TN99 Social media+ guidelines

These notes were first published on this website in April 2017 and last updated in March 2023

Synopsis

Social media are mainstream in the world but not yet in many churches. Some are wary of the inherent dangers so these notes present best practice guidelines that any church could use as a starting point for the production of their own set.

Social media sites include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, YouTube, Snapchat, LinkedIn; but Wikipedia lists over 250 of them.

The notes include a short introduction to social media and associated means of communication such as email, blogs and texting and then suggest a simple set of guidelines under the following headings.

1. Scope
2. Responsibility of all church members
3. Young people and vulnerable adults
4. Parental permission for young people’s work
5. Use of particular social media with young people (Facebook, Twitter, Other)
6. Skype, Zoom and young people
7. Emails to young people
8. Texting and mobile use with young people

Larger churches may already have detailed guidelines in place. These are designed for those just starting off on the use of social media platforms and related means of communication.

These notes have been updated in March 2023 with minor amendments throughout the text and some reformatting.