School Safety in the Age of Social Media

• In Event: Technology, Social Media, and Surveillance of Youth

Abstract

Today’s teenagers are increasingly likely to spend a significant portion of their day on social media platforms, and access to social media can create school safety concerns in ways that were not relevant even a decade ago. While cyberbullying is the most commonly studied way that social media can influence school safety, social media concerns extend well beyond cyberbullying. Social media can also be used to communicate threats to students and the school and to escalate off-campus issues, among other uses. These behaviors have the potential to negatively impact school safety, yet they have not been thoroughly examined in the literature. To fill this void, this project will draw on findings from the literature, as well as findings from original interviews of school staff members that were conducted at four high school campuses in one of the largest school districts in the nation. We will describe and discuss these additional ways in which social media can affect school safety. We will also lay out a future research agenda, with a focus on expanding our knowledge of social media and school safety beyond cyberbullying.

Authors

• Samantha Ladwig, Florida State University

• Nicole Collier, Florida State University

• Andrea Montes Lindsey, Florida State University

• George Pesta, Florida State University

• Daniel Mears, Florida State University

• Sonja Siennick, Florida State University