What advice should I give my students about "fake” social networking profiles?
Unfortunately, some people are misusing social networking sites and creating fake (also called "imposter”) profiles that claim to be someone they are not.
These fake profiles might include inappropriate images taken on a camera phone and uploaded to the site.
In many cases, they are set up as a bit of fun and the imposter doesn't consider the consequences. But some fake profiles are created to cause deliberate harm or to upset the other person.
This can be very distressing - especially as it doesn't take long for online content to make its way around the school community - so you need to take action immediately if one of your students reports a fake profile to you:
- The quickest and most effective way of removing fake profiles from a social networking site is to ask the author to delete it - if you know who is responsible for it. Make sure they understand why the material is hurtful and why they should delete it.
- If you don't know who has set up the fake profile, report it to the social networking provider straight away. Social networking sites are keen to make their spaces as safe as possible, so fake profiles may breach the provider's terms of service and can be removed.
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