It’s unavoidable. Kids today will have to have some form of digital existence and most likely it will begin with a social media presence. I see Cookie Monster’s got it all figured out, but I definitely needed to know more before helping my kid signup for any of them.
For so many of the parents I’ve spoken with, Facebook is the place most kids start. They mainly want to be there because it’s where their friends are or they have family members on it. I know some kids that have successfully established themselves on Facebook, have their privacy settings in place and are happy as clams.
I have nothing against Facebook (I have an account for both myself and my business), but when my almost-twelve-year-old decides he wants to start having a more active role online than the occasional video game, I’ll be steering him elsewhere. Why not Facebook you ask? Again, I have nothing against Facebook. It’s just that there are so many better options out there for his personality and communication style. If I were to put myself in his fast approaching teenage shoes, the options below would be my picks.
Google+
He’s an intensely private guy (and would hate that I’ve said this much about him) and likes to do things more than talk about or share them. He has diverse friendships and finds it challenging to mix everyone together in one social setting in person, so why would he want to do it online? Google+ offers a lot of the same features as Facebook, but also offers “hangouts” (video conferencing fun) where he can invite his friends to virtually “do” things together digitally like play games or even collaborate on school projects dynamically. He can pick and choose which friends he sends what information to by defining who belongs to what “circle”of friends (like school or family or kung fu or—well you get the idea). He can post information and, if he decides he wants to leave Google+, remove all of the content completely in a simple to find and use process (I’ve read Facebook can be quite tricky to remove everything).
YouTube
He’s an almost-twelve-year-old boy so he likes to be silly. Currently he contents himself with watching the videos on YouTube and dreams up concepts for his own videos. I can see him wanting to participate for real at some point and actively track which ones he likes so he can share them with his friends. Before he does, some really long talks about what is and isn’t appropriate, as well as a run through of the privacy settings will be had. He knows about this stuff already (thank you www.mediasmarts.com), but with universities and potential employers using digital information as part of their decision making criteria in the not too distant future, I want to be sure he’s being smart about what he shares and creates.
While it’s not known as the go-to for guys, I’ve caught him many times peeking over my shoulder while I peruse the DIY projects (the giant Jenga project especially caught his eye). Pinterest’s virtual pin boards are great for organizing visual information. For a kid who really doesn’t like to write, Pinterest is a terrific place to get him in the habit of collecting and organizing photos, infographics or other visuals of interest he finds online while researching either for school projects or for his own special interests. I doubt he’ll do much on this one to start, but by high school, I think he’ll see the value more.
For kids who love to collect or have a definite special interest, Pinterest is a great place to keep your stuff organized.
As I’ve said, I have a non-writer on my hands—did I mention he’s also phone adverse? I’m sure texting will become his preferred way to make plans, goofy comments and connect with friends, but I think Twitter will eventually become part of his social repertoire. Twitter offers the same real-time, short on words communication as texting/IM’ing/BBM’ing, but gives him the opportunity to connect with subject matter experts and thought leaders he wouldn’t otherwise have access to. He hasn’t decided what he wants to do when he grows up, but as he defines what that is, I can see him getting excited about following his virtual heroes and mentors Twitter feeds.
Microblogs and Blogs
For my non-writer boy, the idea of developing a blog is absolutely not an interest. That said, there are some fun kids blogs out there that have been really successful with very few words like: http://cinnamonandmango.wordpress.com/, http://childtasticbooks.wordpress.com/, http://hiimdavidd.blogspot.ca. If he does decide he wants to build one, I have a feeling he’ll not want just anyone to read it, so we’ll pick a blogging platform that allows him to share it with people he wants to see it without it being something anyone could find easily on the internet (yes, these exist).
So, those are my picks for my boy. Don’t even get me started on my creative girl...
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