignment. pic.twitter.com/EMyDhKD2mG — Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 17, 2024

The 28-year-old native of Cuba has spent parts of three years in the big leagues with the Reds and Marlins. He made his debut in 2021 and actually started 22 games for Cincy, pitching to a 4.74 ERA. Unfortuantely, that success didn't translate. He had a 7.61 ERA in 10 appearances in 2022 and missed all of 2023 with injury.

This offseason, he joined up with the Marlins, appearing in one game for Miami. He then landed with Toronto and Milwaukee but didn't appear in a game for either of them.

Given his age and former high prospect status, he's likely to get more opportunities, it's just a question of where. Perhaps he could stay in the Brewers organization as a depth piece.

Milwaukee enters play on Wednesday at 10-6 overall. They'll take on the San Diego Padres on Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. ET.

Michael King (2-0, 4.19 ERA) gets the ball for San Diego (11-9) while Bryse Wilson pitches for Milwaukee. The 26-year-old is 1-0 with a 5.19 ERA thus far.

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MSU Extension Food & Health

Food safety for social media influencers.

Mary Donaldson <[email protected]> and Stephanie Ostrenga Sprague <[email protected]> , Michigan State University Extension - April 12, 2021

Be a food safety influencer! Include food safety in your social media posts that include recipes or cooking demonstrations.

Blog posts, videos or podcasts are popular ways to show cooking and baking skills, with the potential to be viewed by thousands of people. Many people watch or read these to find inspiration, share creativity and learn new cooking techniques. Popular social media content authors, or influencers, can be role models for the online community since followers use the content as an example of "what to do." As a social media influencer, including food safety practices into recipes is a great way to build credibility and minimize foodborne illness .

MSU Extension recommends that social media influencers include food safety steps in their online recipes. The 4 Steps to Food Safety are clean, separate, cook and chill:

• Clean:  Wash hands and clean all food contact surfaces and equipment before preparing food.
• Separate:  Make a point to include separating raw meats from ready to eat foods while preparing recipes.
• Cook:  Place reminders within the recipe instructions to wash hands and food contact surfaces before handling food. Use the recommended minimum safe internal temperatures for the type of food.
• Chill:  Provide instruction that hot foods need to be chilled to 40 degrees Fahrenheit within two hours.

Social media content created by influencers should also be evaluated for food safety. For example, a post about "dry canning" in the oven may be popular, but food safety experts warn against the use of dry canning. Manufactures advise that glass canning jars are tempered for moist heat methods, such as hot-water bath canning, and storage of dry ingredients like rice or pasta. Using glass jars in the oven may cause appliance damage and even personal injury. It is also not recommended to bake small servings of a dessert, such as cake, in a glass jar or terra cotta pot. Most jars and pots are not designed to be used for baking and cannot withstand the dry heat of the oven leading to risk of shattering or exploding. Terra cotta pots are known to have lead and that can leach into food.

Another cooking technique made popular by social media influencers is making ready-to-eat cookie dough. While these recipes may not use raw egg or pasteurized egg product, they might still use raw flour, which is a salmonella/E. coli risk. Raw flour is not processed in a way where it is heated or where foodborne pathogens are removed, so it has been the culprit of many recent foodborne illness outbreaks. Since 2009, 168 documented illnesses have been linked to raw flour, with 20 reported hospitalizations.

During holidays, another popular tip shared online is to store extra food on the porch or in the garage if you run out of fridge or freezer space. Even though it may feel cold outside, sunshine may put the food in the temperature danger zone and wildlife or pets may contaminate the food. Plan ahead to have coolers and enough ice that can be changed every eight hours.

In addition to safe cold storage, frozen foods need to be thawed and cooked properly to avoid bacterial growth. Some recipes recommend cooking raw and ready to eat ingredients together in a slow cooker. If the raw food is frozen, it will not pass through the temperature danger zone quick enough to prevent bacterial growth. Make sure to thaw raw foods prior to adding them to your slow cooker. If you are short on time, MSU Extension and the United States Department of Agriculture have recommended resources for thawing and cooking frozen foods safely.

