It’s a 24/7 world and helping adults better understand the impact of the digital age on their lives is the goal of a group of local teens hosting a public information session at South Portland High School next week.

The session on digital citizenship, which is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 16, will be led by a panel of 12 teens – four from the high school and eight from South Portland’s two middle schools, according to Sarah Glatz, the technology integrator at Memorial Middle School.

Glatz said the outreach to parents and other community members regarding the use of digital media by youth is the combined effort of the technology integrators in the South Portland schools, including Erin Davies and the high school and Steve Koelker at Mahoney Middle.

The goal of the panel is to “raise awareness about the breadth and frequency of teen social media use, the role it plays in the lives of students and to bring to light common misconceptions that parents may have about the importance and/or impact that digital communication has on kids,” Glatz said.

“We hope that parents will leave with a better understanding of what is important to kids,” she added. “Digital citizenship is a big deal. With the world at their fingertips, we want students to use (these) tools safely, appropriately and productively.”

In addition, Glatz said, “It is our hope that the student panelists can share honestly, not only about those things that may be unpleasant about social media, but also about the positive value that social media brings to their lives, the thinking behind their choices, their strategies for managing distraction and misconceptions that adults may have about their digital lives.”

Glatz said the teen panelists include those that “have very active digital social lives, as well as some that barely use social media at all.”

Overall the goal is to give parents and others a snapshot of how and why youth use digital media.

She said the student panelists would answer pre-selected questions, as well as field a few from audience members. The topics include a typical day in the life of students, their thoughts about social media and their experiences, both positive and negative.

Other topics may include time management, family rules regarding social media use, sexting and online bullying, Glatz said. There will also be time at the end for families to get information about resources for helping kids stay safe and appropriate online.

Glatz said the technology integrators at the schools “are closely tied to teachers and students and their use of computers,” and “it is one of our highest priorities to promote good digital citizenship.”

According to Common Sense Media, an online resource designed to help kids thrive in a world of digital media and technology, “kids today spend over 50 hours of screen time every week” accessing online data from social media to completing homework assignments and more.

“The media content (our kids) consume and create has a profound impact on their social, emotional, cognitive and physical development,” the Common Sense Media website states, which is why “learning how to use media and technology wisely is an essential skill for life and learning in the 21st century.”

Glatz said in preparing for the upcoming digital citizenship session she and the other organizers drew directly from Common Sense Media’s connecting families page.

The page is specifically designed to help “parents and kids address important topics and have meaningful conversations about making great choices in their digital lives,” according to Common Sense Media.

And Glatz said one of the suggestions is for schools or community groups to hold a teen panel in order to “get (young people) talking about their perspectives on the digital world.”

Her hope from the session is “that adults will have a better understanding of the importance of the digital lives of kids. Hopefully, parents will (also) leave with some realistic expectations, something positive about social media and a handful of resources for further reading.”