Whether you’re starting a new school or just getting ready to move up a year, the start of a new year is an exciting time for you and your friends.
They’ll be lots going on and you may be wanting to share videos, photos and music with your friends on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and other social networks.
To make sure you are ‘back to school’ ready we have some top tips for social media which can help you stay safe whilst staying connected to your friends:
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Friends: consider who you choose to accept or invite as a friend on your social networks. Once you accept someone as a friend they are able to see your content. If someone is aggressive or inappropriate to you online most social networking sites have tools to help you block or delete that person.
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Privacy: most social networking sites have tools available to protect the things you post online and how much you share with others. It’s really important to check your privacy settings. We would recommend that you change your settings so that you are only sharing with your friends.
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Think before you post: It is important to remember that once you post something online it is potentially there forever! This also relates to content that you post about others; what starts out as a joke or gossip can quickly escalate and cause real pain and upset that can’t be taken back.
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Photos: remember your profile picture is the first impression you may give someone. Think carefully about the photos you choose to share online and keep in mind - would you want a future employee to see that photo?
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Reporting: most social networking sites have a reporting feature in place. If something or someone has broken the social networking site's terms of use and are upsetting or harassing you, then you are able to make a report. All reports are anonymous and will be responded to promptly. The Need Help section on our website provides advice on reporting on your favourite social networking sites. The UK Safer Internet Centre website also has a series of checklists Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Ask.fm which show you had to report on each service.