DPS expands

Katie Schumacher, founder of the Don’t Press Send campaign, is working to continue her educational quest by instilling the importance of kind and careful online communication in young minds.

This year, the DPS campaign took an exciting leap forward and launched its very own app. More than 450 Student Athletes from LIU CW Post downloaded the app as a part of the DPS presentation, setting a positive example for students who will follow in their footsteps.

The app, which is now available to everyone on the app store for free, is easy to navigate and gives students a constant reminder of the DPS message. This development proves that, if used correctly, technology can be a useful tool for sharing positive knowledge and fostering a safe and respectful online community. Schumacher hopes that those who download the app will be better educated about the pitfalls of social media. This includes public humiliation, regret, over-attachment to devices, voyeuristic behavior and narcissistic tendencies.

For students who are just being introduced to technology, this will stimulate a healthy relationship from the onset. For older students, for whom social media is already an active part of their lives, it will help them reevaluate their usage and make some positive reform.

Since the birth of DPS, Schumacher has visited 33 schools and promoted her cause through 80 presentations across Long Island. For the third year, South Side Middle School has invited her to inform the new 6th grade parents and students of the potential situations they may be exposed to in the upcoming years. Appropriate digital behavior is critical to those who use their screen as a mask and are unaware of the repercussions that come with lack of face-to-face confrontations.

The Don’t Press Send app is only a spring board for future ideas. Schumacher has recently completed her first book, which aims to help parents and educators safeguard children from prospective virtual problems.