Real Talk Podcast: Real Talk Conversations: Social Media Audit

August 3, 2022
real talk with susan and kristina podcast

In this episode of Real Talk, KJK Student Defense Attorneys Susan Stone and Kristina Supler are joined by Randy Rohde.  They discuss social media and how it has emerged to have a prevalent influence in the lives of college students and post-college.  The conversation includes proper social media etiquette that both parents and their children need to follow, how to clean up social media mishaps, managing social media reputation and when to engage a reputation management attorney. 

Links Mentioned In the Show:

 

Show Notes:

  • (01:39) Addressing online harassment and its ramifications: How the pandemic spurred about an entirely new service for their law firm
  • (04:04) An essential summer activity parents should require their children to do: audit their social media
  • (05:10) Playing detective: Why every parent needs to be vigilant in an ever-changing landscape that is social media 
  • (06:16) Why there’s no such thing as privacy in the digital age and parents need to act within the parameters of their control
  • (09:16) What both parents and children should be proactive about to avoid their college plans from becoming derailed
  • (10:32) Social media and college applications: how to tip the scale in your child’s behavior
  • (11:28)  Why you social media followers can be your worst enemy during college application
  • (13:19) How publishing your views on certain topics and issues on social media can have dire consequences
  • (16:19) Warning: Objects in pictures can be more incriminating than they appear. 
  • (17:19) Taboo photos and videos that no child should ever take in the first place
  • (18:51) Why sending nudes can send you to jail
  • (21:39) Approaches parents can utilize to initiate the conversation about the dangers of taking and engaging with nude photos 
  • (24:00) The first amendment and how it works in public and private schools
  • (26:32) Why parents need to have real conversations with their children about the code of conduct and school policies
  • (28:39) What would my employer think? Why students as well as adults need to consider their careers when publishing anything online 
  • (29:38)  Easy Rule of Thumb When Knowing What Not to Post 
  • (32:21) Maximizing social media to your child’s or your own advantage
  • (34:30) How to properly address and rectify social media mishaps

 

Transcript:

[00:00:00] Randy Rohde: Hi, this is Randy Rohde. Really excited to join Kristina and Susan, once again on Real Talk Conversations and Susan Stone, Kristina Supler from K J K Student and Athlete Defense. And today’s show we’re gonna really hit on a conversation topic I think is, uh, very timely, very important, especially in today’s environment.

[00:00:45] Randy Rohde: We’re gonna talk about social media and the impact that social media has on so many aspects of our lives, but specifically college students and post-college what that means. But before we start going down that avenue. Because this subject actually falls into this particular practice of your law firm reputation management.

[00:01:12] Randy Rohde: Both of you are highly experienced reputation management attorneys. Can you explain, first of all, what is that? What does that mean? Reputation management. And why did you decide that you wanted to pursue and offer that as a service in the area of law that you practice. 

[00:01:33] Susan Stone: Hi, Randy. It’s always awesome being with you because you ask the best questions.

[00:01:39] Susan Stone: I would say this aspect of being reputation management attorneys found Kristina and me. Ah, we were in the middle of the pandemic and everybody was glued to their computers. 

[00:01:53] Kristina Supler: And phones 

[00:01:54] Susan Stone: and phones and kids, obviously they weren’t going to school. They weren’t playing sports. They weren’t outside. They were living and breathing on their social media.

[00:02:06] Susan Stone: And all of a sudden we had a couple student discipline cases, especially with younger students where students would say, uh, make comments on their social media that were deemed threatening or racist. Or homophobic or anti harassing in some way. Yep. Harassing. And we had to deal with those discipline cases.

[00:02:28] Susan Stone: And at the same time we had people hiring us because their college acceptances were revoked because students were reporting to the college that a student was supposed to attend about some offensive social media and colleges were sending letters out saying. Sorry, not sorry. You are not welcome here in the fall.

