Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,

Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Ask, are all part of our modern world. Some have been around for a period of time, some are new. Facebook was founded in 2004 instantly making founder Mark Zuckerberg a multi millionaire (by now I’m sure he’s a multi billionaire).

Initially it limited access to Harvard University students, then it admitted other local universities and high schools and since 2006, anyone who is at least 13 years old, is allowed to become a user of the site. By March this year it officially had 1.44 billion users.

Social media has many positive aspects to it. It enables people separated by huge geographical distances to communicate in a multimedia and often instant forum.

It allows people to share important milestones instantly with all of their friends. Me with my first hole in one, me with my first trout, me at George’s 75th birthday. But it can mean that rather than living the moment we are intent on sharing the moment and recording the moment. Much like the tourist intent on photographing the bird in the tree, there is a danger of not seeing the forest. Social media is a fact of the modern world. It has an age limit of 13 years for good reasons. Positive things can be shared and so can negative. Younger people are more likely to be affected by negative comments.

Please remember, after your child turns 13, if they want to use social media, to monitor their usage and ensure that you are aware of any inappropriate use.

Social media, like all technology, is a tool that was built to complete a task. Used wisely it can work well.

Have a great week

Mike Brosnahan

Principal