FIU School of Communication + Journalism students, Maria Saldana, Andreina Nicasio and Stephanie English, created a media literacy project, Social Media for Youth, aimed at parents to protect children from online abuse.
With social media use at an all-time high, Saldana, Nicasio and English used the opportunity to educate parents about the dangers of social and digital media use by children and provide helpful tips to stop kids from becoming targets of online predators, cyberbullying and the toll the internet can take on mental health.
Social Media for Youth focuses on media globalization, which is the expansion of media production and the companies that make money off of distributing the media. The project’s main mission is to provide valuable information from a variety of different sources to help guide parents in their children’s media literacy.
“The consumption of media due to media globalization has affected every human in some shape, way or form – especially children. We decided to centralize our focus on kids and one of the best ways to get through to them is to get through to their parents,” said Nicasio.
Using a Facebook group and website, the project cultivates information for people, mostly concerned parents, to easily access and heighten their knowledge on media literacy and globalization to the public.
“I strive to make the internet a safe place for children in which they know how to navigate it and what dangers to watch out for,” said English.
Follow the Social Media for Youth project here to learn more.