There are several templates available for adding food safety to any recipe or cooking method found on social media. The Safe Recipe Style Guide  from The Partnership for Food Safety Education is one resource to create recipes that include food safety steps as well as adding food safety steps to existing recipes. Other recipes that include food safety can be found on the Food Safety in Your Kitchen page from the Food and Drug Administration website; these recipes also include food safety steps. By including instructions for the safe handling of food in recipes and in live and video demonstrations, you can decrease foodborne illnesses in vulnerable populations. Vulnerable populations include children, older adults, and people with compromised immune systems that might be more sensitive to foodborne illnesses, which may lead to a serious illness or death.

Plan food demonstrations and recipes by including food safety practices before posting online. Contact MSU Extension with questions or to help with a food safety and recipe strategy. 

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension . For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu . To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters . To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts , or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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Retiring Rep. McMorris Rodgers: 'We have to act' on social media child safety

by AHTRA ELNASHAR | The National Desk

WASHINGTON (TND) – For not the first time this week, parents who have lost children to harm from social media sat in the front row of a congressional hearing where lawmakers discussed legislation that, at the rate this Congress is moving, has slim chances of passing into law this year.

On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce discussed 10 bills designed to protect kids online and secure Americans' data privacy. For the most part, they have firm bipartisan support.

The Kids Online Safety Act , for instance, has bipartisan backing in both the House and Senate. It would require online platforms to provide minors with the option to protect their data and opt out of algorithmic recommendations; create accountability measures for social media platforms; and require transparency of "black box" algorithms.

Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., who is not running for reelection, is also pushing for the American Privacy Rights Act , a piece of bipartisan, bicameral draft legislation she introduced last week with her Senate counterpart, Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. The bill would create national privacy and security standards and implement enforcement mechanisms, like a private right of action for individuals.

We are acting and it’s long overdue that Congress act," McMorris Rodgers said. "Members on both sides of the aisle recognize that we must act on behalf of parents, on behalf of our children, on behalf of all Americans to protect us online.”

For parents like Sam Chapman, it's too late.

In 2021, his 16-year-old son Sammy was on Snapchat when a drug dealer reached out to him and ended up delivering a pill that was laced with fentanyl while Chapman and his wife were asleep.

“His little brother found him dead the next day on the floor," Chapman said.

Chapman has since become an "accidental activist," as he put it, advocating for the passage of Sammy's Law , named for his late son and sponsored by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. The bill would require the availability of third-party safety apps on any social media or gaming platform accessible to kids.

“What happens with those safety apps is you get a warning on your phone or your computer if you’re a parent if something bad happens online with your child, so suicide, drug sales, illegal firearm sales to minors, basically crimes to minors, suicide-baiting," Chapman said.

Election years, however, are notorious for being unproductive in the halls of Capitol Hill and the 118th Congress is already considered one of the most ineffective in history. This week, the House may take its final votes on major issues before November.

“We can do everything we can, we can file bills, we can work on all of this and as you hear, we all agree. But it still takes you know, the speaker to, at the end of the day, to get the bill to the floor," said Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., who sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Most of the oxygen in Congress at the moment is taken up by an effort to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and battles over defense aid to Ukraine and Israel and humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

Undeniable, too, is the powerful tech lobby that opposes much of the proposed social media legislation and pushes for alternative policies that put more onus on parents to monitor their kids.

They have over 100 lobbyists walking the halls here with us today and they’re awash in money and it’s really a Sisyphean challenge for a bunch of parents to fight against these big interests. But when you lose a kid, there’s nothing that’s going to stop you," Chapman said.

Though the timing of the election may slow the wheels of legislative progress, Chapman believes it could help their cause in the long run.

"There are now hundreds of thousands of parents like me and every year, a couple hundred thousand more... There’s only one way that we can speak and that’s with our vote," Chapman said. “We are a political force in 2024 and I believe that politicians are listening.”

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USC says it is canceling its valedictorian speech because of safety concerns

Ayana Archie

This March 12, 2019, file photo shows the University Village area of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Reed Saxon/AP hide caption

This March 12, 2019, file photo shows the University Village area of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

The University of Southern California will no longer have its valedictorian speak at its commencement ceremony because of safety concerns, the school said Monday .

