SUMMERSIDE - Three Oaks Senior High student Skyler Richard has taken it upon himself to educate his peers about the dangers of social media.
He has created a 25-minute slideshow presentation addressing Facebook safety with plans to present it to his classmates.
"It's basically about Facebook and how there are some security holes that people need to look out for and be careful of," Richard said.
The student will make his presentation to Three Oaks staff in a few weeks before it makes its way into classrooms.
Three Oaks' proactive approach comes only days after a 15-year-old Summerside girl was duped into sending photos of herself to a phony modeling scout through Facebook. The young girl was led to believe she was sending photos of herself to the Halifax-based company City Models. Sgt. Barry Arsenault of Summerside Police said the girl and her mother became suspicious when the person on Facebook requested revealing photos of the teen.
Vice-principal Nicole Haire says Richard's presentation is timely and extremely important for students to hear.
"It's all ages that need to hear this. There's a lot of our kids that are on Facebook and don't know how to set their privacy settings and that sort of thing," said Haire.
She added that it is time these lessons be brought into the classroom.
"With the volume of Facebooking and social media, it's something that we do need to teach. You can't assume that their parents are teaching them because parents might not understand it. I think sometimes we're counting on adults who aren't literate in this area to educate the kids," Haire said.
City Models has since issued a statement on its website warning young females of the scam with advice from director Angela Campagnoni that states, "A reputable talent agency would never approach prospective talent using Facebook nor would ask for a list of friends or illicit photographs. I hope this type of request will raise a red flag for any others who may have been contacted."
anicholson@journalpioneer.com
Facebook safety advice
- Never add people you do not know
- Confirm you know who you are conversing with
- Ignore requests from strangers
- Educate yourself on privacy policies
- Parents should monitor their child's online activity
Source: Summerside Police Service
