A Day in the Life of a Social Media Mom

A Day in the Life of a Social Media Mom

By Shannan K. DuShane
8/27/2012

If you are not on Facebook and your children are…you are moving in the wrong direction; you as a parent need to be one step ahead of the game. Even if you do not regularly participate in your own activities and discussions, your should create an account, friend their accounts; because it is a great way to keep up to date with who your kids are friending and conversing with online.

Our normal day starts off like any other family, waking the kids up, showering, and getting ready for the day, eating breakfast, and so on. But in the past couple years it has been “mom one more minute I need to see what so and so responded to my question last night on Facebook” or “have you seen my phone, I heard my twitter alert go off”, and it begins, the daily monitoring of the children activities, even when I’m at work or running errands, it is my responsibility as a parent to keep up on today’s trends and internet scandals.

I have found that many times when something is bothering them or a friend has an issue or fantastic news that it is normally the first thing to be posted to Facebook, and that is my inside scoop without the parental pressure. It is not about me running to the kids everytime I see something and confront them, I scan and scope out accounts and then if something comes up in a discussion I am prepared! 

Parents are normally the enemy, even if you have an awesome and healthy relationship with your kids, they never tell you everything.  This is a great ice breaker as well, my normal discussion goes something like this, “I hope Brittany is ok after that fall at track practice today.” Normally I get the "oh you know about that look", but then goes into a casual calm conversation of the event…no pressure and a great discussion between parents and kids and life goes on.

Another responsibility as parents it to know your kids friends, I have a rule that I approve each friend before they accept friend requests, I want to know who they are and what type of person they are. I just don’t want anyone looking at my kids and their information. I also research their friends and who are on their list if I know many people or not. I make sure I have their passwords in case something does happen I can be active for them.  I watch for cyber bullying because it does happen! Most importantly I customize their privacy settings to ensure the utmost of safety is being taken. Face it these are children, they only care about telling everyone about their new haircut or the newest gossip.  It is our responsibility to make sure they are safe.

In my line of work I monitor social media, seo and internet accounts for several clients, my employer, employees accounts and so on, so for me to monitor my kids is nothing.  Some people tell me I don’t have internet or a smart phone so what can I do, be honest with your kids and make sure they know the dangers online, if necessary ask a friend to check up on them or go to the library, once a week to check in with them.  This gives you conversation starters with them and keeps you up to date on their activities. 

I consider myself a hip mom and I like to know everything out there, I search and dig until my eyes hurt, but what that does is show my kids that I am and will always be proactive in their lives and I do care what they are interested in. I also make sure to know the schools direction and views on social media in the classrooms.  Here is an interesting article to read about social media and school systems.  http://mashable.com/2010/09/29/social-media-in-school/

There are many new forms of social media out there that gives a whole new meaning to holy crap can  you give petifiles any more ways to follow me and my family. On the other hand, it is the future and for kids, social media can no longer be dismissed as a time-waster or distraction. The networks your kids use to rate their friends and comment on photos will eventually become their core business tools and career prerequisites. Those who don’t learn to use them responsibly will face a severe disadvantage. So what to do, follow your gut you know your kids the best and know the best ways to protect them, but also know the sites that your kids are on.  Even if you ban them, you kids will find a way to create an account and be active.  Learn – Know – Be Active!

Remember When Kids are Engaged, They Learn Better!

Shannan DuShane is an independent blogger, marketing specialist and graphic designer in the Grand Rapids area. She is a social media specialist, marketing enthusiast, and network fanatic. Feel free to connect with Shannan on Facebook, Twitter,LinkedIn, Instagram and Google+

Healthy Habits

Be Healthy….Do Social Media
By Shannan K. DuShane
8/16/2012

Each and every day you get up, have your caffeine and while you’re getting ready for work your checking your phone for updates, you get to work and sit at a computer and the first act of the day is login to your Facebook or Twitter account while eating a donut and drinking your unhealthy choice of beverage.  That’s awesome your utilizing social platforms but what if you could use the internet for good and be healthy in your ways.  Unless you are a hobbit and never leave your house, most people don’t realize that social media is healthy and can be just as healthy as jogging in your local park on a sunny afternoon. We thrive on human contact, sometimes we don’t want it but we most definitely need it and can’t live without it.

Many people don’t know that being social is one of the most healthy acts that you can do for yourself. I’m not talking about spending 6-8 hours on a computer and that is all you do is pretend to be someone you’re not creating a profile on every different social platform; but looking for all of the activities and events and new people in your area or researching an area that you are traveling to is a great way to discover new venues, and places to visit based on other visitors reviews and pictures.  A few years ago we didn’t have what the internet offers us today with the ability to explore and get out of our normal realm of comforting phone books and paper directories. You can’t write real time experiences in a phone book for others to interact, post pictures of interesting places or events you might not otherwise see and so on.

When I talk social media, I always get the rolling of the eyes or the sighs of whatever get a life, but the fact is that because there are tons of different platforms such as web blogs, social blogs, social networks, micro-blogging, social bookmarking,  internet forums, wiki’s, podcasting and many more.  I could go on forever; there is no reason you can’t find a group or event that could get you out of the house.  So here are just some of my tips for having a healthy social media addiction:

1.       If you’re going to sit at the computer for a length of time eat healthy; NO mountain dew and chips, get a bag of carrots and a large glass of water and be healthy

2.       For every friend you have you can assume they have 1 event they attend a month….Go with them or find one activity or event that you want to attend…BE SOCIAL!

3.       For each social media platform you’re on (facebook, twitter, pinterest, google, ect) you have a unique following, take time and get to know each one and what they do, the initial meeting could have amazing opportunity with networking you never knew about. 

4.       Sit up straight and don’t crunch over your desk, get a back wedge if you need something or add a firm pillow or a rolled-up towel as a back support..

5.       Make sure you are in a position where your wrists are relaxed and not strained

6.       Blink. People using computers blink less so their eyes get dry and eye problems can start to occur.

7.       Lean back. The computer screen should be an arm’s length away

8.       Sit on an exercise ball; this is a great way to keep movement and blood flow moving as well.

9.       For every hour your online you need a hour offline….and not in front of the TV!

10.   Lastly, I love to listen to music when I am in front of a computer, it keeps your body moving to the beat, your brain awake and your mental status more alert!

Always Remember Don’t Just Work It…..Network It!

 Shannan DuShane is an independent blogger, marketing specialist and graphic designer in the Grand Rapids area. She is a social media specialist, marketing enthusiast, and network fanatic. Feel free to connect with Shannan on Facebook, Twitter,LinkedIn, Instagram and Google+