OTHER TOOLS: INTERNET-BASED TOOLS
Facebook is Good for Kids Who Need Help With:
- Sorting (organization)
- Connecting with peers (social thinking)
What You Need to Know About Facebook:
Facebook is a social networking system that is extremely popular among high school and college aged individuals. It is a website that now permits anyone to join, as long as they provide a valid email address. Facebook allows the user to upload photos, publish notes, get the latest news from friends, post videos, and much more. Facebook includes privacy settings to control who has access to your user profile. It is recommended that Facebook users be at least 14 years old.
Facebook Can Help Your Child with Organization:
- In creating a Facebook account, your child needs to organize information about him/herself
- Using status updates can help keep your child on task
- Facebook friends are sorted according to their social network (school, business, region, etc.)
- The child learns the organizational structure of Facebook, which makes it easier to locate things like groups, events, messages, photo albums, wall posts, networks, etc.
- Children can use Facebook to stay updated, informed, and organized about school work and upcoming events
Talking Points:
- How do you organize your Facebook photo albums, contact information, personal information, and messages?
- How does having your Facebook friends organized by networks make it easier to contact them?
- Has Facebook’s news feed helped you to remember important events (friend’s birthdays, special event reminders)?
Facebook Can Help Your Child With Social Thinking:
- Child will learn about Facebook norms, such as how much to reveal about oneself, which can be related to learning about real life social norms
- Good for children who are shy or nervous about face to face or phone communication
- Facebook can help child to develop more social connections
- Child will customize and personalize his/her own profile, including things like basic information, contact information, relationships, personal, education, work, profile picture, photo albums, and numerous other applications. Encourages users to reflect on how they see themselves and how they would like others to see them.
- Child can use status updates to communicate plans to peers and stay on task
Talking Points:
- How do you communicate with your peers on Facebook?
- What are the norms on Facebook? What is appropriate/not appropriate to do or say on Facebook?