Thoughts On All Things EduTechie Oriented: social media

Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts

Monday, March 4, 2019

Viral Messaging: Putting Digital Citizenship to the Test

The following post is by Alex Podchaski, and while I have never met him in person, we are part of each other's professional learning network. When the MOMO Challenge reared its ugly head last week, I reached out on Twitter to other technologists to find out what they were hearing and what their thoughts were. Alex's thoughts were spot on with mine and I asked him if he would guest blog on the subject for me. I'm thankful for his insights and for being a sounding board. This is his post and the original can be found here.

Turning A Viral Hoax Into A Lesson on Internet Safety

Over the last week, you have probably seen some reference to the “Momo Challenge,”
hidden messages in Youtube videos, and calls for technology companies to police their
systems to protect kids. You have probably also seen a number of reports of things being
a hoax that should be ignored. As always, the truth lies somewhere in between, and we
wanted to help you sort things out along with giving you some practical advice on how to
deal with these types of reports in the future.

As educators, we spend a great deal of time trying to figure out the best way to prepare

our students for the challenges they will face, both in the real and the digital worlds.

Many times we have to deal with the theoretical, as we can’t always create the proper

real-world scenarios to take all the aspects of instruction into account during a given

situation. For many of us, we have embraced the concepts of digital citizenship,

trying to help our communities navigate the difference between behaviors and

actions online and in real life. We have created great models, listed out recommended

behavior, taught interesting lessons, and sometimes even given badges when we

have been successful. But the real test of what we are teaching is not how we respond

to the manufactured situation, but how we then address something that happens for real.

Case Study: What is the #MoMoChallenge?

There have been reports for the last 18 months about the #MomoChallenge. It started

with reports of someone or something luring students via social media accounts on

Facebook and WhatsApp to do harm to themselves and others under threat of public

humiliation and physical intimidation. Reports were made that students had harmed

themselves. Over the last week, it became a video that was being embedded in

popular children's videos on YouTube. Over the weekend, the media has picked

up on what has really happened and gotten to the real part of the story - it’s not real.

Here are a few sources we find credible on the topic:

Unfortunately, these reports come after many local news organizations and school districts
had already bought into the fear, uncertainty and doubt caused by reports on social media,
encouraged by media celebrities posting and reposting without knowing all the facts.
Part of the challenge of being an educator is taking the time to evaluate what we discover,

and then choosing the appropriate response. It is not always easy, and we have a lot to

learn as well. A friend posted the following article online after a long discussion by a
number of us on twitter regarding the whole situation.

Those who choose actions that attempt to negatively influence children are truly
despicable. The various challenges and stories that appear online about suggestions being
made to kids about trying to disappear, or cause harm to themselves, or to act out in foolish
ways make me mad. But as horrible as those behaviors are, are we really doing what we
need to in order to minimize their influence on our students and children? Whenever one
of these stories makes the news or makes it around the rumor mill from parents,
other teachers, or social media, I try to apply the same rules we teach our students about
how to determine what is really going on and how to appropriately respond.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Is the source authentic?

When we search for those items to watch or use, are we paying attention to where they

come from? I love Marvel movies, and I love watching the trailers and shorts as they are

released online. But each time I go looking for them, I have to choose between those who

are copying the material for their own benefit and the official sources of the clips and
trailers. I know I can trust the official versions to be appropriate and only have
trusted content. I cannot make the same claim for the random account that copies or
changes the video for their own purposes.

Is the content appropriate?

The classic definition of, “I know it when I see it … ,” applies here. We are all tempted to

watch that video that reveals the secret about someone or something. Or maybe we can’t

wait for that movie to come out on DVD/streaming so we find that copy out there online.

