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SOCIAL MEDIA APPSThe Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Officer Chuck CollierSchool Resource Officer

Dublin Jerome HS

Great websites to use for more information

smartsocial.com*

www.commonsensemedia.org

www.familyeducation.com

educateempowerkids.org

*Source of most this information

What makes an app good or bad?

Good App Characteristics

• Age restrictions• Age verification• Good user feedback• Easy to use privacy

settings

Bad App Characteristics

• Anonymity• No age verification• Bad reputation• Only work with location

services on

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These apps are usually okay to use• Facebook• Messenger• Instagram (beware of Finstagram)• Twitter• YouTube• ZeeMee (college applications)• LinkedIn

Generally Good Apps

Apps that can be either good or bad• Minecraft• Musical.ly• SnapChat• HouseParty• YouTube

Questionable Apps

Why are they questionable?

Houseparty- unmoderated chat, up to 8 peopleMinecraft- bullying, virusesMusical.ly- adult songsSnapChat- enable “ghost” mode so you can’t be trackedYouTube- adult, inappropriate content

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These apps are mostly bad for kids• Calculator Private Photo• Secret• Whisper• Tumblr• ooVoo• Afterschool• Phhhoto• Ogle

Bad Apps

These apps are mostly bad for kids• Tinder• Omegle• Sarahah• Finstagram• Kik• Yellow• Ask.fm• Burn Book

Bad Apps

Why are they bad?

Calculator Private Photo- can hide photos and videosSecret- anonymous sharing, can lead to bullyingWhisper- anonymous, location sharingTumblr- fake names, pornographic imagesooVoo- video chat, can be used by predatorsAfterSchool- school-based, anonymous, drugs and bullyingPhhhoto- can’t be made private, videos shared openly

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Why are they bad?

Ogle- anonymous, location-based, bullying, predatorsTinder- hook-up appOmegle- anonymous text, video chatSarahah- anonymous, no way to report bad actionsKik- direct contact with unknown people, easy to pretendYellow- “Tinder for Teens”Ask.fm- anonymous questions can lead to bullyingBurn Book- anonymous texts, photos, school-based location

Actually talk with your kids• What apps are they using and why?• Have them show you how it works• Friend or follow every social media

account they have• Discuss potential for misuse, or

harm to self or others

Things we can do

Pay attention• Know their Google Play/App Store

usernames and logins• So you can see what apps

they’re downloading and using• You can read descriptions,

warnings, reviews and age restrictions

Things we can do