[00:02:51] Susan Stone: From that Kristina and I went , we’ve gotta deal with this. And so from there, that aspect of our business was born.

[00:03:00] Kristina Supler: It it’s been interesting, Randy, the way it’s taken off also, I mean, We get calls from all over the country to help individuals to just wind up in, in sticky situations, let’s say because of unintentional, inadvertent, sometimes intentional and calculated comments and actions taken online.

[00:03:20] Kristina Supler: And it’s really remarkable. The ripple effect, one act in connection with social media the bigger implications. 

[00:03:26] Randy Rohde: You work with so many different age groups, but in your particular practice in working with title IX cases, both. So students, parents, professors, faculty members I guess right now, this particular kind of time of the year in the middle of summer here we are lot of different things, but it probably doesn’t matter what time of the year it is, but.

[00:03:49] Randy Rohde: When we’re thinking about social media right now, and we’re thinking about students and we’re saying, Hey, this could be a good time to clean up social media. Do students need to be mindful of this and what they post and how they post this information? 

[00:04:04] Susan Stone: So summer is the perfect time for parents to require their students to conduct a social media audit.

[00:04:14] Susan Stone: We think woo it’s summer, we can say, or do what we want on our phones and in our social media. But that couldn’t be further than the truth because that’s when people have more time to pay attention to other people. And what might be offensive to other people’s social media early on in our practice, we did a whole podcast on cancel culture.

[00:04:40] Susan Stone: And I think that cancel culture occurs in the summer more than any other time, because people are not busy with homework exams, extracurricular activities. So now that everybody’s a little bit more relaxed and I say, Have more time on their hands. It’s a good time to, for parents to say, I wanna see what’s on your Instagram.

[00:05:07] Susan Stone: I wanna see what’s on your TikTok and Kristina, wouldn’t you say every year we learned about a different chat room, a different app that we didn’t know existed, where people are talking, 

[00:05:17] Kristina Supler: oh, it’s amazing. The way the social media platforms evolve and expand and come in and out of popularity.

[00:05:26] Kristina Supler: You know, we tell parents of course, You must, must, must, must conduct a social media audit with your child, clean up the social media, but also be mindful of, you know, you gotta do a little bit of sleuthing because there’s the fake accounts, the accounts they don’t necessarily admit to you that they have.

[00:05:44] Kristina Supler: And it’s important to just poke around and know is it Instagram? Is it TikTok? Is it various chat rooms on discord. I mean, you name it Twitter. It, it’s interesting to see the certain types of speech sometimes in, in groups that form on different platforms. And so just cuz you have one child that might be really active on Instagram, let’s say another child might be more in the online chat rooms or TikTok.

[00:06:14] Randy Rohde: Go ahead, Susan, were you? 

[00:06:16] Susan Stone: Yeah, I wanna add to this, that the social media audit is what’s within the control of the parent. We had a really interesting case came in, was it a couple years ago, Kristina? About the one where the kid was with a group of friends feeling like. They were in a safe space, not knowing that some really offensive comments.

[00:06:40] Susan Stone: Do you remember that?

[00:06:41] Kristina Supler: I do. And that, gosh, that was a heartbreaking case for so many reasons. But, I think the, the long and short of it is, is. Students and adults, it’s actually a lesson for grownups as well. You never know when and how you’re being recorded. And then ultimately how that content will be distributed.

[00:06:59] Susan Stone: Yeah, let’s backtrack. So our listeners can gain some insight in this story. There was a situation where a bunch of friends were having a sleepover, very normal, correct. You know, That’s what students do. That’s what happened. And, uh, one student was making comments that was really meant for the friends who were there at this party, who I believe they thought they were with their besties, their BFFs, as they would call ’em. And not understanding that everything was being captured on a phone.