Sometimes, we just need that child to be quiet, so we let them watch something (anything)

to get five minutes of peace and quiet. We may all do this, but we know that it is not
always appropriate, and we need to take a moment to determine what our real motivation
and response should be. There is an internet phenomenon called the Rick Roll.
You can check out the whole story on Wikipedia, but it was all about includingRick Astley’s
“Never Gonna Give You Up” video, lyrics, images or music in any type of internet post.
Videos were posted that purported to reveal one thing, but the viewer was faced with the
video of Rick Astley shortly after starting. There are people who will post anything just to
get the views and increase their income potential. We need to be discerning when choosing which videos we watch.

Do I really need to share?

Just by being on social media, I receive all kinds of warning, updates, stories, breaking
news, and other notifications that demand that I share them with my connections.
It ranges from outbreaks of illnesses to political messages to online petitions that
demand that I repost them. I ignore almost all of it. Why? In most cases, if I have followed
the previous two steps, the originating organization, or the intent of the poster, almost
always is something that I deem appropriate, and most of the time the primary source
of the original message is not from anyone or any group I would recognize as an authority
on the message they are posting. I value my online community, both personally and
professionally. If I post something, it becomes part of my online reputation. I am not willing
to risk my reputation for just anyone or anything. It is hard enough to maintain credibility in
face to face relationships. Online is harder. We should always think before we post.
In most cases, it will save us from a world of grief.

Walking the Walk

As adults, it’s important to understand that we need to be as responsible online as we

expect our children and our technology companies to be. We need to stay aware of the

potential threats and dangers, but we also need to know when to react, and when to be
patient and dig deeper. By sitting and talking with your children about internet safety
and the rules you’ve established as parents, it will help guide them toward appropriate
content online. Give them limits, but also make sure you are aware of what is out there
and what they are watching. By modeling good behavior, it may even help you
remain accountable, as well.

Alex Podchaski, a Certified Education Technology Leader, has been Oak Knoll’s Chief Technology Officer since 2008. In 2015, he was named to Huffington Post’s inaugural list of the Top Social Tech Leaders in K-12 education as someone who has embraced social media to exchange ideas and solutions in the ever-evolving educational landscape. He earned bachelor’s degrees in physics and mechanical engineering from Rutgers University, where he would also earn a master’s in strategic management. Mr. Podchaski also taught as an adjunct faculty member at the university, where he built Rutgers’ first network operations center. You can follow him on Twitter at @ajpodchaski.

Friday, March 1, 2019

What This Instructional Technologist Learned from the MOMO Challenge

Yesterday I spent hours researching a sinister mother bird known as MOMO. This is time I can never get back but the time I felt needed to be spent to best support the families of our school. Trying to discern whether the MOMO Suicide Challenge was real or not. Trying to discern how pervasive the issue really was. Trying to answer emails from concerned parents. Trying to decide how best to communicate with our stakeholders regarding it all. Wavering between "it isn't something to be concerned about" to "yes, it is something to be concerned about" over and over throughout the day.

The frustration over all this is high but it has also been a huge eye-opening learning experience for me. Today, our school sent out this email to families regarding this hot topic. As someone that has lived with suicidal thoughts during a time in my life, I don't take this lightly. That being said, I also believe that social media can cause this to be blown out of proportion and it becomes glamorized. That's my concern.

Here are some interesting thoughts I have had while researching this:

