Primary school kids get PR lessons to avoid social media mistakes

Primary schoolchildren are being taught posting one rude image or joke online could ruin their lives. In a state first, Year 6 students at a NSW school will be given lessons by a PR expert to avoid social media blunders which could mess up their futures.

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Primary schoolchildren are being taught posting one rude image or joke online could ruin their lives — a lesson they need now because by high school it could be too late.

With 95 per cent of eight to 11-year-olds surfing the internet and about half logging on to social media, experts warn youngsters are creating a public persona whether they know it or not.

Now, in a state first, Year 6 students at Holy Cross Catholic Primary on the Central Coast will next month learn how an ill-advised click of the mouse could come back to haunt them.

PR expert Nicole Reaney will teach the kids how to “reduce reputational risk” and foster a “positive reputation” to benefit their personal, schooling and professional lives.

Holy Cross Catholic Primary School students (from left) Noah Cox, Lucy Coote, Evie Przybyla and Kaine Hieber will get PR lessons about social media. Picture: AAP/Sue Graham

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, who overwhelmingly supports the pilot program for Year 6 students, said children’s mistakes can’t be forgiven and forgotten any more.

“We used to forgive young people for their transgressions but once they post a vulgar image or make a racist comment online, even in jest, it could show up years later and be taken out of context,” she said.

“University admission staff have been checking social media feeds for 10 years to assess applications.

“Even Woolworths or McDonald’s want to hire young people who are responsible and mature and they will certainly check social media feeds to see if online personas match CV personas.”

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According to Ms Inman Grant, kids should apply the “grandma test” to their social media usage, which is to only post pictures or comments they think their grandparents would approve of.

Holy Cross Catholic Primary School principal Craig McNee said youngsters need to be taught that online posts in primary school can have unintended consequences into adulthood.

“The kids don’t have the emotional intelligence at that age to understand for themselves that if they put something bad on the internet, it’s going to be there forever,” Mr McNee said.

Top tips given to students about social media.

Year 6 student Emma Hedley, 11, from Saratoga, has an Instagram account and posts pictures of trips to Luna Park and outings on her family’s boat but she was naive about the potential reach of what she shares.

“I haven’t ever thought about my pictures being on the internet forever,” Emma said.

“It’s weird to think in 20 years my boss might be able to look at my pictures from when my family went to Luna Park.”

The children will be warned their “offline” behaviour, like sending abusive or salacious text messages, can be just as damaging as posting directly online, if it’s shared by a victim or bystander.

The PR lessons are a first for NSW, although government school principals and teachers have had access to a “Digital Citizenship resource” since 2011, which provides suggestions for how to talk to students about their digital footprints.