With the explosion of social media, the line between technology and teenagers’ social and emotional lives is increasingly blurred. School counselors often find themselves called upon to address and resolve the very real consequences of issues that are born in the virtual space.
With this in mind, Facebook and iKeepSafe created A School Counselor’s Guide to Facebook to increase school counselors’ familiarity with the social networking platform and guide them towards proactivity and preparedness. The Guide helps counselors understand why students value the ability to connect through social media, and how this changes the face of children’s relationships with others and themselves. Specifically, the Guide instructs school counselors in four key areas related to social networking:
1. Developing school policies;
2. Responding to online incidents that impact learning conditions;
3. Detecting at-risk behavior; and
4. Technology literacy, privacy, reputation, and social awareness.