Bill Frank, a 17 year-old High School student and Senior Chaplain at Lake Highland Prep in Orlando, FL has decided to take on cleaning up social networks with his friends and hopes to spread the word to 1 Million students across the country before he graduates in May 2010.

“I decided to start TheSocialPledge.com because I realized that teens have to start watching what they post – when you post something it’s there forever.  Teens – you have to watch what you say!  You have your future ahead of yourself and many employers, college admission offices, not to mention your mom, are going to read your pages.  When they do that, they can read what your friends are posting.   Salacious photos, sarcastic but moronic gestures,  foul language – all of it -  is going to be read by anyone visiting your page and seeing what your “friends” are posting.”

I’ve been embarrassed by it, yet I knew I couldn’t UN-FRIEND a friend and just prayed that someone in my family wasn’t on my facebook that day till it slipped down in the posts.   What was I going to do?  Call a “friend” and say your suggestive photographs are way out of line?  Call her mom?  Tell a buddy that a four letter response to losing a football game is gonna look bad on my page?  It’s embarrassing and kids don’t talk come out and chastise each other like that.  So, I  figured that if I were to create a REMINDER of some sort that wasn’t dumb I could share the REMINDER with others  – so that’s why I started The Social Pledge.  It’s not cool to un-friend somebody but I want to make a difference.  I don’t put it on my pages and shouldn’t have to withstand it from “friends “.  It’s just too uncomfortable.”

“When you sign the pledge, it means that you have decided that you would not put profanity – or inappropriate pictures -  on your social pages, and by putting the logo on your site – it says to others that you will not tolerate them doing it either.  It can be a subtle way of letting a friend know by privately sending a logo to him or just sending her a message you are a member of  TheSocialPledge.com and not feel like you are ratting on a friend.”

Bill Frank wants other teens to help each other and support each other rather than doing it by yourself…. and it may prevent problems happening in the future.

We all see people on facebook using profanity, posting raunchy pictures and we all know our moms would kill us if they see some of the stuff that is posted.  Further, I have potential college admission offices, employers, not to mention my aunts and uncles and little cousins seeing what they are writing.  Yet it feels stupid to say to another friend, “hey don’t write things like that on facebook” because there is no easy way to point out to them that what they are posting is unacceptable.  So, by designing a logo & pledge, asking them to sign it, and share the logo, it becomes a reminder to others, to keep it clean on their social pages.

‘We are all keenly aware of the troubles that Carrie Prejean had recently with her past and that just further illustrates my point: what you post can come back to haunt you”.   Bill Frank hopes that by asking other teens to sign the pledge, it can act as a constant reminder to keep it clean on their social pages.

Bill is excited that several local media outlets, like Fox, Local Channel 13 and ABC have picked up the story as have some family radio stations.  Those who have covered his story are quite impressed by Bill’s initiative to make a difference and their news coverage is helping to spread the word.  These videos can be seen on his website.  He soon will be writing to expand the content and blogging and hopes to get others in on the discussion.  Many of the comments he has received thus far from teens and adults as far away as California are also posted on his website.

Bill is hoping that the National Press and TV will become interested as well.   By doing so, they will be helping teens as well. He is also hoping to have One Million students take the pledge by graduation this spring.  People may sign The Social Pledge by visiting the website or for more information, please e-mail: info @ thesocialpledge.com

Bill Frank, Senior, Class of 2010

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