This is a direct hit to adult responsibility because MOMO is now showing up randomly inside what would be considered kid-friendly videos on YouTube (Peppa the Pig and Fortnite, for instance). When I look around I see adults oftentimes unaware of what children are actually doing on devices. There is a false sense of security and complacency that some adults have accepted that is getting a huge slap in the face.
I spent hours researching MOMO and I'm still not sure of its initial pervasiveness and impact on society and this worries me as an instructional technologist.
Adults seem to be propagating the issue and it's mainly on Facebook. I get it, parents are scared. The MOMO character and it's message should not be heard by anyone but when I ask students what they know about it, most know very little. Facebook is now an adult heavy platform and the fear we are seeing there is not translating into actual issues- at least at our school. The concern is a breeding frenzy. The more we repost and share, the more likely that bad people continue to create bad things. We feed their need to think what they are doing is worthwhile.
This is a digital citizenship issue at every level. Yes, there are videos on YouTube that have been created in what I feel is a copycat manner based on the original concept of what purportedly was happing in the WhatsApp messaging app. But if you are allowing your students/children to watch any video of Peppa Pig uploaded by any person, these are pirated videos and the chance of them containing inappropriate information is there. Adults should use this time to model and teach children about looking for ways to view things that take copyright laws into account. If you want to watch a video on YouTube, look for an official owner of that video to see if it exists. If it doesn't, YouTube isn't where you should be going to watch someone's version of a video recording of that streaming TV program.
We are in an era where we cannot just repost and retweet what we see on social media without looking a little deeper. Snopes.com is a great place to check for validity. What we are seeing this week regarding MOMO is lightyears away from what was originally being suggested was happening. It is still horrifying that people are trying to trick small children to watch self-harm videos but we need to be vigilant in knowing we have a responsibility on the information that is actually being shared.
Fear causes people to shut down good things. With every good gift that God has given us, there will always be people that use it for sinister plans. YouTube and WhatsApp aren't inherently bad, they just need to be used in appropriate ways. Don't allow evil to win. This is a reminder of the "Blue Whale Challenge." We must be both discerning and vigilant in the way we both address and ignore these type of things within our community.
This is a great opportunity to talk to children about self-harm and self-awareness. Creating a sense of open communication is important in all aspects of a child's life, not just technology.
Lastly, there will be something else. When I was young it was listening to Ozzy Osborn records backward. Recently it was the "Tide Pods Challenge" and the "Blue Whale." As adults, we need to look at the last few days and not immediately repost what we are seeing or assume it is real. This is why it took me days to figure out if this problem was actually immersive or not. Help the world by not feeding the frenzy.

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Changing the Conversation about Technology: A Teenager's Attempt

A few years ago a new family moved into our school community with a young elementary son named Daniel. I noticed immediately he was wise beyond his years. Now, as a high school student he chooses to be different than his peers when it come to social media. He knows balancing is a weakness for him. I asked him to write a guest blog for me because his perspective needs to be heard by those of us teaching students. We, as educators, need to be speaking to students about using technology for human flourishing and the pitfalls of mindless surfing. This is a digital citizenship issue. Hear Daniel's words and heart on the subject:

I have an app that tells me how long I’ve spent on my phone each day, and when I first downloaded it, I was shocked by the results. It was routine for me to spend 3 hours on my phone each day, and not uncommon for that number to grow to 4 or 5 hours. What could I have been doing with that lost time? I don't even want to consider it. Before I got the app (which is called Moment and is free on the App Store), I thought that I used my phone much less than the average high schooler, and that may in fact be true. I think my peers would be as surprised as I was to learn the ugly truth: Americans with smartphones, and especially young Americans with smartphones, spend a gratuitous amount of time on their devices. Lives are being spent in rooms on beds with phones in hand. This is my generation’s life, and it is really no way to live.

What is the solution to this problem? We need to be actively discouraging overuse of personal devices. Of course, parents and educators do call on their children and students to be wary of their tech use. But the caution is tepid. Kids are often told that tech is dangerous because it gives us access to bad content, but rarely do adults tell us that the thing in our pocket is dangerous because of how much time it consumes. I wish I had been warned of that sooner. Pornography and violence is one kind of moral wrong, but I would contend that a life spent scrolling Instagram is another.

