Benton Community School District

Tik-Tok, Snapchat, Instagram-kids love social media apps!  Adolescent culture and social media are intertwined, and Benton Community students are no different.  Culturally responsive communities understand student’s social media lives and support digital citizenship education within the school and community.  Listen to what your student’s are saying about what they see and hear on social media.  Students recognize some of the downfalls of social media, and they want help making sense of what they see and hear from posts of other community members.  We have opportunities at school and home to role model appropriate online behavior based on what we post and share as adults. We can assist students in developing an appropriate digital footprint.  We need to focus on helping teach students how to protect their individual privacy and build an appropriate online reputation.  We also need to help all students learn to prevent cyber harassment and identify fake accounts.  As our students enter late adolescence, we need to help them have a plan in place to make appropriate decisions that helps them build a digital brand that they can be proud of.  Be intentional in creating a digital experience for your student that represents your family and community values and role model that experience for them.