We’re taking a detour from our usual format to present our audience with a great PDF resource guide for parents of teens who use social media. Feel free to download Social Networking Sites, A Parent’s Guide from the Federal Trade Commission.

Our CEO, Desiree Scales, gave a talk today to Woodward Academy about keeping teens safe online and preparing them for college. Social media can be quite effective when used responsibly. Here are a few talking points:

• Parents should monitor activity if at all possible and talk to their students about how they would use social media. If they aren’t ready, don’t push.
• Teens can use social media to share their accomplishments. Leave a footprint of awards, activities and milestones that will impress.
• College research is a great use of social media. It gives them the ability to talk to department heads, students and other people who have experience with the institution.
• Parents should be role models to their students in their own usage of social media.
• Get family involved and have older members friend the student and have dialogue with them. They should also be watching the students activity and report back to parents if anything is amiss.
• Teenagers in a creative field can use YouTube, Flickr and other image and video and sharing sites to share their work.
• If your teen isn’t responsible or shows bad judgement, communicate and talk it out. Don’t accuse, be open to their reasons and make a judgement call over access after the talk.
• Parents should make it a point to learn how to use all the social media platforms themselves so they can have educated and effective conversations about privacy settings for each tool and how to use social media effectively.