Parent Mediation

“Sexting the same exact lines to two different boys, because to hell with creativity” (Total Sorority Move). Tweets like this can often be found on twitter pages and blogs of many social media cites. This particular tweet was posted from the twitter blog titled Total Sorority Move. This twitter page posts tweets like this all the time. So, who sees this? Anyone on twitter can see what is being posted. 

Today, younger cohorts have so much more access to social media than previous generations did. So, what is the best way to avoid having younger children think and act like Total Sorority Move says they should? According to the Types of Parental Mediation reading, restrictive mediation is the best policy. This statistic surprised me. In my opinion, active mediation would work best.

Telling a teen that they are not allowed to have a twitter account, because of what they might see, probably will not settle well with the adolescent. It has been said that over 95% of adolescents are using social media. There is a better chance that the teen will secretly make a twitter account without the parent ever knowing. Then, the teen will have access without any parental mediation what so ever. Also, I think this changes from boys to girls. Boys are more likely to push the limit and go behind parents back to make their own twitter page. There are three types of parental mediation; active, restrictive and co-viewing.  I think that each one has its benefits and disadvantages.

This Jimmy Fallon clip showcases Jimmy as a child, nervous about changing networks. Although this clip isn’t about social media viewing, it displays Bob Sage’s character comforting Jimmy about his fears. There is an open dialog between the child and parent figure. This reveals active mediation where talking to child is key.