Smart Social Media for Kids and Teens

From the Perspective of a Criminal Defense Attorney

Social Media is here to stay.  New apps are constantly arising, which can be overwhelming for parents trying to keep their kids safe and monitored.   In a criminal defense practice, I often get a front row seat to the worst-case scenario when it comes to social media use.   Too often, I find myself meeting with people who have gotten into hot water through the use of popular social media and sharing apps, including kids and teens.  The use of social media comes with risk, especially for kids.    So, let’s take a look at some common scenarios...

1)    You have a kid that overshares 

There is a popular TikTok’er who challenges that she can locate anyone by looking at their social media….even folks who think they are smartly and discreetly posting.  You know the type – careful to never post a photo of the house number, blurs the logo on the kids’ school uniform, etc.   Well, this TikTok’er does locate even the most careful posters – and she’ll walk you through how she focuses on friend lists, context clues, and geographic markers to hone in to a location.   She is often then able to utilize real estate sites such as Zillow to get exact addresses once she gets a general area.   It is impressive and terrifying. 

Knowing this, take a look at your kids’ social media.   Are they posting in their school uniform shirts in front of the uptown ice cream shop?   Do they “check-in” at their Saturday softball field?  Do they go on Facebook Live from their room?    In all of these scenarios, your child’s innocent posts are revealing bit by bit exactly where they live and what their day to day routine looks like.  

Does it matter?   Simply because it is possible to physically locate your child does not mean that your child will become a victim.  But bad things happen sometimes.  So consider perusing your child’s Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, and view it as a stranger might.  From viewing her content, can you determine her city?  Her neighborhood?  Her address?   Her school?    Can you tell what type of car she drives?  Her schedule?  If so, it might be time to have a talk about accidentally oversharing, and find ways to reign that in.  The goal is to educate, not alarm, so that your child or teen can make responsible choices that protect her privacy. 

2)    You have a teen who receives illicit material in a group chat

A lot of popular social media apps have built-in messenger components.  More than once, I have had teenagers and their parents in my office for tough conversations when the teen got flagged for things shared in a group chat.   Social media apps like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok all have systems in place which aim to flag and report the sharing of images involving abuse or underage nudity.   Although not fool-proof, these systems will pick-up on the sharing of these types of images.   The user account is then reported to the app system, which will trigger a notification to law enforcement in user’s location.  

An issue arises when your child or teen receives inappropriate material in a private or group message setting, even if he or she did not post or re-share the image.   Once that image is sent by another user….your teen is in possession of that image.    Possession of an illicit image involving a minor, even under these circumstances could have very real legal consequences.    

What can you do?   Talk to your child or teen about avoiding a group message setting with individuals unknown to him or her.   The larger the group, the higher the risk of something inappropriate being shared.   If your child is conversing in a message group, she should leave the group before leaving her device unattended to ensure that the group messages are not compiling without being monitored.    Finally, if something inappropriate is shared in that group, your child must be sure to avoid interacting with that image by sharing or downloading it, and she should leave the group immediately.   

All social media apps (even Snapchat) create a record of data which includes conversations and images shared.   Even once deleted, these Snaps and conversations may be recoverable by subpoena to the provider.   Local law enforcement rely on these subpoenas to gather full account information once a user has been flagged.  This means that interactions never really disappear, and even your child’s deleted account data could subject him to some serious trouble.

Talk to your kid about the risk of group messaging, and what to do in the even that they find themselves in a group chat where something illicit is shared.  It is important that your teen be able to demonstrate that he or she disengaged from a conversation immediately after an image was shared with them.  

Related, when kids or teens engage in the sharing of nude images of themselves with, for example, their boyfriend/girlfriend….the same rules apply.   The fact that both parties are participating and consenting does not change the reality that it is illegal to possess and distribute explicit material involving a minor (even if they are the minor).   Sharing these photos through social media (or in any manner) will almost certainly cause the account to be flagged and could lead to law enforcement involvement. 

3)    Your child is targeted by an adult

     The very real concern for many parents is that a minor may become targeted through apps.   Adults preying on kids can be incredibly savvy, and it may not be immediately obvious to your child that anything inappropriate is occurring.   More often than not, communication will occur for weeks or longer before the contact becomes inappropriate. During this grooming period, your child may become comfortable communicating with the adult, and may begin to feel that there is a genuine friendship in place.   Your child may even be led to believe that the person he or she is interacting with is the same age as they are.  This circumstance opens the door for ill-intentioned adults to interact with your child in a way that is incrementally inappropriate.   Kids can be led to share intimate information and photographs all too often.  Even the most responsible kids are at risk. 

     Talk to your kids about interacting with unknown people on social media.   No one should be requesting photographs, phone numbers, or meet ups.   No one should ever be asking that your child keep their communication a secret.  No one should ever be communicating to your child about anything of a sexual nature or about their bodies.   Talk openly to your kids, using these examples, to make your kids feel more comfortable coming to you in the event that someone does communicate with them in a way that makes them uncomfortable. 

     Kids are tech-savvy and relying on parental controls to keep them out of trouble might not be the most effective plan.   Having seen many kids and teens either get themselves into trouble or become victimized online, I would encourage parents to maintain an open and ongoing dialogue about these real risks that accompany the use of social media.   These apps are fun, and are often a large part of social life for minors, but they come with big responsibilities.    Continued education and parental awareness are key to keeping them safe. 

If you have questions or concerns regarding a situation involving your child, please call us at (937) 671-1511. Anything disclosed during a consultation is confidential.