[00:07:37] Susan Stone: And later what was said was transmitted and it did lead to student discipline. It did, did lead to ostracization from other peers and it had a ripple effect. and it was sad because while the student should not have been making certain comments, we could debate that. Okay. But we’ve all behind closed doors when we were with people, maybe our spouse, maybe your boyfriend, maybe your girlfriend, maybe what you think is your best friend. Say things that are not meant for the public.

[00:08:08] Susan Stone: Well, look, well, I I’d like to say today nothing is private. So parents do the social media O audit, but you also have to say, is there anything else that was captured that you think you know about that we have to deal with?

[00:08:25] Susan Stone: Do we need to reach out to certain parents and say, Hey, can you have your student remove this from their phone? And you may not, that’s beyond your control, but you have to try. 

[00:08:34] Randy Rohde: Hmm. Hmm. That’s really great advice. I think a lot of times as a parent myself, I don’t think as much about, Hey, can I go and talk to other parents about, and can you do a looksie and see what was communicated or shared amongst friends of my kids.

[00:08:51] Randy Rohde: So you mentioned about a podcast that you had previously and another one that kind of pops up for me is one just a few episodes ago, actually about navigating college applications. Is this something meaning social media use and posts? Is this something that colleges are paying attention to now in their, I guess, selection processes?

[00:09:14] Randy Rohde: Have you seen this pop up more and more? 

[00:09:16] Kristina Supler: Oh, I’m so glad you’re asking that question, Randy. Because the answer is yes. And parents and students should understand that and be aware. We are seeing it with growing frequency where schools, high schools and colleges rescind acceptances, or maybe don’t offer admission because private school, private high schools to clarify.

[00:09:38] Kristina Supler: Yeah. Thank you. Important points. Because of contents that the student has posted online. It happens more often than one would think. And sometimes we’ve seen colleges, rescind acceptance just a few weeks before the school year’s supposed to start. And know, if you think about what’s going on in a household, the excitement leading up to your child, going off to college freshman year it’s such an exciting time.

[00:10:04] Kristina Supler: It’s a nerve-wracking time because there it’s such a change. It’s a transition time. And then to have the rug pulled out from under the students, so to speak at the final hour because of again, social media postings likes whatever. It’s devastating to the student. It causes a lot of turmoil.

[00:10:26] Kristina Supler: Decisions need to be made fast. Plans changed. And it really can jeopardize the student’s future. 

[00:10:32] Susan Stone: I also wanna refer back to that podcast. It was a great PCA. We spoke to DaVita AMR about the fact that colleges are going test optional. And should you take the SAT? Should you take the ACT look, it’s getting really competitive and it’s always been competitive to get into college.

[00:10:52] Susan Stone: The last thing a student needs when building an acceptance is. A horrible blight on their record. Mm-hmm because all things are equal. You have two 35s on an ACT, you have two captains of whatever sports teams. Both students have great grades. College admissions officers do look at social media.

[00:11:20] Susan Stone: And if there’s social media, that is not, appropriate. Well, who do you think they’re gonna take? 

[00:11:28] Kristina Supler: And I just wanna clarify or add, add to Susan’s point. I, I don’t at all have the sense that it’s these college admissions officers who are pseudo detectives, trolling the internet to get the aha.

[00:11:40] Kristina Supler: Gotcha. We don’t want you it’s to Susan’s point. It’s so competitive now. You have so many talented students out there. And so when all things are equal, what might tip the scale slightly in favor of one student or another, it might be social media, a and something else that we’ve encountered isn’t even the college admissions office.

[00:12:05] Kristina Supler: Actively searching the student’s social media, but rather Susan, do you remember that other case where it was ideal high school classmates who were tweeting at a college regarding an incoming student saying, basically take a look at this, take a look at this. You should be aware of this student and there.

[00:12:25] Kristina Supler: Really significant fallouts that unfolded. And that was because other students put the issue on the radar of the admissions office. 

[00:12:33] Susan Stone: It’s so easy to flag colleges today. It’s a tweet. 