I was once hailed as “the G.O.A.T. of Instagram” (the Greatest Of All Time for those who aren’t familiar with the acronym). My posts were clever and funny and occasionally artistic. I would check my phone every minute after posting to see how many likes I had received. I came to find a small piece of my identity in my skill at the social media game and therefore put a lot of effort into my online appearance. One time, while I was curating my Instagram page and looking through others’ profiles on the family lake trip, my cousin asked me a probing question and one that I am grateful for to this day: “How much time do you spend on Instagram?” Instead of being satisfied with my half-hearted answer of “I don’t know,” he told me to check my data usage and see how much I used it. I begrudgingly opened my settings app and was embarrassed to see that Instagram took up most of my data. How could I spend so many of my waking hours on a photo sharing app? I was humiliated when the exact number was revealed to the family and I promptly deleted my page in what seemed like an erratic decision. I have never gotten my Instagram back and I have never regretted my choice.

Since that time, I have had brief flirtationships (one of the advantages of social media is the creation of words like “flirtationship”) with other social medias, most notably Snapchat and Twitter. Snapchat lasted for a matter of weeks before I realized I was slipping into my old habits. Twitter lasted for only 4 days. Thanks to my cousin, I am honest with myself about my lack of self-control where social media is concerned. More people my age should have this awareness but do not because nobody has spoken into their lives about their lack of balance. My cousin harangued me when I was the tender age of 13. I fear that it may be too late for my friends who are nearing high school graduation.

I wish other people had relatives or teachers or friends who could embarrass them enough to inspire change, and I’ve been left to wonder why more people don’t speak out against tech overuse. I believe it is because technology as a concept is a very positive thing. It has taken us to the moon, given us our sight back, increased worldwide food production, and given millions of people jobs. It connects us to the rest of the world and expands our horizons, and it certainly has a place in our homes and classrooms. But just because there are many positive aspects to the mass generalization we call “technology,” that doesn’t mean we should ignore the many places in which personal technology has come to control our lives. Encouraging your student to use Snapchat less is no threat to the scientists at NASA. Technology is not a monolith that can somehow be damaged when I cut down my phone use.

Let’s be honest about the ways in which we take advantage of the wonderful gift of technology. Most of our tech use is simply not productive. I am all in favor of people operating social media pages that promote their small business or advertise their school club. I understand that LinkedIn helps professionals and that Twitter connects leaders to the people, but we immoderately use our phones and excuse ourselves by saying that technology is a good thing that helps people. Of course it does. Now stop sending pictures of the floor to your friends on Snapchat.

Educators and parents have arguably the biggest role to play in not only helping young people spend less time on their phones and laptops, but also helping them use their time on technology well. With the guidance of several teachers, I am hoping to transition our school newspaper online this year and any time I spend on a computer to design and update the website will be, by my estimate, a very good use of time. Not only am I helping to get school journalism out to more people than we could in print, but I am also reducing paper use and increasing the amount of articles that student writers can produce. It is an example of a time when technology is beneficial, productive, and worthy of my time.

I have no illusions, however, that my aspirations for the school paper utilize the same kind of technology as I do when I’m in bed scrolling through iwastesomuchtime.com (not a typo). There are good and bad ways of using technology, and I simply want us as a society to be able to distinguish between the two and cut out the bad technology use like cancer. People my age need help with this. So I am calling on teachers, parents, friends, and relatives to direct the young people in their lives away from their overused personal accounts, where they post self-glorifying images, and towards healthy tech use, like reading articles and trying new recipes and writing papers and learning how to make kombucha. But above all, I am calling on us all to use our phones less. I don’t have any social media, so the thought that I could spend 5 hours on my phone was ludicrous. It is important to note that even if I was using my phone to read interesting things and learn about new places or ideas, I was using it too much. The first step to real change is self-knowledge, so I strongly encourage everyone to download Moment, so they at least know how big a role in their life screen time plays. I was shocked, and my shock has turned into a determination to get better.

If there’s one thing the spread of the smartphone has accomplished, it has been the complete destruction of any semblance of balance in our lives. I want others to live a more balanced life just as I want balance for myself. Smartphones have also tainted the positive aspects of technology by supplanting them with pictures of avocado toast and beach vacations. Technology can be productive and refreshing, but it can also be wasteful and soul-sucking. Let’s get better at knowing the difference.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Navigating Social Media as a Parent

E-parenting is not an easy task. In March of 2017 android users had the opportunity to choose from

2.8 million apps, with the Apple app store coming in at a close second by offering 2.2 million apps to users (https://www.statista.com/statistics/.../number-of-apps-available-in-leading-app-stores/).

