This Week in Social Media Trends: Snapchat, Students Taking action, and a Spike in Daily Internet Usage
From new Snapchat parental controls to student-led initiatives, here are the social media trends from this week that are impacting students.
- 97% of teens say they use the internet daily
- Snapchat is rolling out parental controls that allow parents to see their teenager’s contacts
- Teens are calling on tech companies to design products with their well-being in mind
Nearly all teens use the internet daily
(Maskot/Getty Images)
The Gist: A recent Pew Research Center study of American teenagers, ages 13-17, found that 97% of teens say they use the internet daily. This is a 5% increase from 2014-2015. Students were also asked how often they use social media. 52% of 15-17 year-olds say they are on the internet almost constantly, with 36% of 13-14 year-olds saying the same.
TSI’s Take: Social media is not going away. It’s up to us as educators and role models to empower and equip our students to navigate their social world positively, both online and offline. That’s why we created Parent Playbooks and Family Huddles as a resource for parents and families at our partner schools so they can stay ahead of the curve. By working with students around the country, we’ve curated over 40+ playbooks with categories that range from group messaging to video content.
Snapchat’s new parental controls try to mimic real-life parenting, minus the hovering
(Elva Etienne/Getty Images)
The Gist: Snapchat is working with families to help make social media a safe place, without compromising teens’ autonomy online. The new Snapchat parental controls allow parents to see who their child is snapchatting, and report it to Snapchat if an account concerns them. With this new update for teens under 18, parents cannot see specific content being shared, only who they are communicating with.
TSI’s Take: We believe in open and honest communication between family members about social media to inspire best practices among families. With input from thousands of students, parents, counselors, and researchers across the country, we created the Family Social Standards Agreement. When families create and sign the document – parents, too! – they promise to help each other live up to high standards. Together.
Teens are calling on tech companies to design products with their well-being in mind
(Design It For Us)
The Gist: Design It For Us is a student-led initiative that calls on tech CEOs to support the California Age Appropriate Design Code, a bi-partisan bill in the California State Legislature. This bill, if passed, would require companies to focus on the safety and well-being of children on any digital service that children access.
TSI’s Take: Students and their voices are at the core of our mission. We take student-led ideas and put them into action so that we can better amplify student voices nationwide. One of the Seven Social Standards that we encourage students to live by is Use Your Mic for Good. The Design It For Us campaign is a powerful example of students using their mic for good and creating a positive change in their communities.
With student initiatives challenging tech companies to put their well-being first, it’s great to see students working to make social media a safer place. For more ways to make social media a positive place, check out these tips from our team.
We know it can get overwhelming to try and keep up with the ever-changing updates happening in tech and social media. So, follow us on our social media, @thesocialinst, to stay up-to-date and ahead of the curve as we empower students to navigate social media trends, tech, and their well-being in high-character ways.
The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in understanding student experiences and creator of #WinAtSocial, a gamified, online learning platform that equips students, educators, and families to navigate social experiences — online and offline — in healthy ways. Our unique, student-respected approach incorporates topics like social media, technology use, and current events that have a significant impact on student well-being. Lessons teach life skills for the modern day to inspire high-character decisions that support the health, happiness, and future success of students, while capturing data that provides insights to school leaders to inform school policy and communications, and enable high-impact teaching and a healthy learning environment. For schools, our turnkey technology allows for easy implementation and a comprehensive game plan to support the well-being of school communities.