How To Protect The Vulnerable On Social Media
Social media has had a huge impact on the way we communicate and has seen a massive increase in use. Although helping millions, it can be used to cause damage to people too. Exploitation, identity theft and harassment are some of the unfortunate things that can happen to some, and even the vulnerable, on social media.
Because of these risks, online moderators are there to help and protect the vulnerable on social media platforms. But are DBS Checks necessary in this case?
In this article we will be covering what type of experience, safeguarding and checks should be put in place for these online platforms.
Social Media
Social media could be an app, website or communication channel that lets people share and create content. Popular social media platforms include Facebook and Facebook Messenger, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Snapchat. The type of content could include pictures, text posts, blogging statuses, Videos, GIFs and personal messages.
There are hundreds of risks created by the large array of platforms and so monitoring it is an important task.
The risks of social media
Young or vulnerable people could potentially be exposed to content with negative intent, even though most are positive. Some of the risks could include: exploitation, harassment, personal information being shared, and many others.
However, there are many things that can be put in place to ensure a person’s safety on a platform. These include enforcing privacy settings, being aware of vulnerable people in your care and what they are doing online, and keeping and sending evidence of harassment to moderators or operators. Some other ways are to remind others to keep passwords safe, treat others as you’d like to be treated, do not interact with strangers, and be extremely careful about meeting in real life with people who you have met online.
Social media platforms’ safeguarding policies can make sure that there are privacy settings being used for said vulnerable person. However we return to the question of, are DBS Checks necessary in this case?
DBS Checks for online platforms
On certain occasions it may be appropriate to do a DBS Check for being a moderator, for example: someone could get a DBS Check if they are moderating a platform often. There are certain rules of these checks and they can change according to the platforms users:
- If it is a children’s site, they should get an Enhanced DBS Check that checks against the children’s barred list.
- If it is a site specifically for vulnerable adults they can apply for an Enhanced DBS Check that does not check the barred list.
Summary – protecting the vulnerable online
One of the crucial parts of social media is to ensure safety online, just as much as safety is ensured offline. The responsibility should lie equally between users, guardians and social media operators.
If you want to find out more about safeguarding and protecting the vulnerable on social media or you have any questions about DBS checks, then get in touch today.