[00:12:37] Randy Rohde: Yeah. Yeah. It’s so amazing. That is an amazing an astounding example that you gave because I was going through all different kinds of scenarios, who, who in a col in what college has any kinda manpower to like sit and stream through thousands of students, social media profiles. Right. It’s crazy because there’s these private groups, discord, telegram, all of this stuff that parents may not even be aware of, I’m thinking, but. The example that you gave is absolutely it’s the people who the students may know or have they have access to that can send out. Because accessibility is so, easy in today’s world through social media that, yeah, I, 

[00:13:19] Susan Stone: yeah, Randy, I really lean towards parents telling their kids to be very cautious about what they post. Yeah. Not to give you a war, another war story, because war stories can get so boring. And I know that lawyers love to give war stories, but we do remember that case that dealt with a student who thought that she was actually providing positive social media and it was completely perceived by the reader as being insensitive and perhaps even racist.

[00:13:51] Susan Stone: So. You know, be cautious when you’re telling your student, if you’re gonna take a position and there’s a lot of issues out there today to take a position that your message is going to be received in the way you intend the message. 

[00:14:09] Randy Rohde: Hmm. That, uh, well, that’s always a good life lesson, regardless whether on social media or not on social, um, So I you’ve seen a lot of different things.

[00:14:19] Randy Rohde: What are, is there a list in your mind, like of common issues that you may find. 

[00:14:27] Susan Stone: Well, we’re gonna give you a list and go back and forth on what you 

[00:14:30] Kristina Supler: think is important. Good. So something that comes to mind immediately be careful what you like a like is construed as an endorsement of a certain idea or concept.

[00:14:41] Kristina Supler: So thinking that something is funny, isn’t. And liking something because, oh, it’s funny. Not so to other readers in the audience, they might think that what you’ve liked are your own personal beliefs. Parents really need to talk to their kids about that. 

[00:14:56] Susan Stone: Be careful what you share and how you spread other people’s ideas around. That also can be viewed as an endorsement.

[00:15:08] Susan Stone: I wanna talk about a really important case that we had. 

[00:15:11] Kristina Supler: Another war story. You’re sharing another war story. 

[00:15:15] Susan Stone: You’re right. I’m sorry, but I’ve gotta share this. Yeah, I’ve gotta share this. We represented two young men who were accused of sexual assault, falsely. And it’s spread around through social media and a campus.

[00:15:29] Susan Stone: And in fact, they, the two young men went to a party and neither, Even really engaged at all with other students, much less committed sexual assault. It was all rumor and Kristina and I really launched complaints on behalf of our clients. And one of the areas of cross examination was. Well, you weren’t at the party, were you?

[00:15:53] Susan Stone: And many of the students that actually took part in unlawful dosing of the client and defamation all admitted that they hadn’t gone, but they heard. And I said, but you shared the information didn’t you with others. So I just wanna be cautious that just because you read something on social media, it doesn’t mean it’s true.

[00:16:15] Susan Stone: It doesn’t mean you should like it and it doesn’t mean you should share it. 

[00:16:19] Kristina Supler: Another tip that students, parents seem to speak with their students about really be mindful, not only of what you are saying or doing in whatever the post is, but what’s in the background. Right. So, oh, that’s 

[00:16:34] Susan Stone: good.

[00:16:35] Susan Stone: Yeah. I forgot that one. That’s why we keep her around. Right. Randy 

[00:16:39] Kristina Supler: We’ve. Had more and more than one occasion, let’s put it that way. You know, there can be an incriminating photo and the, and this person didn’t even really appreciate why it was incriminating because of what was in the background of the picture.

[00:16:52] Kristina Supler: People drinking, alcohol, underage, smoking marijuana, other substances, you name it or just in a place that they’re not supposed to be. Time and time again, students unknowingly incriminate themselves through their own pictures. 

[00:17:06] Susan Stone: Mm-hmm. I’m gonna direct something that mostly not always is a problem with, I would say younger boys around the middle school age.

