Potential dangers surround “Back to School” social media trend

Binders and pencils are flying off the shelves, yellow buses are on the roads and swimming pools are suddenly a bit quieter.

That means one thing… back to school season is upon us.

But there’s another sign of the First Day of School that has become more popular over the years: parents posting pictures on social media of their children holding decorated signs with information about their new academic endeavors. Many of these signs detail personal information, including a student’s school, grade and specific teacher.

Although these social media posts are done for fun, they can expose a child’s private information to online predators, scammers or other dangerous individuals. According to Pass Christian Elementary School Principal Stacy Mooney, the potential dangers of sharing this personal information might not cross a parent’s mind.

“You don’t stop and think about those things because you’re in the moment, and you just want to celebrate your kid and all the accomplishments that they’re about to achieve, but now in this day we have to stop and think a lot more carefully about what we’re putting out there,” Mooney said.

Mooney added that PCES has not had any problems with this, mainly because faculty and staff members try their best to make parents aware of what information is too personal to share.

“I think that in the school system, I think that we have a responsibility to really teach our parents — who might not be thinking about these things — and educate them so that we all keep our kids safe,” Mooney said. “It is a shared responsibility of safety for our kids.”

Some parents make those First Day of School memories in different ways.

Lauren Williamson, a mother to a second-grader and kindergartener at PCES, utilizes the schools festive resources to get those coveted back-to-school pictures.

“You can go into the school building and take advantage of the photo opportunities of some of the classroom doors, the beautiful bulletin boards that these teachers are spending so much time doing,” Williamson said. “Those are great photo opportunities, and you’re able to get into the schools, meet the teachers and you see the faces, and when you go to post those pictures, there’s no personal information given.”

Ultimately, there are still many safe ways for families to celebrate the start of another successful academic year and still share pictures with friends and families through the use of private social media accounts or through direct messages.