How on earth can a parent manage what is out there and what is safe for their children? Recently
I became aware of an article that warns parents of dangers associated with the apps Musical.ly and

Amino. The concepts of each of these apps seem like a fun way to connect but with all things,

deviant behavior can happen on these type of sites/apps. Spend a few minutes digging into these apps

and you can find a plethora of things you wouldn't want your child to see or take part of...and for that

matter- yourself. We live in a world where the access to technology is virtually ubiquitous. This means

that access to information, images, and relationships that can be both uplifting and demoralizing is

at our fingertips as well.

For adults, our frontal lobs are developed. There is an overriding belief that we have the ability to use

self-control to make wise choices in where we navigate to consume information, personalities we

choose to interact with, and images we choose to see. I believe we see proof in this world that it isn't

as easy to balance as some think. For our children, curiosity is their strong-suit, not self-control and we,

as adults, need to help them find their balance and develop their self-control.

Recently I attended an e-parenting workshop at a local school here in Chattanooga and the speaker

shared a great social media rating guide:

This can be found at www.safesmartsocial.com . I found the ranking of green, yellow, and red apps

very helpful. The green apps are made by companies that are working to look at for underage users.

If, heaven forbid, you had an issue on an app with your child that caused alarm these companies

are willing to work with parents to get to the issue resolved. The yellow apps may or may not be

willing to do the same thing. And the red apps will not be helpful and serve as potential safety

concerns for your children.

As you can see, the Amino Apps aren't even listed on here because that is the nature of the beast-ever

changing and ever popular. If you still are only watching your child's Facebook usage, you are being

duped into thinking you are a vigilant parent! Did you know that many of today's young users have an

Instagram account AND a Finsta account? It might be using the app Finsta or it might be another

Instagram account that they think isn't easily traced back to them. The truth of the matter is, teens

want a virtual place they can be themselves but they know about the long reaching impact of their

digital footprint. A Finsta account or fake Insta gives them this sense of anonymity to share their "real

side" with the world. Want to know if your child has one? See who they are following on their

Instagram account or look at the bio in their Instagram and see if it says something about where

you can find their Finsta (or connect via snapchat, etc).

So what do you do as a parent? Are you hands on to the point that your child isn't allowed any access

to the chosen mode of communication in their world? Are you hands off and you have no idea what

they are doing and frankly don't care? Or are you trying to walk the line between enough and too

much?

Here are a few resources that might help you in this navigation:

-Either be in control of what apps your child downloads on their devices or get notifications

when your child your child downloads a new app. Use websites like www.safesmartsocial.com or www.commonsensemedia.org to make app decisions on what you think is best for your own

family.

-Follow your kids on social media. Look at their history. Have conversations that are meaningful

about positive and negative internet presence.

- Know that even the most innocent of concepts can be corrupted. Don't assume your child is

looking at sick skateboarding tricks all day long on Youtube. If you don't let them have free

reign on HBO, then set safeguards for Youtube. http://www.covenanteyes.com/2010/11/16/issue-2-6-ways-to-protect-your-kids-on-youtube/

- Consider something like Disney Circle (https://meetcircle.com/) or Our Pact (https://ourpact.com/)

- Be the parent. Don't be afraid to say no. Your child does not have to have access to ALL the social

media apps. And remember that frontal lobe thing I was talking about, many apps say a person has

to be 13 years old. Follow that, but also consider that 13 might be too young as well.

-Use the stepping stone method. When learning to drive, you have to be a certain age, you have to prove yourself worthy of being a lone driver, and if you fail miserably your license can be revoked.

Make a family plan for what that looks like regarding internet usage with your family. A family

contract isn't a bad idea.