[00:17:19] Susan Stone: No pictures holding toy guns. 

[00:17:22] Kristina Supler: Oh, that that’s a good one too. Oh, 

[00:17:24] Susan Stone: or bullets? Yeah, a SP . Yeah, especially today. That is a one way ticket to a suspension or a potential expulsion. I understandably school administrators are terrified of shootings as administrators should be. Sure. Sure. And so it is never well taken to post images with anything that could be perceived as.

[00:17:55] Susan Stone: Endorsing weapons and believe it or not every year we have kids who post pictures and they’re saying, but it was a toy. 

[00:18:07] Kristina Supler: It was a joke. Yeah. Another point really be thoughtful about what you film. And who you share it with? We’ve certainly seen on a regular basis as well, videos that were maybe sent privately or in a group chat that somehow end up plastered all over social media and on the internet and that content, oh, it can live forever.

[00:18:31] Kristina Supler: I mean, I won’t bore you with legal. Talk about the ways we can get content removed, but we have a lot of success in that realm. But it’s not guaranteed and some stuff on the internet really can live forever. 

[00:18:43] Susan Stone: So my law partners being super classy. Can I just state the obvious no nude pics?

[00:18:51] Susan Stone: okay. I really wanna say, just because you’re dating someone, if you are a minor, do not take and send a nude pic of yourself. 

[00:19:04] Randy Rohde: Don’t can we just be that 

[00:19:05] Susan Stone: blunt about this? 

[00:19:07] Randy Rohde: sure. Hey, we’re having a real conversation. Yes. 

[00:19:09] Kristina Supler: Real Talk with Susan and Kristina.

[00:19:11] Susan Stone: No nude pics. Kristina cut her teeth early on in her career in dealing with child pornography.

[00:19:20] Susan Stone: So I, I would love for you to talk about what are the repercussions of this. Yeah, 

[00:19:25] Kristina Supler: I think that it’s an important point, albeit unpleasant, of course. And in, on a more serious note child pornography, generally speaking, or sexually suggestive nude photos of anyone under the age of 18 and I’m speaking broadly, cuz of course every state and jurisdiction might have different iterations of the law.

[00:19:45] Kristina Supler: So it’s, it’s trading nude pictures among freshmen in high school, 15 year olds might technically be a violation of child pornography statutes. And we see these cases all the time and parents and the students are shocked. And I will tell you, it’s also, it’s a really, it’s a big mess for school administrators.

[00:20:10] Kristina Supler: The legal implications are very significant. It triggers criminal investigations. It’s it’s just a big. It’s a big mess. I don’t know how else to put it with very serious long-term implications that oftentimes it can even happen. And I wanna be really clear with both parties, consenting to trading, nude picks or videos or whatnot.

[00:20:32] Kristina Supler: But that doesn’t matter because inevitably we see stuff get passed on and boom, before you know it it’s all over the school and it’s just. Do not take nude photos, nude content don’t trade. And if someone sends it to you, delete it right away and say, I don’t want this, please. Don’t send this to me.

[00:20:51] Randy Rohde: All right. Good point. 

[00:20:52] Susan Stone: And do not send it to your buddies. Yeah, delete it. 

[00:20:57] Randy Rohde: I have a question. I don’t know. You may have more points in regards to about posting that you wanna share, but I wanna take a pause on that just for a second, because you’re, you mentioned something that I think as a parent really like, wow.

[00:21:10] Randy Rohde: You know, some of these conversations for parents can be very difficult. Like I’m just thinking in my son, do you have, have you been taking nude pictures of your girlfriend? Right? I mean, that’s not a an easy conversation necessarily to have, do you have some suggestions maybe? Having some of those difficult conversations in regards to social media and posting and that stuff that you could share for parents, how can you, how can you guide parents?