Asna Tabassum was selected as this year's valedictorian. But student groups called for the decision to be reconsidered due to Tabassum's social media content on the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Tabassum's Instagram page links to a slideshow that says "learn about what's happening in Palestine, and how to help," and criticizes Zionism as "a racist settler-colonial ideology that advocates for a jewish ethnostate built on palestinian land." The slideshow calls for a "one-state solution" that "would mean palestinian liberation, and the complete abolishment of the state of israel."

Tabassum's social media activity has drawn criticism, with student groups, such as the organization Trojans for Israel , calling the content "antisemitic bigotry." Other social media users, however, denounced USC's decision and said Tabassum should be able to speak freely.

USC Provost Andrew Guzman, who picks the valedictorian, said the matter "has grown to include many voices outside" the campus community, and poses a security threat to next month's event, which is anticipated to have 65,000 guests.

Middle East crisis — explained

U.s. students are clashing over the israel-hamas war. what can colleges do.

"After careful consideration, we have decided that our student valedictorian will not deliver a speech at commencement," Guzman said. "While this is disappointing, tradition must give way to safety."

Tabassum, who is South Asian-American and Muslim, said in a statement that as a result of the backlash, she has faced "a campaign of racist hatred because of my uncompromising belief in human rights for all."

Tabassum said she questions safety concerns being the university's reason for canceling her speech. She said she was denied a request for the school's threat assessment. Additionally, during a meeting with university leaders, she said she was told the school would not be increasing its security presence, despite having the resources to do so, because that's not what USC wants to "present as an image."

"I am not surprised by those who attempt to propagate hatred," said Tabassum, who studies biomedical engineering and resistance to genocide. "I am surprised that my own university—my home for four years—has abandoned me."

"USC supports free speech and dissent, so long as it doesn't disturb university activities," Guzman said.

The number of high school seniors who have filled out FAFSA is down from last year

He added that USC's 300-employee Department of Public Safety will be "fully deployed" at commencement, along with officers from the Los Angeles Police Department.

Guzman said that the school is "resolute in our commitment to maintain and prioritize the existing safety and well-being of our USC community during the coming weeks."

Guzman picked this year's valedictorian from a pool of about 100 eligible applicants and examined several factors, excluding social media presence, he said.

This story has been updated to include examples of Tabassum's online statements about the situation in the Middle East.

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Two tribal nations sue social media companies over Native youth suicides

FILE - Social media applications are displayed on an iPhone, March 13, 2019, in New York. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, April 9, 2024, two tribal nations accused social media companies — including Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta Platforms; Snapchat’s Snap Inc.; TikTok parent company ByteDance; and Alphabet, which owns YouTube and Google — of contributing to the disproportionately high rates of suicide among Native American youth. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

FILE - The TikTok logo is displayed n a mobile phone in front of a computer screen displaying the TikTok home screen, Oct. 14, 2022, in Boston. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, April 9, 2024, two tribal nations accused social media companies — including Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta Platforms; Snapchat’s Snap Inc.; TikTok parent company ByteDance; and Alphabet, which owns YouTube and Google — of contributing to the disproportionately high rates of suicide among Native American youth. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

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Two tribal nations are accusing social media companies of contributing to the disproportionately high rates of suicide among Native American youth.

Their lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles county court names Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta Platforms; Snapchat’s Snap Inc.; TikTok parent company ByteDance; and Alphabet, which owns YouTube and Google, as defendants.

Virtually all U.S. teenagers use social media , and roughly one in six describe their use as “almost constant,” according to the Pew Research Center.

But Native youth are particularly vulnerable to these companies’ addictive “profit-driven design choices,” given historic teen suicide rates and mental health issues across Indian Country, chairperson Lonna Jackson-Street of the Spirit Lake Tribe in North Dakota said in a press release.

“Enough is enough. Endless scrolling is rewiring our teenagers’ brains,” added Gena Kakkak, chairwoman of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. “We are demanding these social media corporations take responsibility for intentionally creating dangerous features that ramp up the compulsive use of social media by the youth on our Reservation.”

Social media companies accused of ‘deliberate misconduct’

Their lawsuit describes “a sophisticated and intentional effort that has caused a continuing, substantial, and longterm burden to the Tribe and its members,” leaving scarce resources for education, cultural preservation and other social programs.

