Tips for parents, dancers and teachers
Instagram is an incredible tool when it comes to making connections, getting inspiration and building communities. The dance content on Instagram is overwhelming and spectacular. I can certainly understand the allure for young dancers to create their own Instagram accounts. While the internet is definitely a fun place, the internet is also definitely not a safe place. This is why we’re looking at the importance of keeping dancers safe on Instagram.
Currently children under 13 are prohibited from having an Instagram account not run by a parent or manager.
Recently there has been movement by social media owners to target young children and get them using their platforms. Messenger Kids allows children to have a parent controlled social media platform in order to chat and share with their friends. The concern here is the risk factors associated with giving young people access to platforms that they are not ready or prepared for.
On the back of an internal memo published by BuzzFeed, Action Network have released a petition ‘Tell Facebook to abandon its plans to target young children on Instagram’. It looks like it’s only a matter of time before the under 13’s will be able to have their own Instagram platform. With that in mind, it’s up to parents and teachers to create rules around responsible internet use.
In my dance competition community, I see Instagram pages for dancers popping up all the time. The youngest Instagram page holding dancer in my community is only 5 years old. When my dancer made the decision to work toward dancing professionally, I looked into the value of starting an Instagram account for her. In the end I decided that introducing a childs Instagram account was not for our family, but I’m sure that eventually it will have to happen.
Whether run by a parent or a teenage student, safety should be at the forefront of all social media use. Safety covers mental health, bullying and physical safety as well as preparing your dancer for the possibility of creepers. Keeping dancers safe on Instagram is the responsibility of the whole community.
So with that in mind, here are a few suggestions to help with keeping dancers safe on Instagram
Set up Parent Controls on your dancers Instagram page
When your dancer is young, understanding parent controls is key when it comes to keeping dancers safe on Instagram. If you have a parent run Instagram account for your dancer there are a lot of great websites out there that will walk you through the process to set up parent controls on your dancers Instagram account.
If you have a parent run Instagram account state that in the Instagram bio. Sometimes knowing that mum or dad is in the background checking the messages is enough to deter creepers and bullies. Visit Instagram’s Tips for Parents page for more info.
If your dancer is posting off their own device then having a log in to their Instagram on your device can make it easy to monitor who is following them and how they’re interacting with your dancer.
Choose Your Privacy Settings
If your goal is to build a large audience then having a public Instagram account makes sense. If however your goal is to share pictures/videos only with close friends or family then having a private account is the way to go.
The Développé Dancewear Instagram account is public. My own personal account is set to private. My private account is where I share most of my dancers dance news for my family and friends.
Never Post Your Location
A common thing on dancers Instagram accounts is the name of the dance studio that dancers train at. It’s awesome that dancers are proud of their studio. However if you take the dancers studio plus the dancers name, a picture of the dancer in their dance school jacket and a picture of the competition that you’re currently at, you have a potential safety issue.
Even on private Instagram accounts the information in the dancers bio is visible to everyone. It’s important to create the bio purposefully with safety in mind.
It’s understandable that a dancer might want to tag their dance school if they’re doing a show or competition. If you’re going to allow that then I really recommend that dancers keep other identifying information private.
Don’t Use Your Name
Teens who are working on making a name for themselves might want to use their name so that they get it out there. For young dancers though this isn’t so critical. It is possible to only use a first name, or to create an alter ego name so that personal details aren’t so readily available. It is also important that dancers know never to give out their name or any other personal information (phone number, address, school) to anyone via private message or in their feed.
Never Post in Real Time
This loops back to not posting your location. At a competition? Posting a picture or video stating where you are and how your dancer looks opens them up to attracting creepers. Save those posts until after you leave.
Monitor who your dancer is following and who is following your dancer
Creepers are of course the big thing here. Monitoring how people are interacting with your dancer and their images is critical when it comes to keeping dancers safe. But creepers aren’t the only thing you should be monitoring. In 2018, NZ was the 3rd highest country in the world when it comes to cyberbullying. Dance communities can be supportive and encouraging but one only needs to have danced to know that they can also be the polar opposite.
Monitoring how followers are engaging with your dancers Instagram is important when it comes to keeping your dancer emotionally safe. Use the block button if your dancer isn’t being respected, and report back to the dance school if any drama is coming from other students.
Everyone is perfect on Instagram. Set realistic expectations for your dancer
The dance world on Instagram is crazy. Dancers are more flexible than ever before and leaps and turns are everywhere. It’s important that dancers know that every dancer is on their own journey and they are only competing with themselves. Young people often believe that what is presented on Instagram is a reflection of that dancers life. They don’t see the work and struggles in the background. Talk to your dancer about how dancers present themselves on Instagram, and how your dancer intends to present themself.
Create an environment that encourages open dialogue
Create an environment that encourages open discussion without punishment. This will help if dancers need to tell you about something that has happened online but are worried that they may lose their Instagram if you know about it. Sit down together before their Instagram account is set up and set rules around what kind of content is acceptable, and what content is unacceptable. This will help to set boundaries for your dancer. Good boundaries will assist them in identifying when accounts they are following may not be posting appropriate content for them. If all parents did this it would help with keeping dancers safe on Instagram.
Have an open discussion about how your dancer is allowed to interact with others on Instagram. They need to know what is acceptable when others are interacting with their account. They also need know know what to do if things go wrong.
If a dancer approaches you with concern around something that has happened online, tell them that you are proud of them for talking to you about it. Talk to them calmly and come to a solution together. This will encourage more open conversation next time.
BLOCK & REPORT
If you are concerned about the way someone is interacting with your dancer, report the interaction and block the concerning account. It’s important to report the interaction because if someone is being creepy or nasty with your dancer then chances are they’re behaving that way with others.
If bullying is coming from someone who has their dance school listed, screenshot the interaction and send a copy to their dance school so the behaviour can be dealt with internally.
Safety is a community responsibility. When you join a community like dance you become responsible for the people in that community. If you are blocking and reporting unacceptable messages for your dancer then you should be reporting any creepy messages you see targeting other dancers too. As I said earlier, keeping dancers safe on Instagram is a community responsibility.
Following these suggestions will help with keeping dancers safe on Instagram. Do you have any other tips to help with keeping dancers stay safe on Instagram? Post them below!
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