[00:21:39] Susan Stone: My mother used to say to me all the time “Better you cry than I cry.” And when is where’s it wisdom comes to the receipt of naked pictures or creating what is considered child pornography, parents have to be aware. They bought the phone, they pay for the phone, it’s their phone. And wouldn’t you rather be mean upfront and be overbearing and have the conversation.

[00:22:10] Susan Stone: This is not gonna be tolerated than have law enforcement knock on your door. I mean, Really frightening. And there are police units that monitor online behavior and look for people who have child pornography. 

[00:22:30] Kristina Supler: I think that one of the points that we encourage parents as we get this question a lot, right?

[00:22:35] Kristina Supler: So like we’re professionals. We’re lawyers in the trenches wrestling with these tough legal issues. Every day we talk about, we joke. We talk about sex all day, every day. So, oh my gosh. It’s like, okay, here we are. Again, whatever. We don’t even think twice about it, but Randy, you raise, you raise very good points.

[00:22:52] Kristina Supler: That many parents would be totally mortified or just. Intimidated by the cop topic, or maybe it just, the topic doesn’t fit within the family’s own, religious views, cultural, sensitivities, whatever. Because everyone has different. Different values in ways they handle things within their family.

[00:23:11] Kristina Supler: But a as a general matter, I think a way for parents to, to think about it, the topic and start to make some inroads with their children is to just come at it from a perspective in many respects of empathy, how would it make you feel if this happened to you? And so that way it’s not so much, are you doing this or you better not be, you know, it’s not accusatory or Basically inviting incrimination, but rather just encourage your child to start thinking about certain issues, these headaches, these war stories, Susan and I shared parents can use that and say, I listened to this podcast with these crazy women.

[00:23:51] Kristina Supler: I know you would never do this, but if this happened in your friend group, like what would you do? And sort of start the dialogue that way 

[00:24:00] Susan Stone: I, I wanna add to this, that. There’s a difference between speech that has first amendment protections, just because you’re allowed to say something. Doesn’t mean, you should say something and doesn’t mean there can’t be repercussions, especially with regard to private institutions.

[00:24:22] Susan Stone: And that is where we get a lot of confusion from parents. So for example, Brandy, lovey. Okay. Famous United States Supreme court case. Young girl didn’t make the cheerleading team and went on her social media, basically saying F the school F everything F cheerleading and the United States Supreme court said she had the right to say this and the school did not have the right to suspend her.

[00:24:51] Susan Stone: Now that is true. A public school cannot.

[00:25:00] Susan Stone: If we think back to a famous case that the tinker case that was where students wore arm bands, protesting the Vietnam war. There’s famous Supreme court language that students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech at the schoolhouse gate. Students have first amendment right in public schools.

[00:25:24] Susan Stone: Let’s all agree, because that’s just true. What happens if a student goes to a private school. There is no first amendment protection at a private high school. So we get calls all the time where students get expelled for similar speech F this teacher. And we say, and they say, but we have a first amendment.

[00:25:45] Kristina Supler: My child was just exercising his first amendment right. Her first amendment right. Sure. They shouldn’t have maybe said that, but it’s this is, it’s just the constitution. This is America. We say, well, so 

[00:25:57] Randy Rohde: you’re saying they rescind those rights. Once they decide to go to a private institution.

[00:26:02] Susan Stone: When you go to a private institution, you have to pay close attention to the school’s policy.

[00:26:09] Susan Stone: And so certain speech that would be protected in a public institution, a public high school, a public college don’t have the same protections at a private institution. So Brandy levy may be able to in a public school, say F the cheerleading coach. but in a private setting that might be a ticket to a discipline, 

[00:26:32] Kristina Supler: Which reminds me again, this is something perhaps a little tedious and annoying, kids aren’t gonna like this, but some are particularly for rising freshmen, whether it’s high school or college, it’s a good opportunity for parents to talk to their child about just understanding what a code of conduct is, what a student handbook is and how the student has to follow those rules. 

