Involving Parents in School Programs about Safety on Social Network Sites

Abstract Social network sites (SNS) such as Facebook offer a lot of opportunities, but teenagers are often not aware of the possible negative consequences of posting personal, sexual, or offensive information. Therefore, schools and parents have an important role in educating kids about the risks on SNS. In this quasi-experimental study, the impact of a school intervention with parental involvement on pupils’ awareness, their attitudes, intentions and behaviour on SNS is measured. Quantitative and qualitative results give an answer to the two research questions that were put forth: (1) is an intervention involving parents effective to teach teenagers how to use SNS safely? And (2) is organizing an information evening an effective way to involve parents in school programs? Implications are discussed.

[1]  Cindy A. Crusto,et al.  What works in prevention. Principles of effective prevention programs. , 2003, The American psychologist.

[2]  Hans Martens,et al.  Evaluating Media Literacy Education: Concepts, Theories and Future Directions , 2010, Journal of Media Literacy Education.

[3]  Tammy Schellens,et al.  Exploring the Usefulness of School Education about Risks on Social Network Sites: A Survey Study , 2013, Journal of Media Literacy Education.

[4]  James A. Brown.  Media Literacy Perspectives , 1998 .

[5]  M. Valcke,et al.  Changing Unsafe Behaviour on Social Network Sites. Collaborative Learning vs. Individual Reflection , 2016 .

[6]  Sonia Livingstone,et al.  Risks and safety on the internet: the perspective of European children: full findings and policy implications from the EU Kids Online survey of 9-16 year olds and their parents in 25 countries , 2011 .

[7]  E. Maccoby,et al.  Historical overview of socialization research and theory. , 2007 .

[8]  Melinda C. Bier,et al.  Character Education: Parents as Partners. , 2005 .

[9]  Tammy Schellens,et al.  Primary school children's safe and unsafe use of the Internet at home and at school: An exploratory study , 2007, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[10]  Bernhard Debatin,et al.  Facebook and Online Privacy: Attitudes, Behaviors, and Unintended Consequences , 2009, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[11]  Mike Sharples,et al.  E-safety and Web 2.0 for children aged 11-16 , 2009, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[12]  David R. Brake,et al.  ON THE RAPID RISE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES: NEW FINDINGS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS , 2010 .

[13]  Alice E. Marwick,et al.  Youth, Privacy and Reputation (Literature Review) , 2010 .

[14]  I. Ajzen.  The theory of planned behavior , 1991 .

[15]  J. A. Simões,et al.  Agents of mediation and sources of safety awareness: a comparative overview , 2012 .

[16]  Justin W. Patchin,et al.  Changes in adolescent online social networking behaviors from 2006 to 2009 , 2010, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[17]  L. Haddon,et al.  Risks and safety on the internet: the perspective ofEuropean children. Full findings. , 2011 .

[18]  S. Livingstone,et al.  UK children go online: surveying the experiences of young people and their parents , 2004 .

[19]  D. M. Rosenthal,et al.  Building Successful Home/School Partnerships: Strategies for Parent Support and Involvement , 1996 .

[20]  Tammy Schellens,et al.  Educating our kids about the risks of social network sites: useful or pointless? , 2012 .

[21]  I. Ajzen,et al.  Predicting and Changing Behavior: The Reasoned Action Approach , 2009 .

[22]  Laurence Steinberg,et al.  The developmental pattern of resistance to peer influence in adolescence: will the teenager ever be able to resist? , 2009, Journal of adolescence.

[23]  Goslin,et al.  Handbook of socialization theory and research , 1969 .

[24]  Jennifer L. Bevan,et al.  A picture is worth a thousand words: A content analysis of Facebook profile photographs , 2011, Comput. Hum. Behav..