Think before you text or post and instill a sense of caution not fear were two of the main recommendations from a workshop on social networking and internet safety held at Limerick Youth Service.
Delivered by Dr. Maureen Griffin of UCC, the workshop highlighted the positive and negative features of social networking while stressing the consequences of adding someone as a ‘friend’ or posting a photo online.
Dr, Griffin stressed that ‘the aim was not to scare people into closing down their Facebook account rather make them aware of the results of some of their actions.’
“Although the majority of young people who use Facebook or SnapChat do so in a safe manner, there are some vulnerable youngsters for whom the web can become a very lonely and unsafe place,” stated Dr. Griffin.
With some people having several hundred ‘Facebook friends,’ Dr. Griffin asked the question, ‘would you class someone you just met in school or at a party as a friend in real life?’
“By making someone a friend on Facebook you are inviting them into your life. Would you invite a stranger into your home, share photos and share some of the most intimate details of your life with them?”.
“From the moment our children are born we look after them, teaching them the safe cross code etcetera, yet the internet is thrown at them without rules or guidelines”’ Dr. Griffin stated.
She also discussed the growing issue of ‘Facebook Depression’ where people are presenting signs of being ‘clinically depressed’ from Facebook use.
“Some people spend so much time on Facebook they start to judge their own life from what they see online. They see a friend’s pages with pictures of them on holidays and feel their own life is inadequate, but what they are seeing is the edited highlights of someone’s life”, she explained.
Dermot Troy, Limerick Youth Service, urged people who have concerns about sites such as Facebook or SnapChat to contact Limerick Youth Service.
“People of all ages can have issues with social networking but the key is educating and understanding how the respective sites work”, said Mr. Troy who echoed Dr. Griffin’s suggestion to ‘instil a sense of caution not fear’ when surfing the web.
