Youth outreach helps with securing social identity

by: Laura Bruck, VP of Marketing at EZ Shield Fraud Protection

With the pervasive presence and engaging nature of social media, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if your organization has implemented social media as part of its strategy. There are endless capabilities to connect, but so are the privacy concerns. The risks are especially high among those most adept with liking, tweeting and tagging — teenagers.With 81% of teens using at least one form of social media, EZShield recognized an educational need in our local youth community.

On July 30, EZShield partnered with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Harford County to present “Protecting Your Social Identity.” We knew the club’s youth leaders would get an eye-opening lesson in social media security, but didn’t anticipate how much insight on the importance of education EZShield would get in return.

The audience of 13 to 16-year-olds was ideal due to their high propensity to use social networks. It was also an excellent opportunity to influence these teens before they reach the peak age of identity theft — 18 to 24.

Highlighting how hacking, malware, phishing or simply over-sharing could compromise personal information, stressed the importance of privacy-settings and site-specific concerns.

Actively engaging the group in question and answer encouraged valuable interaction. Some youth leaders admitted to sharing too much information online, which was especially clear for one attendee who acknowledging using 12 different social accounts.

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