Pia Miranda, George Ray and Nasalifya Namwinga sit together in a warmly lit studio. They all have large microphones stretched out on stands in front of them.

A super appears on screen over a shot of George that reads: Building a safe online community.


George:
I love blocking people. That sounds bad.

Pia:
Yeah I know, I do too!

George:
It's actually really helpful.

Pia:
So as a young person, why is social media important to you?

George:
I think social media can be a really positive place and I use it as a platform to express myself to be who I really am. I'm gay. My family's always been super supportive, so I'm so grateful for that. As soon as I came out, my mom took me to get me some makeup and stuff. I almost immediately started making videos.

Pia:
That's so good.

Nasalifya:
There's a really interesting thing that happens with teenagers at that age. They're learning to individuate, which can be really scary for us as parents 'cause they're creating an identity that is connected to the family, but actually quite separate from them. I think at that point we become guides for them - to guide them in how you navigate those spaces. We want to know that they have the skills to actually navigate safety for themselves.

Pia:
Can social media be a safe space for teens? Especially when you have an open account?

Nasalifya:
George, you're a great example of how it can be this really positive space where you have visibility and you get to see people who reflect your own identity back at you. For some young people who live in rural spaces or don't have themselves reflected in the communities that they live in, that's so important.

George:
A lot of the time I get DMs from people that are like,'You've helped me so much. I've come out to my parents, thank you so much'. And I'm like, that's what I want to do. Give others that sense of community and sense of belonging as well.

Pia:
What are some of the risks for teens of being public online?

Nasalifya:
One of the major ones is around being bullied or harassed or getting hate messages and negative comments. Also, image-based abuse.

Pia:
What is image-based abuse?

Nasalifya:
So that's basically when an image of you gets sent to other people that you did not consent for it to be sent to. It might also be when people use it to extort you or ask you for bribes in exchange for not posting that photo or that image of you.

Pia:
Right.

George:
I've definitely experienced bullying online and that kind of online abuse before, whether it's in the comment section or through DMs. I love blocking people. That sounds bad, but I actually...

Pia:
Yeah I know! I do too.

George:
It's actually really helpful.

Pia:
How do we monitor what our teens are doing online without really breaking their trust or making them feel like we are violating their privacy?

Nasalifya:
Having conversations. Having a parent saying, 'I'm gonna look through some of the stuff, maybe let's have a shared account. To ensure that the conversations that are happening are safe'.

George:
My Mum is across all my platforms on social media, so if she wants, she has access to my DMs and that kind of messaging areas online. A lot of the time I'm sharing things publicly, whether it's stories or posts, but I do like to post things sometimes that are just to my friends. I like to use the Close Friends feature on Instagram.

Pia:
I use that.

George:
It's good, isn't it?

Pia:
Yeah. I do that with my kids. 'Cause I don't want my kids being online, but I wanna share these photos safely. So I use Close Friends.

George:
I think that there's plenty platforms, especially in this day and age, that young teens and kids can go to for help or when they feel like they need someone to talk to or they don't have a place to go. ReachOut is a really great platform.

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