As a parent of a young teenage girl, I find myself very cautious with regards to protecting her identity online. I would try my best to slow her migration into the cyber universe as much as possible. A big reason for my over-protective tendency is due to a scary story my colleague shared with me regarding her daughter and the teen social media site Instagram. She was thirteen years old and had been quite active socializing with friends using her Instagram account. One day a friend informed her that she tried visiting her Instagram page only to find her page contained inappropriate photos, rude images, and nasty insults directed at friends and teachers, all apparently posted to my colleague's daughter. She was horrified. It turns out, her original page still existed but a second one had been created using a shortened version of her name. Not knowing what to do, she did the only thing that made sense and that was to tell her parents. My colleague phoned the police who ordered Instagram to take down the postings and provide information on who had done this. It turns out it was a couple of boys in her school and that they were just doing it as a joke.
My daughter was only ten at the time this Instagram nightmare took place. I was somewhat relieved that I wouldn't have to live this Internet nightmare for a few years, but I swore I would protect my daughter by keeping her exposure to social networking to a minimum.
She is now a teenager and I am really feeling the pressure of a young teen's unyielding need to communicate with her friends via the Internet. I had no issue with texting and emailing friends. It was posting private information on a public forum that I objected to. She promised she would be careful and she claimed all her friends were given permission from their parents. At the time, I was taking Part I of Information and Computer Technology in Instruction, and decided to ask my instructor for his opinion. He was the technology consultant for the Toronto Catholic District School Board and I knew he would be well aware of the potential danger in what my daughter wanted to do online. I was stunned when he gave me his answer. Not only did he think it was a good thing for my daughter to be doing, he actually told me she needed to start doing it at her age. He told me it was important for her to begin creating an online presence (in a positive way). He believed that today's student must work hard to establish their digital footprint during their years in school. This would act as an online resume for potential employment in the future. He believes that traditional paper resumes will no longer exist, and that employers will evaluate a person's suitability for a job from the Internet, based on that person's digital footprint. I totally had to rethink the way I regarded the Internet as a portal for invading my children's privacy, and look at it as a way for them to establish an online identity.
It reminds me about what Will Richardson was talking about in his presentation on Personal Learning Networks. He gave an example of a 17 year old student by the name of Mark Klassen, who is a cinematographer. Mark has created his own website displaying all his work and it served as his online portfolio. This would be a very impressive digital footprint for anyone in the film industry considering hiring Mark for a job with their film company.
I have completely changed my view of of the Internet as a dangerous invasion of privacy. Now I can understand the value in allowing my daughter to gain the early experience of establishing a digital footprint. However, it has to be done properly. For every student who is working to create a positive online presence, I am certain there are hundreds that are ruining theirs. Teenagers, like my daughter, through uploading videos, digital images or posts on online forums are leaving a trail of potentially damaging personal information about themselves that is available for others to see.
Hi James,
ReplyDeleteI completely with your need to protect your daughter as I also feel the need to protect my children from the Internet and the ideologies associated with some social media such as Instagram and Facebook. The cyber bullying issue is so real and 24-7 or our kids...
As a teacher, these same ideas are also present daily. We want to instill these same ideas in our students in order to ensure that they also have a digital footprint that they can be proud of and will only help not hinder their growing values and lives as they graduate.
Valuable story, Thank you!
Tracy
I have a hard time deciding who should take on the bigger role in this need to protect young people from the Internet. Is it predominantly the responsibility of the parents, or should the onus be on the school system? I understand that it will take a two part approach but I wonder if some parents just assume that the schools will take care of safeguarding the students from the dangers of the Internet. I have to believe that is a dangerous position for parents to take. They must be on top of protectionist measure themselves.
ReplyDeleteJames Campbell