Social Media: Tips & Resources for Parents

The physical and emotional safety of our students is of utmost importance at Valley View. We hope that you can check in with your students and review their accounts to ensure they are remaining safe as they engage with any social media platform. The most commonly used platforms are SnapChat, Instagram, Discord and TikTok. Please review the types of pictures and messages that they are sharing with their friends.

One of the dangers of SnapChat specifically is that the “snaps” disappear after a short period of time, which effectively erases some of the message history. Another concern is that students are sharing their account passwords or logging into their accounts using their friends’ phones, which increases the risk that their account may be "hacked". We’ve seen incidences of these “hacked” accounts sending out inappropriate pictures or messages under the guise of another username.

Here are some tips & resources for monitoring student technology use.:

•  Students should report any concerns and always tell a trusted adult when they become aware of unsafe activity. Any of our community members may use the VVMS Anonymous Reporting Form (See Something Say Something) to make a report.

• Remind students about the importance of following digital citizenship guidelines to support healthy interactions both at school and home. Common Sense Media is a resource to learn more about appropriate social media usage.

When incidents of social media abuse affect students at Valley View, the administration will continue to follow our safety protocols and administer school consequences as a follow up for any of these situations.