Most students have enough willpower to turn off their electronic devices while they are in school, but others are not able to resist the temptation. For more than 15 years, teachers have had to confiscate cell phones, CD players and other portable gadgets, but social networking has made it into the classroom in other ways. Even schools that have installed firewalls blocking students from accessing social networking websites sometimes find that their students have been able to find loopholes.
Some school districts in the US have gone so far as to ban their students from having profiles on social networking sites. Students can get around this by signing up with aliases, but the problem is getting worse. Teachers have managed to get themselves into hot water by linking their profiles to their students and sharing too much personal information with their schools. Even though most social networking sites only allow users aged 13 and up to have their own profiles, children as young as 8 years old have found ways to get around the security measures.
There’s really nothing that can be done to keep students away from social networking, but there are ways to make it less of a burden. Several school districts have made their own profiles and invite students to join in. This allows administrators to keep tabs on their pupils while simultaneously giving them an outlet. Parents have also joined in on the fight, but as computers become more sophisticated, it seems that children are the first ones to gain the knowledge.
