Does your child have the YOLO app add-on for Snapchat?

If so, this is what you need to know…

1. YOLO is a free add-on feature for Snapchat—when users connect YOLO to their accounts, they can add a sticker to their Snapchat Story that invites their followers to give them feedback or ask them questions anonymously.

2. We have begun to have issues with this app at RCMS.  Students are receiving messages that are very inappropriate for this age group.  We have no way of determining who is sending these anonymous messages. 

Please check with your child to see if they are using this app and continue to research how the app works.  If you don’t feel it is appropriate for your child then you might want to consider having your child remove this app from their device. 

 

Has your child been introduced to e-cigarettes and could they be using them?

 

This is what we need to know…

1. They have many names, e-cigarettes, vapes, and JUULs.  These devices come in many shapes and sizes, are battery powered, and they deliver nicotine and flavoring in the form of an aerosol.  They are very discrete and easy for adults to miss if we don’t know what we are looking for. The JUULs specifically can easily be missed as they look like a USB flash drive.  

2. Nicotine exposure during adolescence can cause harm to the still developing brain.  The aerosol also contains harmful chemicals that are found in car exhaust, heavy metals, and can lead to lung cancer.  Many of our students believe that e-cigarettes are not as harmful as smoking traditional cigarettes. No matter how nicotine is delivered, it is very harmful and addictive.

3. These devices have become very prevalent in our schools.  Student buy them from each other or even share them. The smoke they put off is very discrete and smells fruity which makes it hard to detect.

 

Talk to your child about the exposure they have had to e-cigarettes and help in the fight to make students aware of the risks involved.  

 

For more information about e-cigarettes:

 

https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/default.htm

https://delawarehealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/JUUL-Info-Flyer.pdf

 

 

 

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Does your middle school aged student have a Snapchat account?

 

   If so, these are some things you might need to know…

 

1. Due to Snaps disappearing, Snapchat has become the chosen platform for children and young people to send sexually explicit images.  The recipient of these messages can easily screenshot or record these images and share them with others. Possession of explicit images of someone under the age of 18 is a crime.

2. MY EYES ONLY: this is a feature within Snapchat that allows your child to hide their memories in an area that requires a passcode for viewing.  So, even if you are attempting to monitor your child's Snapchat activity you may be missing the content they have saved under MY EYES ONLY!!

3. Snapchat also has a page for ads.  The problem with these ads is that they often contain information that is sexual in content and very inappropriate for your teens and pre-teens to be viewing.  

4. Snapchat may also be exposing your child's location to anyone who they have accepted as a friend.

 

We suggest that you talk to your child about their snapchat usage, the dangers of sexting, and other aspects of their social media presence.