I often get asked what I think the biggest issue in education today is, and unfortunately, it seems to be issues linking mental health to social media. Over the past few years, I have noticed a trend where a group of students start off with a conversation in some sort of online chat platform. It usually takes place outside of school hours and in the home. The conversations start off being ok, but then one student makes an inappropriate comment, and then it goes bang! Within a short time frame, there are friendship issues and it then finds its way into our school community where it can cause real problems. Whilst social media can be a powerful platform which can be used to achieve many good things, it also has the potential to cause a lot of harm. I strongly urge all parents to either keep your children off social media, or at least to monitor it very carefully. I also recommend that all parents log onto the website of the eSafety Commissioner. The link is https://www.esafety.gov.au Please click onto the ‘Parents’ tab and spend some time looking through the resources available to support you and your children. Please remember that children are not legally meant to be using most social media platforms until they are 13 years old. By being vigilant, parents can make a real difference to their children’s safety, happiness and wellbeing.
