Some Facebook hints

Most of this will be obvious to most, but in keeping with providing hints just in case someone hadn't thought of it:

• Once you are a part of a youth's social network, be prepared to ignore potentially shocking posts. Youth just don't think about who may be reading their posts and are likely to say anything to impress their peers.
  
• For good or for ill they usually view their posts as being directed to a specific not the general population. They view Facebook as their private system. It is sometimes worth “liking” or responding to an innocent post to remind them that you and others are able to see their posts.
  
• Be very hesitant to insert yourself into discussions or comment on posts. They are very sensitive to being “stalked” even though they friended you.
  
• Watch for serious concerns, but try to not raise your concerns on the site. If necessary, email them, or better yet speak to them personally. Try not to indicate where you got your information.
  
• You can learn a lot about a kid by watching their posts, but, again, don't put too much stock in any one post.
  
• They quote song fragments a lot and don't use quotation marks so it is easy to misunderstand a post.