[00:26:57] Kristina Supler: And look, I love that Kristina says approach it with empathy because in a perfect world, that is the right way to do it.

[00:27:05] Susan Stone: But I would say to parents, you know, your kid, you know, the right way to approach your student, but especially students and even wonderful straight A students who are excellent at school students get wonky in those first relationships. So that’s where you have to have the conversation. I know you love this person, and I know that’s very real today, but you cannot show your love by sending naked pictures or 

[00:27:35] Susan Stone: receiving.

[00:27:37] Kristina Supler: Yeah, I guess I would say I, I agree with Susan’s point know your kid, but I’m also going to push back in the sense that time. And again, Time. And again, we, my child wouldn’t do that. Oh, oh, that’s the kid up the streets. That’s that naughty neighbor. So, and so that’s the kids at the public school and you, the private school doesn’t have these issues and I’m telling you, the minute you exclude a certain group of kids, type of student, whatever you’re wrong, it is gonna be that.

[00:28:10] Kristina Supler: So parents take the blinders off. It absolutely could be your kid who would do the thing that you find. So unimaginable. 

[00:28:20] Randy Rohde: So I wanna open back up the door in regards to the posting advice. So you, you already gave probably 4, 5, 6 really great suggestions any additional on your list. 

[00:28:35] Susan Stone: Well common sense.

[00:28:36] Kristina Supler: Yeah. Okay. At the end of the day, common sense. 

[00:28:39] Susan Stone: Just use good, common sense on what you wanna post. And you know, this isn’t just for students. This is just good sense advice for everybody. 

[00:28:48] Kristina Supler: Because then look beyond college, or even in the middle of college, as students are thinking more about career planning and the employment context, prospective employers are probably in this day and age is gonna plug you into Google, search your name in the various platforms. And so again, think about how it could also impact employment stuff. And so to that end, think about also parents should talk to their students about privacy settings. Mm. That that’s kind of a tip that occurred to me.

[00:29:15] Kristina Supler: We didn’t mention.

[00:29:15] Susan Stone: Oh, that’s a good one. Yeah. KWS. Privacy settings that is really important. You know, just not everything needs to be out there in the public eye. Not every picture of yourself on vacation needs to be shared. 

[00:29:31] Kristina Supler: Your friends might tag you untag yourself. If it’s, someplace, maybe not the most flattering

[00:29:38] Susan Stone: Yeah. Let’s talk about that. Spring break, summer break you’re at the beach, you know, not everything you. Guzzling alcohol facing a bong. Whipping off that top of a bathing suit, not everything is meant for the public eye. So that’s where I say common sense. Mm-hmm 

[00:30:03] Randy Rohde: I, I, I have to throw this out because my wife and I have talked about this a number of times and seeing what parents.

[00:30:11] Randy Rohde: Post in regard. Oh, I know to pick and my wife would be like all of a sudden throw scream post did. Yes. My wife’s throwing out. Like, I can’t believe this mom is posting this picture of her 14 year old daughter out there and likes and very revealing swim scene. I’m like, wow. And I’m like, yeah. Uh, that’s crazy.

[00:30:34] Susan Stone: um, well look, we are all body positive. And we want everybody to have fun and everybody does love to share pictures of their children and the good times of family. And, and I’m not going to draw those lines. That is a parenting choice and a parenting decision, but certain lines we’re gonna draw. Nothing naked.

[00:30:54] Susan Stone: Right. And what is naked? Let’s define that. Okay. Breasts, buttocks, penises, and vagina. There you have it guys. . What about the fifth part?

[00:31:15] Randy Rohde: I crack myself. Oh, we got it. We got it all. Hey, this is Real Talk, right? excited. We got it. Um, 

[00:31:24] Susan Stone: This is why I work with her every day.

