Fretz warns students about the dangers of Vine

Francesca BillingtonStaff WriterPrincipal Laurel Fretz drew mixed reactions from students when she warned of the dangers of Vine, a video social networking application, in a recent email to parents on May 3.Vine enables users to upload a six second video, and allows anyone to view the video and a user’s profile. Unlike other social networking sites such as Facebook or Instagram, users do not have the choice of making the videos they post private.The email sent to parents and students warned of the negative effects of posting inappropriate videos, including trouble with the law and Samo.According to World History teacher and coach Douglas Kim, students are using the application without considering possible consequences.“Students are taking videos of themselves doing things that parents or administrators would not want to see,” Kim said. “The problem with Vine is that it is a public domain, and although it can be a good tool, you have to be smart with how you use it.”According to Fretz, students may be sharing video content with themes such as alcohol, tobacco and profanity.Fretz said that although many of the videos posted are safe, students and parents should be aware of the application.“The majority of the videos that we’ve seen are harmless, however, we recognize that students are already making or watching videos of a sexual nature or videos that glorify violence or drug [and] alcohol use,” Fretz said.Thomas Lin (’15) said that although he agrees that Vine should be used with caution, students should be allowed to use it as they wish.“Vine is a really unique and creative social networking site,” Lin said.  “However, I don’t think the school should [be able to] get students in trouble for posting things on Vine, especially if those things don’t occur on campus.”Sophia Horwitz-Hirsch (’14), however, agrees with Kim that students must be aware of what they share on the internet.“I think people should realize that once you publish something on any social networking site or app, it will always be accessible,” Horwitz-Hirsch said. “People should be able to post whatever they want, but they should keep in mind that it could potentially be seen by someone they wouldn’t want to have it seen by.”fbillington@thesamohi.com