Social media has revolutionized the way we communicate with others and learn about the world around us - there's a lot to like but even more to learn about how to use it properly.
To that end, the Port Moody Police Department, Port Moody Library and Communities Embracing Restorative Action (CERA) are teaming up to host a free presentation on youth and social media by well known expert Jesse Miller. Const. Luke van Winkel said the event is part of the department's new strategic plan, which calls for increased outreach to the community.
"We recognize that with social media there are issues surrounding youth, it's a problem," van Winkel said. "Whether it's in the schools, ourselves as officers, restorative justice, we're constantly dealing with kids' and teens' inappropriate actions online or the fallout from social media use."
The presentation is aimed at parents of elementary and middle school-aged children but it's open to everyone, and children and youth are welcome to attend as well.
Miller said his presentation will focus on social media trends, how kids and teens are engaging online, what parents need to be aware of and what kind of dialogue they should be having with their children around technology.
"We're trying to raise children in a mobile, connected culture," Miller said. "They're very much immersed in technology and it allows us sometimes to use it as a pacifier, as a safety tool, for communication and sometimes for their own entertainment.
"But what does it mean to pass a telephone to a kid at the primary level as opposed to the secondary level?"
Miller said parents' concerns range from those who want to know how to start a conversation with their kids about their social media usage and to those who are reacting to an event that's being discussed in the media or an incident in their child's school, such as sharing inappropriate images or online bullying. Other times, parents are looking to improve their own social media literacy so they can better understand what their kids are dealing with on a daily basis.
"If you take away all the technology parents can put themselves in the shoes of their 16-year-old, but when you apply the mediated world to it parents have no idea what it's like to grow up in a world where kids are having conversations in school, but they're also talking on social media or it's chronic texting.
"This isn't designed to make them an expert, but it will give them the tools to start a dialogue."
Van Winkel said the presentation is free and open to the public.
"I've heard Mr. Miller speak a half-dozen times and I'm always impressed about what he has to say and the amount people have to gain from him."
Jesse Miller will speak on Nov. 24 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Inlet Theatre (100 Newport Dr., PoMo). There is no registration required for the free, drop-in event.