A growing number of similar lawsuits are being pursued by US school districts , states, cities and other entities, claiming that TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube exploit children and adolescents with features that keep them constantly scrolling and checking their accounts.

New York City, its schools and public hospital system accuse the platforms of fueling a childhood mental health crisis that’s disrupting learning and draining resources. School boards in Ontario, Canada, claim teachers are struggling because platforms designed for compulsive use “have rewired the way children think, behave, and learn.”

The Associated Press reached out to the companies for comment. Google said “the allegations in these complaints are simply not true.”

“Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work,” Google spokesperson José Castañeda said in a statement. “In collaboration with youth, mental health and parenting experts, we built services and policies to provide young people with age-appropriate experiences, and parents with robust controls.”

Snap Inc. said it provides an alternative to a feed of online content. “We will always have more work to do, and will continue to work to make Snapchat a platform that helps close friends feel connected, happy and prepared as they face the many challenges of adolescence,” the company’s statement said.

Native children are uniquely stressed out

Native Americans experience higher rates of suicide than any other racial demographic in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, jumping nearly 20% from 2015 to 2020 compared with a less-than 1% increase among the overall U.S. population.

Mental health care is already difficult to access from remote locations, and generations of colonization and social stigma create more barriers, particularly when the care isn’t culturally appropriate, advocates say.

About 87% of people who identify as Native American don’t live on an Indian reservation, according to the 2020 U.S. Census, and social media can help them connect with tradition, culture and other tribal communities.

But “they also might experience discrimination online. And social media companies don’t always have great, helpful policies for managing that,” said Andrea Wiglesworth, an enrolled member of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation and Shawnee Tribe who researches stress in Native populations at the University of Minnesota.

Native American identity is a complex mix of political and cultural experiences that varies from tribe to tribe and within Indigenous communities, adding a unique layer of stress onto other social pressures, Wiglesworth said.

“I won’t speak for all Native people, but from my lived experience there is this sense of shared responsibility for the well-being of our community and community members,” she added. She said Indigenous people need to think about how they carry that commitment into the digital world.

The teenage brain is wired for compulsive responses

The science is still emerging about how social media affects teenagers’ mental health. Psychologists and neuroscientists note the potential for both positive and negative side effects, and researchers have yet to draw a direct link between screen time alone and poor mental health outcomes, according to Mitch Prinstein, chief science officer at the American Psychological Association.

What researchers do know is that as an adolescent’s brain develops, it builds and strengthens the connections that guide responses for a variety of human interactions while it creates more receptors for oxytocin and dopamine. This is the brain’s reward system, Prinstein said, and it manifests in adolescents a need for both positive feedback and concern about social punishments.

“In the 1980s that meant that we were suddenly talking about who’s in which clique and who sits at which lunch table and are you wearing the right clothes to get positive feedback when you go to school. In 2024, we’re now making it possible to kind of feed that with 24/7, 365 button-pressing for feedback and input from peers,” he said.

Prinstein called for new legislation in Senate testimony last year, saying federal regulators should have more power to prohibit exploitative business practices and require social media companies to protect the well-being of children on their platforms.

Regulatory efforts focus on TikTok

A nationwide investigation by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general is focusing on whether TikTok is harming the mental health of children and young adults by promoting content and boosting engagement. Meanwhile, some Republican-led states have pursued their own lawsuits.

Utah accused TikTok in October of baiting children into excessive social media use. Indiana’s lawsuit accusing TikTok of deceiving users about inappropriate content and insecure personal information was dismissed in November. Arkansas has two lawsuits pending , against TikTok and ByteDance.

And in Congress, a bipartisan group of senators is supporting the Kids Online Safety Act, which in part would require platform design changes to prevent harm. Tech industry groups have opposed the bill, and the American Civil Liberties Union has raised censorship concerns.

Graham Lew Brewer, who covers Indigenous Affairs for the AP’s Race and Ethnicity, reported from Oklahoma City. AP writers Haleluya Hadero and Shawn Chen reported from New York.

Citing safety concerns, USC cancels pro-Palestinian valedictorian’s graduation speech

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Saying “tradition must give way to safety,” USC on Monday made the unprecedented move of canceling the upcoming graduation speech of an undergraduate valedictorian who has come under fire for her pro-Palestinian views.

