Cox Communication, a subsidiary of the Cox Enterprises , Inc. is celebrated their entrepreneurial spirit by conducting their 5th National Teen Summit along with the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) . The Cox Teen Summit discussion focused on what do your online posts and pictures really say about you. The Summit focused on Digital Reputations Management which included issues regarding online safety on the 15th of June in Washington, D.C. It brought together teens from across the country to discuss a wide range of online safety issues including cyberbulling, sexting and the potential long-term impact of social media posts on the digital reputation. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is a national clearing house that examines cybercrimes and Internet child pornography for the government.
Guest panellist and well-known social media expert , James Andrews along with “America’s Most Wanted” host and children’s advocate John Walsh led the discussion at the event. In conjunction with the Summit, Cox and NCMEC released the results of their annual survey during the event that showcased the key changes and trends in the online behaviour of teens over the past five years. The last survey paid particular interest to teen’s comprehension of the potential long-term consequences of social media communications for their digital reputation. The results revealed that 85 % of teens now have mobile phones, 85 % now have a social network profile and about 30 % are not concerned and do not think there will be consequences for what they post online and about 50 % don’t really screen who looks at their profile (i.e they have never met the people who are looking at their posts).
Cox Communication streamed the Teen Summit live over the Internet for the first time which encouraged online participants such as child advocates and mother bloggers to join the dialogue on Twitter using the hash tag #cox4teensafety. This initiative of The National Teen Summit on online safety issues is a part of the Coxs Communication’s ‘ Take Charge !’ initiative which helps not only the preteens and teens but also their parents and guardians to make smarter media decisions.
NOTE: This article is part of the the Socially Responsible Article series that the bloggers on Techvorm have taken interest in. You can read the previous article of this series here.