Viewpoint School’s Community Media & Technology Guidelines
Primary, Lower and Middle School
These guidelines are a resource for our parents/guardians to help families stay safe and set limits with outside-of-school media and technology use. They give parents/guardians an opportunity to set certain media safety rules with the knowledge that a majority of families in our community are doing the same.
These guidelines were created in partnership with Common Sense Media, the Organization for Social Media Safety, peer independent schools, family focus groups, and Viewpoint School parents. The guidelines reflect the most current thinking and research around youth, media, and technology.
Community media guidelines are voluntary. These guidelines are not Viewpoint School policy, and they do not replace the role of the family as the primary decision-maker for how children use media and technology at home. Families’ decisions on technology and media usage will be respected. However, the School’s administration will address online misbehavior that impacts the community or violates Viewpoint School’s Student Code of Conduct.
Viewpoint School’s educators provide guidance to students and parents to support the maintenance of a positive school environment for all, both online and offline. Through our academic, social-emotional, and parent education programs, families are taught tools for safety and self-empowerment, including:
● Using lessons, demonstrations, and role-plays to develop technological and emotional intelligence skills
● Emphasizing cybersafety, including safe and appropriate use of media technologies
● Helping students to understand the dynamics and consequences of bullying and cyberbullying
● Enhancing students’ skills for engaging in healthy relationships and respectful communications
● Engaging students in a safe, supportive school environment that honors and is respectful of diversity and individuality
Please note that our community media technology guidelines are intended to be the baseline recommendations. Some families will make the determination that their children need additional limitations and rules to stay safe and healthy when it comes to media use.
Viewpoint School’s Community Media & Technology Guidelines
It is recommended that Primary, Lower and Middle School parents and guardians...
…discuss family rules around media use regularly, as a family, revisiting these rules each trimester or semester.
Resources: Common Sense Media Family Agreement
...discuss media literacy regularly and coach your child in mindful media reflection.
Resources: What is media literacy?
...review and/or preview all media, apps, and games a child uses or requests.
Resources: Common Sense Media Reviews; Common Sense Media Video Library
...use and charge media devices outside of a child’s bedroom, in a communal area.
... store or silence all family cell phones and tablets during dinner time or family time activities.
...end screen time for children 30-60 min before bedtime, and avoid screen time before school.
...delay giving a child a smartphone as long as possible, waiting until a device is necessary. You might consider sixth grade, at
the earliest. Wait Until Eighth is an initiative we support. When a smartphone is necessary, the school recommends
parents/guardians carefully limit what apps a child can access on the smartphone.
Resources: When to Get Your Child a Cellphone; Phones w/o web access or apps: Gabb; Pinwheel
...set limits on screen time, in order to balance online and offline activities in a child’s life.
-Encourage the use of digital tools that empower children to create media, not just consume it. (i.e. digital design, coding, storytelling, typing, and
movie-making tools) Resources: Web-Based Tools
...do not allow children below age 13 access to social media apps such as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, What’s App,
etc.
...filter search results in web browsers a child uses. Resources: Filter Explicit Results Using SafeSearch
...closely monitor a child’s use of YouTube or other streaming video services.
Ask about what your child is watching and, when possible, watch with your child.
When possible, keep devices in a communal area, without headphones.
If available, enable "Safety Mode" or filtering software on web browsers: How to Turn On Safety Mode
Turn off autoplay: How To Turn Off Autoplay
...do not tag photos of, or otherwise publicly identify, any Viewpoint student under the age of 18 on social media without
authorization of a parent or guardian.
...review the content on a child’s device regularly, physically taking the device to examine it, using a piece of software to monitor
it, and/or having regular conversations with your child about technology and media consumption.
Resources: Free: Screen Time (iOS) Digital WellBeing (Android)
Read: A Parent's Guide to Internet Filtering Software for more information.
Additional Resources:
The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory: Social Media and Youth Mental Health (2023)
Common Sense Media: Digital Wellness: Understanding Your Child’s Emotions and Mental Health
When should I give my child access to social media? How do social media algorithms work and when should I worry? Listen for timely, empathetic, and actionable advice that can help parents and caregivers build self-awareness and agency in their kids around social media.
Fort: What Social Media Does to Your Child and What You Can Do to Help
Four mental health experts discuss the latest research on the link between social media and mental health. Listen to practical strategies to help you set healthy boundaries, maintain a strong bond with your child, and foster their resilience and self-esteem.