Family Programs Social Media Webinar focuses on teen social media use

Photo By Maj. Sean Delpech | Child, Youth & School Services has developed a webinar for teens to address the dangers of personal social media use and how to make social media work while applying for college or entering the job market. Learn the pitfalls and positives of social media use and use it to your advantage.  

INDIANAPOLIS, IN, UNITED STATES

08.04.2015

Story by Capt. Sean Delpech 

310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command

INDIANAPOLIS – The 310th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Child, Youth & School Services has developed a webinar for teens to address the dangers of personal social media use and how to make social media work while applying for college or entering the job market.

The “Social Media Best Practices for Youth Planning for College” webinar is the creation of Mr. Tyler Mitchell, an Odyssey TCI Contractor who serves as a School Services Specialist at the 310th ESC, and provides guidance to military youth on the challenges facing them in the social media arena.

“We want teens and their parents to come out of the webinar with a better understanding of how social media can not only be used safely but also as an advantage when applying to college,” said Mitchell.

Many of the children and teens of Army Reservists have grown up in an environment where they have not had instruction on the dangers and consequences of poor social media use or how social media can be used as an advantage in applying for college and employment.

“Many people don’t think about the implications of their social media posts. During the webinar we apply the simple concepts of operations security that our Reserve parents hear all the time,” said Mitchell.

The webinar covers many topics such as an overview of the different virtual communities, discusses who may be looking at a person’s social media accounts, identifies what personal information can be easily found online through social media by others, and gives a run down on the potential advantages of using social media.

“If a potential employer or college admissions counselor has 10 minutes to look for you online,” continued Mitchell, “what would they find? Are they going to find pictures of you partying like a rock star all the time or see you as someone that is dedicated or passionate about something?”

A lot of the “tips and tactics” from the social media best practices webinar may seem like simple information, but they address common mistakes made by people who use social media every day.

Operations security for personal social media use is discussed in depth throughout the class.

“It's easy to forget that besides chatting with friends, we are also communicating with potential employers and admissions counselors,” said Gregory Paloquin, one of the teens who enrolled in the webinar.

"This webinar was very informative and useful in emphasizing the importance of caution and understanding of social media,” continued Paloquin.

“You can protect your operations security while away at college by maybe not telling everyone specifically where you are all the time,” said Mitchell. “Not everyone needs to know when you check into a Starbucks or a specific library on campus.”

To increase participation and work around geographic separation of participants and busy schedules, the webinar is conducted simultaneously online and by teleconference, with Mitchell coordinating presentation of the class slides with instruction via teleconference.

Likewise, the flexibility in scheduling for the webinar means that it can be requested by a client organization and presented with almost no cost to a wide audience.

“This webinar is one of the various ways we continue to help support the readiness and quality of life for our Army Reserve families and with our families being so dispersed,” said Mitchell.

To schedule or enroll in an upcoming class, contact the 310th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Family Programs Coordinator, Ms. Peggy Ranschaert, at [e-mail], phone at [phone], or School Services Specialist, Odyssey TCI Tyler Mitchel at [e-mail].

• Date Taken: 08.04.2015
• Date Posted: 08.04.2015 11:45
• Story ID: 172101
• Location: INDIANAPOLIS, IN, US
• Hometown: LAWRENCE, IN, US