http://www.facebook.ie
Nearly 2 million users in Ireland –
47% male 53% female.
900 new users per day
Linkedin
Twitter
Average Irish person spends 18 hours and
8 mins per month on social networking
sites.
Facebook – the stats
 – 15 years of age = 7% (14,000)
 16 – 17 years of age = 6%
 18 – 24 years of age = 24%
 25 – 34 years of age = 31%
 35 – 44 years of age = 17%
 45 – 54 years of age = 8%
 55 – 64 years of age = 3%
 65+ years of age = 2% (Socialbakers.com)
 teen’s 13 to 16 years of age (LSE)
 47% of Irish teen’s aged 13 – 16 years have a Facebook
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profile
14% of this age group admitted to faking the age on
their profile
8% of this age group admitted to having their profiles
set to public
11% listed their home address and telephone number
on their profile
58% listed their school
35% have more than 100 contacts
22% contacted people they didn’t know (apart from
through the internet) on social networks (including
Facebook and other)
Children 9 to 12 years of age (London School of
Economics, LSE)
 21% of Irish children aged 9 – 12 years have a Facebook profile
 49% of this group admitted to faking the age on their profiles
 14% of this group admitted to having their profiles set to public
 6% listed their home address and telephone number on their
profile
 11% listed their school
 8% have more than 100 contacts
 25% contacted people they didn’t know (apart from through the
internet) on social networks (including Facebook and others)
Twitter
 Social network site started late 2008/2009
 Twitter link
 Allows users to post short messages
 Mostly used from mobile phones
 Used more and more by political parties and
commercial organisations
 Messages are called tweets
 Not used by school goers at present.
.
What are social networking sites
 Social networking sites, sometimes referred to as
"friend-of-a-friend" sites.
 They build upon the concept of traditional social
networks where users are connected to new
people through people already known.
 The average number of friends for each fb user is
130
A few facts :
 Facebook is a free online community where each member
has their own personal page
 Facebookers post about likes and dislikes, their favourite
films and music and photos, where they are going, their
present locations and status
 It can be updated all of the time and the online diary aspect
gives it a live, reality TV-like feel.
 Each member has their own list of friends and each links on
to another list, so the potential of meeting new people is
endless. A complete set of pals can connect to one another,
whole schools to whole schools, complete online
communities.
 The legal age of users who may create a profile is 13
What information can be found on a Facebook page ?
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Name
Location
Contact Details
Age/Gender
Photographs
List of friends
Conversations with Friends
Online Diary
 Can also be accessed freely by mobile phone
Active engagement by
Parents is the greatest
influence on children using the
internet NOT filtering software
as is commonly believed
 Most Facebook users have developed a type of slang that can be
difficult to read, and sometimes styles of writing can include letters
being replaced with digits....i.e. h3r3 1z my bf p1c..l0l. Brb. (here is my
boyfriends picture, laugh out loud, be right back.)
 There is very little regulation but there is a facility where abuse may be
reported. This may result in having pages removed or having another
user blocked
 It is rarely totally effective to block Social Networking sites from school
computers as many students are well aware of the multiple access sites
which they can use instead or will simply revert to accessing it via
online smart phones.
What it looks like !
 Parents can monitor their childs profile on facebook
either by sitting with them as they are online, or by
creating their own facebook site, which will allow
them to see others who have public sites.
 Setting up as yourself or someone else??
To set up a facebook account
 Go to www.facebook.com
 Note : you can only view your childs profile if they are
public or if they have added you as a friend. If they have
elected to have a private profile only their selected friends
can view their page
 To find a student can be difficult as they often don’t use
their own name, preferring instead to use nicknames.
 The best way to find them is to type in an unusual
classmates first or surname into the search bar.
Search bar
To edit privacy settings
Read through this with your child and make careful
selections about who can contact him/her
Once you block someone, that person can no longer see things you post on
your timeline, tag you, invite you to events or groups, start a conversation with
you, or add you as a friend.
To report abuse click on settings and from the
drop down menu choose report a problem
What security implications do these sites present ?
 Social networking sites rely on the provision of a certain
amount of personal information.
