The video phenomenon is here and it's not going to fade away anytime soon. If anything, it's going to become an integral part of our children's self expression on the Internet.
Think about it - one the most popular TV programs among tweens today is a about a young girl, who along with her friends, produce a popular online show. Within the TV program they solicit the real world audience to send in their own videos in hopes of having them highlighted, either on TV or online. And, to make it easy for them, they are marketing branded camcorders that plug directly to the computer for easy upload!
If your child is sharing videos on the Internet, there are two things you and they need to consider:
1. What is the focus of the video?
2. What information is revealed either directly or indirectly in the background?
Children have a plethora of devices available to quickly take and upload videos to the Internet, including their cell phones, and often times they don't realize what they are the conveying to strangers. What they believe is simply good fun could be reputation damaging, it could be harmful to others who are in the video, it could be perfectly fine but reveal too much information in the background causing a risk of being located offline by people they don't know.
Catching and sharing the moment is not always a good idea. Ask your teen to keep these 5 questions in mind before they decide to upload a video.
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Was it meant to be a private occasion that should be kept private?
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Is this something that I would want the world to see or, at minimum, people who know me - my parents, my grandparents, my teachers, my coach, or my college admissions office?
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Is it giving away any personal information about me or someone else?
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Could it embarrass someone else who is in the video?
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Is it meant to be hurtful to anyone, especially someone that I am mad at or don't like?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then the video should not be uploaded. But, don't worry there are plenty more things that can be!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
university 10-30-2009 @ 10:10AM
Thanks for the great reading, collegepersonals . I will pass this on to our Ira clients to read.
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