When it comes to social media like Facebook, Twitter and texting, parents have a catch-up game to play, said Michael Swanson.
“We see a lot of alcohol, drug and mental health references on Facebook specifically,” said the research specialist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. “It’s pretty scary in a way.”
Swanson was the keynote speaker at a one-day conference Thursday at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit where he discussed the influence of social media on youth development with 25 youth-oriented community agencies.
He detailed the types of risk behaviour kids are displaying online from pictures of alcohol and drug use to status updates expressing a wide range of emotions.
“Also, I try to give them some ideas on how to use social media in a positive sense and use it to reach out to these kids and provide them with information they need online,” he said, noting kids often look to the Internet for answers to their questions, but don’t always find accurate information.
Swanson and his research team has used social media to enhance the care provided to people they see in their clinics.
“If a doctor is having a hard time reaching out to the kid, they get online with them and talks through their Facebook (profile) with them …noting positive things…and also showing pictures that may display a health risk behaviour and ask them about it and use it to get more in depth into the world of these adolescents,” he said.
Parents don’t have to add their children as friends on a site like Facebook to be kept up to speed, but Swanson said it can be used as a teaching tool and a way to start talking to their kids that they may not have had in the past.
It also gives parents an opportunity to not only talk about why they’re posting certain things, but how it may impact the rest of their life.
The health unit’s sexual health program manager Maureen Twigg said the use of social media, including sexting – the act of sending sexual messages or pictures via text, was concerning, so they wanted to bring in Swanson to gather information on the issue to pass to those people who work directly with youth.
“We know (young people) are using those social media areas to contact each other and we just want them to make sure they know exactly what they’re doing and that they are doing it in a safe manner and they aren’t exposing themselves to any risks or high-risk behaviour,” she said.
After what she heard at the conference, Twigg said the health unit will focus on using social media to contact youth in the future and also develop health promotion campaigns targeted at youth through those areas.
