Duxbury Student Union

Dear DSU Members and Friends,

A farewell to social media and in particular, Facebook..not happening anytime soon. My Space might be in the cyber grave yard but its big brother, Facebook, with more than 400 million users and 550,000 applications is not going anywhere south just yet. We have probably all witnessed firsthand the casualties of this social media experiment particularly for our middle school and high school age children. Cyberbullying, grand standing, access to questionable content, Facebook is sometimes a better example of ...anti-social networking.

Just like any technology, social networking sites like Facebook and the applications available are constantly changing. I've heard of parents who allow their children to have Facebook accounts only if they can be their friend. The question is can parents keep up? Remember Farmville, a popular Facebook application six months ago? Well, those farmers are now bankrupt, their animals have died of starvation and crops dried up because our Facebook friends lost interest and moved onto the next newest application. Chatroullette, Formspring.me , just a couple examples of the moving 

Our immediate concern is safety and education. The school environment alerts students and families to online predators and cyberbullying but it is difficult to be specific when they actually block the sites at school. Parents try, but many times their children know much more. If we had the education, we could set the boundaries and expectations with our children. The DSU is considering offering a social networking education session for parents outlining security settings, applications, the dangers of anonymity, as well as understanding the benefits and costs of being "on the grid." If you feel this could be helpful, click here and let us know your concerns. If we have the interest, we will offer educational evenings in the coming months.

In other news, volleyball has been a big hit this week. Join us tomorrow night for pizza, drinks and Avatar starting at 6.30p.m. Next Tuesday, the DSU goes on a field trip to the Scooper Bowl to celebrate a year of fundraising for the Jimmy Fund. Advance sign up is required. June is jam packed...check out the schedule of events on the left.