[00:31:27] Randy Rohde: Yes . So you mentioned this and you, you touched on, so you’ve given great tips and you brought this up and I. I wanna see if you wanna elaborate on this at all. So all of this certainly is great for prospective college students.

[00:31:43] Randy Rohde: Current students in schools, whether almost any grade level But you also mention job seekers, cuz I would think that a lot of this stuff is especially critical because if you are one of ten five candidates for a particular position in a company, that number is far fewer than the thousands that may be applying for admission into a college or into a private school.

[00:32:09] Randy Rohde: I would imagine they certainly would be out looking at social profiles for this. 

[00:32:15] Susan Stone: And by the way, your social media can also help you. Mm. 

[00:32:19] Kristina Supler: You know? Oh, that’s a great point. Yeah.

[00:32:21] Susan Stone: I just wanna talk about the good usages. Yeah. Do catch your child doing something wonderful. 

[00:32:28] Kristina Supler: Yeah, actually, I’m so glad you said that, Susan, that that’s excellent because we, you know, we’ve spent a good chunk of time now talking about the perils of social media, the don’t and how dangerous and scary it can be and how it can change the trajectory of a student’s future.

[00:32:43] Kristina Supler: But a lot of positive things can be communicated through social media as well. And so again, that’s why it’s so important for parents to just encourage their children, to be thoughtful and mindful about what they post, because it’s not all bad. You can really showcase all of your positive activities and involvement and portray yourself in a really, really important way for whatever a goal might be that you’re trying to accomplish.

[00:33:10] Susan Stone: And there’s a lot of really important issues today out there. And I think that the world needs the youth of today to advocate for whatever position that they’re taking. There are so many things going on in the world, whether it’s the war in Ukraine, the environment. And so this is a chance for students to explore their own voice.

[00:33:34] Susan Stone: And so I’m not saying that you should stifle good speech, because there’s so many important things that we want students to be engaging in. Right. And talking about, but make sure it’s a position and make sure it’s done well and well articulated. It’s a good opportunity to show how thoughtful a student is.

[00:33:58] Randy Rohde: Right, right. Really good points. And as you, and I think rightfully so when you’re talking about social media reputation, there’s obviously. downside or negative side of that and the potential implications, but also very much so a positive side and what that can do in positioning you as a human being, as an individual.

[00:34:22] Randy Rohde: As we begin to kinda wind this down, anything that we missed or anything that you’d like to add that we haven’t discussed. 

[00:34:30] Susan Stone: The only thing that I would add, and I really want Kristina’s input in this is if something happens, don’t panic, remove the social media and try to do some reputation repair.

[00:34:46] Susan Stone: If a student needs to apologize, I would say apologize quick and early. Yeah, 

[00:34:52] Kristina Supler: an apology can go a long way to repair a situation. We’ve done a lot of work over the years, assisting students and professionals with drafting, these apologies and you know, it’s, it is the, the reputation management piece to assist with getting content removed drafting, apologies, and then just communicating.

[00:35:14] Kristina Supler: Messaging about a certain sticky issue. And again, we don’t have to get into all the legal ticky tacky stuff, but there are ways we can fight and work and navigate to get stuff removed. So not all hope is lost. Good. 

[00:35:29] Randy Rohde: Good. As always so fun to talk with you and about the incredible world that you navigate in.

[00:35:36] Randy Rohde: And I just wanna tell the listeners, let them know we’ll have, great detailed show notes and links to go connect with Susan and Kristina. But you can find them at student defense. Do. K J k.com. And they are spectacular extraordinary title IX attorneys at K JK student and athlete defense and always so fun.

[00:36:01] Randy Rohde: And thank you so much for sharing, I think and having a conversation about a very important topic today in today’s world. 

[00:36:08] Kristina Supler: It’s a pleasure, Randy. Thank you. 

[00:36:10] Susan Stone: Till we meet again. 

[00:36:11] Randy Rohde: Till we meet again and have another Real Talk Conversation, always fun. All right. Thank you ladies.