Keynote Speaking
Having a Better Conversation about Social Media with Our Kids
Whitbread and Phillips build a program and experience that dives into the needs of your audience. Packed with practical tips and useful skills, attendees gain a positive mindset around social media and a desire to put their knowledge to action.
Tailored for kids, educators, social workers, coaches or parents, they'll help quell suspicions, steer positive conversation and get kids and adults on the same page to start using social media safely, positively and with a powerful voice.
In-School Conversations
Grade 4+
Leaning into the positives and negotiating the negatives of social media
Kindergarten to Grade 3: This age group isn’t using social media, but still have to deal with the consequences of social media because of their parent’s behaviour. Common problems in this group include not knowing how to identify a stranger when their picture is all over Instagram and Facebook, parents who don’t notice the impact of their device use, and conversation around the dinner table based on on-line conflict.
Grades 4 to 7: This age group is just starting to use social media. Most of them will be using TikTok, and toward grade 7, SnapChat. Some will be using Instagram, all will be playing video games. This is a great time to talk to kids about positive online use, and how to talk to their parents about social media. This is also a vulnerable group for predators and grooming - many are afraid to report challenges to their parents for fear of losing the platform. This is also when cohort bullying starts.
Grades 8 and 9: Grade 8 is predominantly when photo sharing starts. This is also where we start to see significant mental health issues tied to social use. Insecure, changing quickly, and unsure exactly where they fit in, this is when we want to encourage kids to find their passion and lean into it. We also use this opportunity to identify how and where cyberbullying is occurring, and who is impacted by it.
Grades 10 to 12: By high school, kids have a long track record online. A history not just created by them, but also by their parents. Now is the time to lean into positive personal branding, cleaning up their social, using their social to gain opportunity, and look beyond the small world of high school. This is also a time to discuss the “you send” conversations, requesting photos, sending photos, and the consequences these behaviours can have on their life. Mental health is a huge concern in high school and has to be discussed as well.
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Social Media Workshops for Parents
Meaningful & Memorable.
Starting a Social Media Conversation is a program designed to stimulate a continuous, positive social media conversation between kids and the adults in their lives, led by the lived-experience of the kids. Many kids won’t report the bad things that happen online, because parents take away their video game, or phone, or Snapchat to keep them safe. Parents need to learn how to support and understand social media from their child’s perspective, and to create space to help with the negative in an effective manner.
The Jo(e) Parenting and Social Media program bridges the gap between parent understanding and kids’ behaviour, and doing everything they can to start a positive social media conversation in homes.
Participants in the 2 hour Parenting and Social Media workshop will learn the scope of online activity of kids in grades 4 to 12, highlighting both the positive and negative. They’ll learn better questions to ask, and come away with tools to lean into conversations about social media use.
Tips and guidelines will be provided so parents can make choices that will protect their kids while allowing them to enjoy the positive aspects of social media.
Since most kids have exposure to social media, whether through their own use or through the use of those around them, parents will be able to reinforce good choices at home and allow kids to feel more competent, supported, and confident in their social media use.
Jo(e) Social Media is the proud recipient of the Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta Special Contribution to Education Award for their volunteer work in schools across the province of Alberta.