After social media messaging apps at Lab caused cyberbullying issues, lower school parents and counselors are now concerned about student expectations on the internet after Facebook’s release of Messenger Kids Dec. 4. Messenger Kids allows children as young as 6 to communicate with family and friends, though parents control the contact list their children can message. 

High School Learning Coordinator Kevin Van Eron, who has a young daughter, sees that students who grew up with social media feel too comfortable with what they are posting, rather than learning increased responsibility from their experience.

Mr. Van Eron said, “This year has been very troublesome, because Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram have caused a fair amount of pain for individuals in our high school.”

Dr. Van Eron said these situations can be more common with middle schoolers through sophomores. Without a way to get rid of social media, administrators and teachers are forced to adapt.

“Social media and messaging apps are a fact of life at this point,” middle school counselor Matt Landa said. “It’s always going to be present even if it keeps changing. Our role is to make sure the use of it aligns with the mission and values of the school, and that requires constant assessment of how students use it, when students use it, what students are using it for.”

Rather than control over contacts, Dr. Van Eron thinks content should be regulated and kids need increased training in social media. Messenger Kids includes a feature where parents can see and report anything they find inappropriate.

“Texting is useful, certainly in high school, provided that it’s managed appropriately,” Dr. Van Eron said. “Some messaging apps would be appropriate too, if they’re limited in what you are messaging. It would be a great social service if the organizations that provide these apps made sure people were trained in how they should be using it.”