The move, according to USC officials, is the first time the university has kept a valedictorian from the traditional chance to speak onstage at the annual commencement ceremony, which typically draws more than 65,000 people to the Los Angeles campus.

In a campuswide letter , USC Provost Andrew T. Guzman cited unnamed threats that have poured in shortly after the university publicized the valedictorian’s name and biography this month. Guzman said attacks against the student for her pro-Palestinian views have reached an “alarming tenor” and “escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement” in May.

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“After careful consideration, we have decided that our student valedictorian will not deliver a speech at commencement. ... There is no free-speech entitlement to speak at a commencement. The issue here is how best to maintain campus security and safety, period,” Guzman wrote.

The student, whom the letter does not name, is biomedical engineering major Asna Tabassum. USC officials chose Tabassum from nearly 100 student applicants who had GPAs of 3.98 or higher.

But after USC President Carol Folt announced her selection, a swarm of on- and off-campus groups attacked Tabassum. They targeted her minor, resistance to genocide, as well as her pro-Palestinian views and “likes” expressed through her Instagram account.

We Are Tov, a group that uses the Hebrew word for “good” and describes itself as “dedicated to combating antisemitism,” posted Tabassum’s image on its Instagram account and said she “openly promotes antisemitic writings.” The group also criticized Tabassum for liking Instagram posts from another group, Trojans for Palestine. Tabassum’s Instagram bio links to a landing page that says “learn about what’s happening in Palestine, and how to help.”

The campus group Trojans for Israel also posted on its Instagram account, calling for Folt’s “reconsideration” of Tabassum for what it described as her “antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric.” The group said Tabassum’s Instagram bio linked to a page that called Zionism a “racist settler-colonial ideology.”

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In a statement, Tabassum opposed the decision, saying USC has “abandoned” her.

“Although this should have been a time of celebration for my family, friends, professors, and classmates, anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian voices have subjected me to a campaign of racist hatred because of my uncompromising belief in human rights for all,” said Tabassum, who is Muslim.

“This campaign to prevent me from addressing my peers at commencement has evidently accomplished its goal: today, USC administrators informed me that the university will no longer allow me to speak at commencement due to supposed security concerns,” she wrote.

“I am both shocked by this decision and profoundly disappointed that the university is succumbing to a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice. I am not surprised by those who attempt to propagate hatred. I am surprised that my own university—my home for four years—has abandoned me.”

In an interview, Guzman said the university has been “in close contact with the student” and would “provide her support.” He added that “we weren’t seeking her opinion” on the cancellation.

“This is a security decision,” he said. “This is not about the identity of the speaker, it’s not about the things the valedictorian has said in the past. We have to put as our top priority ensuring that the campus and community is safe.”

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Another campus official who was part of the decision, Erroll Southers, said threats came in via email, phone calls and letters. Southers is USC’s associate senior vice president for safety and risk assurance.

Individuals “say they will come to campus as early as this week,” Southers said. He did not elaborate.

Pro-Palestinian groups, including the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, have called for USC to reinvite Tabassum to speak.

“USC cannot hide its cowardly decision behind a disingenuous concern for ‘security,’” CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said in a statement.

In another statement, the USC Palestine Justice Faculty Group said it “unequivocally rejects” Tabassum being uninvited.

“The provost’s action is another example of USC’s egregious pattern of supporting anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim racism,” the group said.

Times staff writers Jenna Peterson and Angie Orellana Hernandez contributed to this report.

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Jaweed Kaleem is a national correspondent at the Los Angeles Times. Based in L.A. with a focus on issues outside of California, he has traveled to dozens of states to cover news and deeply reported features on the complexity of the American experience. His articles frequently explore race, religion, politics, social debates and polarized society. Kaleem was previously based in London, where he was a lead news writer on Russia’s war on Ukraine and spearheaded European coverage for the Times, including the Global California initiative. Before joining The Times in 2016, he reported on religion for HuffPost and the Miami Herald, where he was a member of a Pulitzer Prize finalist team recognized for coverage of Haiti. His reporting has also received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Society for Features Journalism, the Asian American Journalists Assn., the South Asian Journalists Assn. and the National Headliner Awards.

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