A program that connects the community with needy students continues its outreach tonight with a panel discussion that brings parents and guardians up to speed on what their children could be doing via social media.

As part of the Bright Futures USA initiative, a program that connects local businesses, faith-based organizations and residents via social media to meet specific needs of students in the school system, a Social Savvy Night will be held at P.S. Jones Middle School at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The panel discussion, put together through a partnership between Bright Futures and John Small Elementary School PTA, will give parents, grandparents and other guardians a better understanding of the ins and outs of social media their children may be using, said Robin McKeithan, assistant director at Washington-Beaufort Chamber of Commerce.

The event will also educate attendees about the positive and negative factors in using social media, as well as the ramifications their children may face through using social media negatively, McKeithan said. The event will also feature a list of speakers that will present the information through several different topics.

“The whole idea is some of these grandparents and parents don’t know what kids are doing with social media,” McKeithan said. “It’s more to educate (parents and grandparents) so they know what their kids are doing because they might not know how to check on what their kids are doing. It’s going to show them how to use that to keep their kids safe.”

McKeithan said among the speakers that will present information at the discussion include: Paul Huggins, who works in the technology department with Beaufort County School, will go over popular social media apps that teens and tweens use today; Sergeant Walt Zerniak, school resource officer supervisor with BCS, will talk about the legal issues involved with social media like cyber bullying and other issues; Megan Jernigan, a counselor at Southside High School, will be talking about how often schools are dealing with students having issues with social media; and Rhonda Cardinale, licensed psychological associate and child therapist, will talk about the self esteem impact of social media, according to McKeithan.

Currently, counselors and resource officers in the BCS system are dealing with issues spawning from social media on a daily basis, McKeithan said. Digital footprints left by social media users could affect their future outlook in regard to college entrance and employment if the social media is used negatively, McKeithan said. Laws that are currently going through legislation could cause social media users to be criminally charged for its negative use, something McKeithan says a lot of kids don’t know about. Even if social media content is deleted, it can still be found through Internet searches, McKeithan said.

“We just want to stress to parents and grandparents that their children’s digital footprint can affect their future,” McKeithan said. “Employers and colleges are looking at all these things. I think if parents and grandparents in the community, as a whole, are more aware, more people will be talking to their students and educating them about how social media can affect their future.”

McKeithan said this event is the first in more to come. This fall, an event will be held at Washington High School to educate students on social media, how it can be used positively and negatively and how negative use of it can be detrimental to their future.

“Someone said to me in the meeting the other day, ‘What (students and kids) are doing on social media — their digital footprint is their resume for their future,’” McKeithan said. “Students need to know what they post right now can affect their future.”