-Research. Many apps of choice for teens are based out of foreign countries. Your rights as an

American citizen are null and void when you hit that "yes I agree with these rules" button. Keep that

in mind.

Lastly, don't allow the scariness of the internet to win. The awesomeness that today's world has in

connecting globally has never been available before. Empower your children to be good digital

citizens like you empower them to be good citizens. Show them examples of the power of social media for good and bad. Create opportunities for your children to showcase the positive. Model

the good and trend the positive!

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Giving Up Privacy or NOT in the Digital World

For the last few weeks I've been given opportunities of learning that have made me rethink technology in a number of ways. As an instructional technologist I probably own my responsibility of being vigilant about the tech I put into student hands more than would seem normal. In fact, I might possibly own it in an obsessive way at times but I feel that's part of my responsibility of being a key player and decision maker regarding digital learning at our school.

One of the big things that I've been thinking on is privacy issues. As I've been looking at the abilities of iOT, watching the youtube series from the Common Sense Media "How Tech Has Hooked Kids," and trying to continue to be on the cutting edge of knowing when good tech options are on the horizon some flags have been raised for me personally.

I'm going to be really honest here, I rarely read the Terms and Conditions for apps or websites. I obviously keep in mind the importance of COPPA (the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) when creating opportunities for our lower school students. Teachers of elementary and middle school students have to be vigilant in how they introduce technology to kids. And the truth of the matter is, we often have to pass on some really good fits because of COPPA. It's a give and take in the digital arena.

But in the last few days I started asking myself what do I do to protect my own privacy? Honestly, when I hear about an app that I think might sound interesting for educational purposes, or students are trying for social reasons, I tend to immediately download the app, make an account and do some research and development...cue yesterday.

A few weeks ago I downloaded an app called Vero- it's self-touted as a social media app with the tagline "Less social media, more social life. Behave online as you do offline." This app isn't regulated via an algorithm like Facebook or Instagram so it lets the user see their friend's posts in a sequential order. I saw some of my educator friends talking about it on other social media and decided I needed to download it and take a look. The truth is, I didn't immediately make an account- it's been sitting there on my phone waiting. So last night, after two days of talking about privacy issues at an iOT Escape Room Workshop I decided to research the app before creating my own account. So I innocently googled "What do we know about the App Vero?" and imagine my surprise when the first hit was Time Magazine and basically the same title- Vero: What to Know About the New App and its CEO. It's a worthy read and one that has caused me to start looking deeper at the apps I have downloaded on my phone.

So here is my new internal strife...How deep do we need to be digging to protect ourselves and our families? Or our students? How do we know when we are being manipulated? Obviously the recent manipulation by Russian bots in our own country's election should be a warning to us all. WE all are being manipulated and our privacy is at risk. How do I decide what privacy is worthy to give up for the benefit it gives me? Where is my own self imposed line? What privacy have I naively given up in the past by not looking deeply at digital choices? How do I best protect the students and families I serve in this area?

(Cue ominous music) If you watch tv it appears that the DARKWEB is something out there trying to pull us in but the truth of the matter is, there is only one web and the "light" and "dark" sections of it are becoming increasingly harder to differentiate. I for one, tend to look a bit closer at new gadgets, toys, edtech, and apps before putting my trust in the wrong place. And FYI, I'm not going to create VERO account.

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Talking Social Media With Your Children

Today's adolescent does not communicate the way we do. Social media is one of the main ways of communication and our world morphs ever so slightly into different most popular choices. As a mom on the cusp of the social media world with adolescents I protected my children maybe too much at times. If I had pre-teens today I definitely wouldn't let them have social media accounts (to me the risk outweighs the gain) but I would start the social media world with my 13 year olds as soon as I could with accountability and talks. This blog post is to help with that navigation for interested parents.

