The spirit of the Florriefees is still blazing as the festival continues to reach new heights. The festival may be all fun and laughter, but the learners also had an important session on the dangers of social media. Leading the presentation was Carla de Beer, from The Digital Law Company. The session gave tips to both learners and teachers about how to navigate social media.
“I touched upon the risks to one’s reputation that are inherent to posting things on social media, by tweeting and retweeting, or posting pictures on Facebook or Instagram.
We then looked at the legalities of doing so, as well as the consequences of posting the wrong picture or comment,” said Carla.
In an era of smartphones and tablets with instant connectivity, Carla believes that peer pressure plays a huge role in what teenagers do on social media.
“The pressure of social media also plays a part because everyone is doing it at the end of the day. We’re not safe on social media at all, it’s a great tool to use but it’s how well we use it that’s the big problem.”
There are various applications that can be downloaded by parents onto their children’s phones. These applications can block content such as pornography and content not suitable for their age.
“If you don’t want to put it on a billboard next to a busy highway, don’t put it on social media. If you don’t want your name shamed, then the content must not exist on your phone,” said Carla.
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