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Children and young people are now using more sophisticated methods of communicating with each other. They are increasingly turning to mobile phones and the internet to keep in touch, share aspects of their life and make new friends. Mobile and smart phones Most people are familiar with mobile phones. A smart phone is different, they have many additional features including; picture messaging, features that let you chat to more than one person at a time, internet access and applications that provide access to social networking and gaming platforms. ‘App’ is short for application, thanks to ‘apps’ there are many things that you can do on your smart phone that you would have only been able to do on a computer before. This means one click or tap on an icon on your screen lets you check the weather, catch up on football scores, play games, log onto facebook or buy clothes. Some phones have these pre-loaded, others can be downloaded to your phone, some will cost money and some are free. Smart phones can also connect with other smart phones through wireless, technology known as Bluetooth. They can share music, pictures and be contacted by someone else nearby. Parents and carers need to make sure children and young people are aware of this and their phone settings are as a safe as possible. Many smart phones are what is called ‘3G’, this means 3rd generation mobile phone. It simply refers to phones that can get quick and easy access to the internet. Basically it’s a very strong phone signal that lets you connect to the internet on your phone as if you were on your laptop at home. Social networking sites Social networking websites are increasingly being used by children and young people (and indeed by many adults) as a key way of communicating and building relationships, or making new friends online. Websites such as twitter, facebook and Google+ are online communities of people who share interests and activities, and communicate through the use of messages, videos, discussion groups and blogs, which are similar to online diaries. It’s a place where people can create a personal network that connects them to other users. Individuals add their own page to sites such as facebook, creating their personal profile which might include - for example - information about what they like to do in their spare time, their favourite bands, football team, or TV programme. It might also include photos of themselves and friends, or even some video footage of something they’ve seen that they want to share. To build a network, individuals can invite people with similar interests to become a ‘friend’ of their page. Similarly, they can be invited to become part of someone else’s network of friends, so the scope for communicating through social networking sites is vast. You can decide who sees your information on social networking sites, either just your contacts on your friends list, people they are also connected to or can anyone who is online see it? Making sure children and young people have the appropriate privacy settings is very important.
Instant messaging is where people can chat to each other online in real time. It is like a text conversation between two or more people where they invite or choose who to chat with. MSN (Microsoft Network) and BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) are according to respectme’s research the two most commonly used instant messaging platforms by children and young people. BBM is either free or included in your contract and connects to other BlackBerry users. Instant messaging is not the same as a chat room, chat rooms are more public and individuals ‘go there’ effectively and can chat to anyone else who is also there and this can be seen by others who are in the chat room. This will obviously carry more risks than instant messaging or social networking sites. Children and young people need to be aware that some people in these chat rooms are not who they appear to be. |