As a teen of the 80's I received my first telephone for my room at age 13. Land lines had been around a while but to have your own phone in your room wasn't something that my parents had as a luxury. The thing about land lines is that there was always this overriding sense of accountability because anyone in the house could pick up and listen in at any moment (and some people were really good at doing it in stealth mode).

Cue the teen of the 90's and the mass use of the flip phone. The world of texting begins. A way to send short messages to others when talking wasn't practical. Also enters a generation of people that would rather tell you hard stuff in a text instead of facing the issue head on. Texting adds a facade of privacy and creates a boldness in saying things one might not say face to face. I struggled as a parent to allow my children to have their own phone. The accountability seemed so much harder.

Enter the new millennium and the smart phone. Not only can our children talk to whomever they want when they want but they have access to the world wide web at their fingertips all the time- including social media. I took the plunge, I had a recently diagnosed 11 year old with type 1 diabetes that I wanted to be connected with at all times. As a mom of a child with a life threatening disease, giving her a smartphone was a no brainer...and her 14 year old sister got one at the same time, naturally. (I hope you picked up on the sarcasm there- we were living in the day of my 14 year old being the ONLY player on her basketball team without her own phone). I was a late adopter for child connectedness for sure.

The thing is it wasn't like adults had the chance to navigate this first. It wasn't like teaching your child how to drive a car where we learned years ago and we knew the pitfalls. We were learning side by side through trial and error with our children. And the truth of the matter is, many parents have worse digital citizenship skills than the children.

One of the things I do when I talk to students about social media is give them the Philippians 4:8 litmus test. I have them look at what they are potential going to post through this lens:
"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

So I share with you these questions that might be good to discuss with your children in regards to social media:

Is it true? Do I know the things I'm posting or reposting is truth? There is so much #fakenews out there. Even websites that purposefully post satirical fake news about the Christian faith, for instance. The website looks real, we trust what we see on someone else's page. Teach your child to question what they read and see. Show them how to hunt for the information on Google to see if any other sources quote it. Don't post things you are unsure about whether it be about a school mate or the president.

Is it noble? We are all in this walk in the world together. The phrase "walk a mile in your brother's shoes" is important here. Social media allows us to quickly share gossip- real or unreal- like wildfire. Choose the path that leads to admiration. Would you want it to be said about you? The dictionary says noble means "having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideals." Step away from the opportunities to tear down others whether you know them or not.

Is it pure? Would you be ashamed if your grandma saw it? I'll never forget the day my 16 year old walked in the room and said, "Mom you know what will make you think hard about what you post of Instagram? When your grandma starts following you." And she did! My mom loves to see what is going on in the lives of her grandchildren. Would you want grandma to see this post? Could the post cause detriment to your character down the road? What are your motives for posting this? Is it for more likes? To build your self-esteem? Every post you make leaves a digital footprint that is far reaching into your future. Don't choose to post something today that might impact your future self.

Is it praiseworthy? Who do you seek praise from? What is your goal in posting? Is it to boast or is it to share your excitement? Do a heart check. What is the reason I want to share this? Being boastful and prideful on social media magnifies this character flaw. A key thing to remember with social media is that we are seeing everyone's "highlight reel." If you are comparing your life with what you see on social media you aren't seeing the whole picture. Keep that in mind when you are making a choice on what to share or judging what others have shared. If you are seeking to feel "better" or "more" by using social media you will be disappointed. Make sure you seek your praise from worthy places, for me- it is my desire to not seek the praise of man but of God. Reminding myself of that is important.

Is it lovely? Is this moment worthy of just enjoying and not posting for all to see? Should I protect this from scrutiny? Is there a reason I need to share this very special time in my life? Is it going to make the moment better? Could it possibly take away from the moment and the memory? Don't forget to be "all in." Remind yourself to set the phone down and enjoy the here and now. The missed opportunity of being engaged in life is so much bigger than the chronicling of every moment. Be purposeful in stepping away from the device. Focus on the lovely and sometimes savor it deep inside you without sharing it. There is nothing wrong with that.

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