A new social media trend is spreading with college students returning home from school for winter break. 

The #kickdoorchallenge is spreading on TikTok and other social media sites. In this challenge, users give two hard kicks to a closed door to the beat of a popular song. 

This trend has been seen on college campuses in dorms since November and local authorities around the country are starting to get reports of this type of activity in neighborhoods.

Read today’s blog “What Parents Need to Know About the Kick Door Challenge” and learn how to talk with your older students about social media behavior while they are at home (and lessons to take back to school with them in the new year). 

Do you have 15 minutes during winter break to take the SmartSocial Social Media and Cell Phone agreement course WITH your students?  

If your kids have an internet-connected device (or will be getting one this holiday season) and/or have access to social media this course is for YOU! 

This course can cover family agreements for many types of devices:

• Cell phones (with data or “dummy phones” that operate only on wifi)
• Tablets
• E-readers
• Computers
• Chromebooks
• Internet-connected gaming devices (for example Xbox, Playstation, even the Meta Virtual Reality Gaming System)  
• Social media accounts (like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.)

This course will be available to only VIP members again in January, but in December it’s free to everyone. You chose what rules the agreement covers with our suggestions of what to discuss as a family.  

(Yes, even those college-aged students could benefit from some reminders while they are home.)

• The 7 most popular challenges other districts/schools are facing
• 5 critical priorities districts/schools are focusing on
• 7 hurdles districts/schools need to overcome to fix social media issues
• 2-way incident reporting tools you can use to interact with students and listen to your campus
• How to work with parents to get ahead of social media issues
• 5+ social media safety issues educators are facing
• How bullying can go wrong & how to help students report issues early
• The impact social media has on student mental health
• How to reduce negative social media posts and help a student to build a positive online presence
• How to protect your school’s online brand in the event something goes wrong
• What often goes wrong in schools, and how to fix it
• Setting goals for what success looks like for your social media landscape
• How to build a group of students who will be your eyes and ears on campus (and online)
• Work with students to implement a system they have ownership of and will be happy to use

• New Instagram safety tools: Have you seen a difference?
• “Delete that tweet”: When was the last time you scrubbed your old social media? Do all your “memories” accurately reflect your ideas today? How do you help your students do this? 
• Apple Screen Time settings: Do you have a story of screen time challenges that Apple Screen Time settings helped remedy?