As the use of social media increases, so does the abuse. Snaptrends, a location-based social media monitoring system, is being used around the world by schools, corporations, and even law enforcement. Recently in the United States, some school districts are using it as a source of information for potential threats, student/campus/athletics safety , truancy, cheating, cyber-bullying, underage substance abuse and sales, and so much more.

Orange County Schools, as of May 28, 2014, is an example. They recognized that a lot of people abuse social media for substance abuse, suicide threats, and potential school threats. While this is only within the school’s perimeter, they say that within just two weeks of its use, they were able to prevent someone from committing suicide. The school paid $14,000 to Snaptrends for just one year, the high price is due to the high cost of maintenance. They say they will likely continue to use it.

While many people may view this as useful, some students and parents believe that it is an invasion of privacy, because posts are usually meant for friends and family.

“When my son posts all that garbage, he’s posting it for everyone to see, including the school. If Jobs can use it against him, so should schools,” said one parent who prefers to remain anonymous.

Some people use social media as a way to express how they feel while most will not actually act on that. Over the web, it’s much easier to say terrible things or threaten to do something. A possible complication that could occur with monitoring what people post is how to determine a threat from a joke.

After a short man-on-the-street survey, students said they use social media on a daily basis, such as snapchat, facebook, and instagram, while on campus.

“The possible benefits of using it to keep school safe are definitely worth it. Personally I just wouldn’t use my phone as much,” said Austin Valdetero, a junior at Cherry Creek High school.

Cherry Creek School District is not currently, nor have any plans to use it in the near future. Most schools throughout the US are not using Snaptrends, but more could follow in the footsteps of Orange County School District. Social media could turn into a deterrent for cheating or even to people who want to harm a school or its students. A possible side-effect could be a drop in use of cellphones at school all together.