Creating a Digital Footprint with Social Media
With all of the recent stories on the morning news
programs, I feel compelled to blog about social media, especially Facebook. I am very interested in reading about any
issues that relate to Digital Citizenship or creating or adding to one’s
digital footprint. Everyone I know has
Facebook and they keep asking why I am not on Facebook. I am very torn about the decision. I do not want to publicize my life publicly
but I do like keeping in touch with what is going on with my family and
friends. I can see how an individual could
spend a great deal of time on Facebook. I don’t have that kind of time to spend
surfing Facebook or any other social media outlet.
The other topic that needs to be addressed with college
students (I mention this group because I work with college students) is what
they post on social media outlets. I am
amazed at what some students deem appropriate to post for the world to see. I wonder if they realize that what is being posted
is out there for everyone to see even if it is private. I really feel that a class or workshop should
be built into a freshman curriculum to teach students about proper netiquette,
how social media outlets work, privacy rights and posting. The key thing to remember is that students in
college are getting ready to start careers and what they post today could hurt their
chances of getting that dream job. Facebook
was a topic that Richardson devoted time to in his book that we read for
class. Once a post or pictures are
posted, that digital footprint is created for everyone to view for eternity! As a
test, Google yourself and see what your footprint says about you.
Should I cave and join Facebook to connect with family
and friends?
What are your thoughts or ideas about educating students on
safe and proper social media usage?
Cave and join! It sounds like you've given a lot of thought to what you would and would not feel comfortable sharing, so maybe join and just check in every now and then? Then you'll get the family/friends updates without having to devote too much time to it.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that kids need way more education regarding digital citizenship. I really think it needs to start in grade school and get revisited every year. Impulsive, naive kids + unrestricted access to the internet can be a really bad combination for so many reasons.
I cancelled my FB account. I used it for a few years and had a bad run in with the family member of an ex, and cancelled it once before. Recently I cancelled it because of the privacy issues (FB changing their policies and continually making it harder to remain private). I had an old friend who had posted photos of my wedding as if she were my professional photographer (she wasn't) and neither she nor FB would take them down. The family that I kept in touch with I realized I knew about their tv watching habits but nothing like what I would know if we actually talked on the phone or email. So, I cancelled my account again about 2 months ago (the day before I found out I was pregnant, actually). My husband, and most of my family still use it. I miss some of the time-wasting functions, but the REAL friends I want to keep in touch with, I make myself find more meaningful ways of contacting, and the others also have my email, and my cell number - they can text me, or leave me a message, same as they could before, they can't just "like" my status and move on.
ReplyDeleteIf you've NEVER used it, you may enjoy it - you know enough to be careful and to protect yourself. Personally, I won't support platforms or technologies that I feel are two-faced (short of Microsoft Windows, because I use a PC and Linux isn't broad enough to game on...)
I've rambled enough in your comments. It can be fun, and you'll find people you forgot you knew. But it's hard to quit, like smoking. You'll still have cravings, even when you'd rather cut off your hand, than log in...
That is the great question especially for those of us in our 40's. On one hand, participating in Facebook would have benefits in terms of staying in touch with friends and family who reside in other parts of the country. It is also, from what I understand, a great tool to reconnect with old friends we have lost touch with. On the other hand, there is the issue of privacy and the digital footprint that we leave. Also, there are too many examples of teachers losing their jobs over things they have posted on social media. I was at a conference last fall and attended a workshop on this whole issue. The advice of the attorney who gave the workshop was that it was far more prudent to be safer than sorry and said teachers should avoid having a Facebook account. He shared numerous examples of teacher's accounts being tampered with and photos spread around the web which were taken out of context. Great post!
ReplyDelete