 People may not exercise the same amount of caution as they
would when meeting someone in person because the internet
provides a sense of anonymity
 The lack of physical interaction provides a false sense of
security
 Social network users tailor the information for their friends to
read, forgetting that others may see it
 Often users want to offer insights to impress potential
friends or associates, and so may exaggerate incidents.
 While the majority of people using these sites do not
pose a threat, malicious people may be drawn to them
because of the accessibility and amount of personal
information available on them.
 The more information malicious people have, the easier
it is for them to take advantage.
Child safety
My name is
Maria....I’m 13 and I
go to school in St
Marys in Athboy. I
like making new
friends.
My Name is Paul......I’m
13 and I go to school in
St Michaels in Athboy,
do you want to meet me!
Employers
Security
 Facebook users are responsible for their own
passwords and if they tell you that someone else has
blocked them out of their account, it is not true.
 Any changes to their account, or any attempt to alter
passwords etc will automatically be emailed to their
email address, so they WILL be aware of that.
 Despite your best attempts your child may have cleared
their account, or have had it removed but can set up a
new account under a different user name within minutes.
 Blocking Social media sites in school is rarely effective as
most students will be aware of the many ‘back door sites’
which will allow them access it anyway or use mobile
phones to access it.
 Please also remember Facebook can be a very positive,
useful tool of communication for the vast majority of
people who use it properly.
Difficulties which may arise for
children and teenages using
Facebook etc.
 Teenagers may be vulnerable if others post
photographs taken during social events of them onto a
public site.
 Children and Teenagers may be subjected to abusive
messages, or be excluded - cyberbullied
 They may be personated, when others use their name
and/or photographs to set up sites in their name.
 They may have ‘hate sites’ or polls set up about them
which lead to very distressing bullying events.
How can you protect your child?
 Limit the amount of personal information posted - Do
not post information that would make them
vulnerable (e.g., your address, information about their
schedule or routine) Do not check in.
 If connections post information about them, make
sure the combined information is not more than they
would be comfortable with strangers knowing.
 Remind your child/student to be skeptical - Don't believe
everything they read online. People may post false or
misleading information about various topics, including
their own identities.
 This is not necessarily done with malicious intent; it could
be unintentional, a product of exaggeration, or a joke.
 Take appropriate precautions, though, and try to verify the
authenticity of any information before taking any action
 Remember that the internet is a public resource – Users
should be reminded to only post information that they
are comfortable with anyone seeing – even their Mother
!
 This includes information in their profile and in blogs
and other forums and particularly photographs. Once
information is posted online, it cannot be retracted
permanently.
 Even if the information is removed from a site, saved or
cached versions may still exist on other people's
machines.
 Software has now been developed and is being used by
many employers to view the profiles of employees or
prospective employees. Therefore do not enter, or allow
others to enter information which could compromise
your good name or job prospects in the future.
 Also employers may ask interviewees to open their
facebook site while at interview.
How to stay safe online
 Do not give any personal details online
 Never agree to meet
 Make profile private – although this does not guarantee
safety alone.
 Block abusive people
 Report abuse to Facebook and gardai if necessary
 Do not accept anyone you don’t know.
 Be careful who you pick as your friends, and how much
knowledge you share about yourself with others.
 If there are any incidents of bullying, copy and paste the
offending material, and save a copy for the authorities to
deal with it.
 Younger children in particular should never be allowed
to set a password which the parent does not know.
 Parents should set the guidelines and rules for internet
use within the home
 Parents should check regularly what their children are
doing on the internet and enforce your own rules.
 Never reply to nasty or suggestive messages, instead save
or print them and report the matter.
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Summary
 Active engagement by Parents is the greatest
influence on children using the internet and in
particular social networking sites such as Bebo.
 You have taken a positive step tonight by coming here
to attend this talk.
 Now take the time to become familiar with social
networking sites and ensure that your child is safe
Further
reading
and
reference
 http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST06-003.html
 http://isedj.org/isecon/2006/3333/ISECON.2006.Sny
der.pdf
 Helpful website which gives advice and help in
dealing with cyberbullying. – National Parents
Council, Primary
 http://www.npc.ie
 Thank you for your time and attention
 Margaret Deegan B.A., H. Dip Ed. M. Sc. Techology &
Learning.