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Status updates, photo tags, Farmville – what the heck does it all mean? The best way to truly understand what your kids are doing on Facebook is to hop on the wave itself.

That is, according to Chris Vollum of Social Media Trust – the creator of his seminar entitled Facebook 101 – that has now been viewed by over 100,000 students across Ontario.

Originally developed in 2007 when his own daughter wanted to get connected – Vollum dove into the world of privacy policies and the deep inner workings of the social network giant Facebook.

He first began by giving his seminar at parent-teacher nights, and it soon became a well-respected seminar for students and faculty at elementary and high schools around Ontario. Now, it’s even recommended by the OPP as a resolution to Facebook issues that families face.

“A lot of parents that I speak with, for the lack of a better word, just don’t get it,” he said. “They think their kids are wasting time, but I think there is a gap, and what I try to do is bridge the gap. Facebook is the way kids connect, it’s their pad and pencil today.”

What are the rules?

1. Trust – “You have to trust the people you add on your friends list to the level that you would leave them alone in your own home, with complete access to everything you own,” he said.

   With the amount of information shared on Facebook today – anything less and the privacy of entire families can be put at risk. This is especially tough for younger students to grasp, as like anything else – there is a peer pressure involved with Facebook to befriend more and more people.

2. Privacy Settings – According to Vollum the average high school student can have upwards of 700 friends on their profile. That’s an incredible amount of people to be sharing specific details about a person’s life with. “Tie those privacy settings down,” he said. “You need to be selective of who you want to share your information with. Facebook has given us some flexible tools to do so.”
3. Clean Content – “The content on your profile has to be clean and respectful. It has to reflect a positive nature, it cannot be negative.” Photos, biographies, and even friend lists need to be prepared carefully, because anyone in the world can view it, and then pass judgment on it. Employers, universities, even relatives could be viewing the content uploaded online.

If parents are still concerned about Facebook – Vollum suggests that the best way to deal with it is to embrace it.

“Parents need to be on Facebook, the very first thing they need to do, if they don’t have an account is to get one, because you need to be as up to speed as the kids are.”

For more information, visit www.socialmediatrust.net

About the author: Michael Burton

Michael is journalist with experience in publishing, news writing and the magazine industry. He graduated from Sheridan College and is the former editor of TRAVIS magazine.