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how easy it is for
teens to bully other
teens through these
social networks. "A
concern is the way in
which the Internet is
used to enable bully-
t4 ing," he says. "Also, it
David Lerner
goes with the Jewish
values of `tzniyue
(modesty) and privacy. I feel that some
teens expose too much online. Because
of this, they compromise the intimate
and genuine qualities of personal rela-
tionships and deep friendships"
Lader has had to admonish teens
about "photos of themselves and their
friends completely trashed on spring
break in the Bahamas, posting about
who is sleeping with whom, writing
really nasty things about their teach-
ers on Twitter [and] tagging lush' and
`edibles' under pictures of brownies
on Instagram — terms for marijuana-
laced baked goods"
One Step Ahead Of Parents
One trend that has remained constant
in teens' use of technology has been
the migration of teens from a particu-
lar social network once their parents
get on board. While teens flocked to
Facebook in the early years, with the
growth of adults joining, teens have
sought out other social networks.
Lader explains, "Teens crave per-
sonal connection, and I think that
whatever comes next is going to
address that — the photos and video
are more connective than a post,
FaceTime is more connective than a
text, and I'm excited to see what the
next 'thing' will be. It's going to have
to happen soon, since parents are all
signing up for Instagram, which means
there will be a mass exodus of teens in
the near future!"
Much of the time teens' social media
posts are harmful to each other in ways
that are mean or spiteful. However,
Lader has encountered teens whose
posts could have serious legal conse-
quences.
"I had a teen recently who was
regularly posting pictures of herself
high, and pictures of food with tags
that obviously meant that the food
was drugged" she says. "I asked her
out to coffee, and we spent some time
chatting about her life, friends, future
plans, and then I brought up the pic-
tures. I asked her if she knew they were
public, and told her that I was con-
cerned that she was using drugs regu-
larly and that her social media posts
would negatively impact her future as a
college student, employee and a poten-
tial partner for someone:' The teen was
grateful for Lader's intercession.
Boon For Jewish Educators
With all of the pitfalls of teens' social
media use, the benefits for an informal
Jewish educator working with teens
are endless. For Lerner, who is trying
to resuscitate the local USY group,
social media has proven very help-
ful. "Social media outlets provide free
marketing, which makes my job easier.
Social media also provides me with
a great tool with which to empower
teens to take on leadership roles and to
increase the range of my potential teen
network" Lerner says. "Further, social
media is a great method of communi-
cation for marketing, event planning,
feedback and sharing program photos:'
Sometimes teens will use social
networks to reach out for help in dif-
ficult times. Rabbi Joshua Foster, a
Jewish educator and
youth group adviser
in Cleveland who is
originally from West
Bloomfield, recently
saw that a student
of his had "posted
what appeared to
Josh Foster
be a suicide note on
his Facebook wall,
expressing frustrations with the world
and why he was choosing to do this.
The letter was seen by many friends
and family and was quickly removed,
though it was gratifying to see the
outpouring of love and support for the
individual. Fortunately, the parents
learned of the post quickly and are
helping their child through this dif-
ficult time. In the community of teens
who were friends with this student and
may have seen the post, we reached
out and offered to speak with anyone
who was shaken or wanted to talk
about it:'
Communication has changed at
the speed of light in the past sev-
eral decades. Teens are given a lot of
responsibility to use digital devices to
keep in touch with their friends and
mentors. This means the dissemina-
tion of information is instant, making
it easier for teen youth groups to pro-
mote events and engage new mem-
bers, but it also means an increased
danger in the spread of information
that shouldn't be made public. Adults,
including those professionals charged
with the direction of Jewish teen
groups, will have to remain vigilant in
teaching teens appropriate behavior
for the use of social media.
❑
Rabbi Jason Miller is a local technology
and social media expert who is president
of Access Computer Technology in West
Bloomfield. He blogs at http://blog.
rabbijason.com. Follow him on Twitter at
@RabbiJason.
•
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