Today in our EDCI 336 class, we had a Jesse Miller come in and discuss the role of the teacher in internet safety. It was interesting to see somebody lay out the internet, how it has changed over time, how access has affected youth (for better and worse), and how the teachers play into it all.
One of my main takeaways was that as teachers, or as a “safe adult” in general, we play a crucial role in creating an open environment to allow children to discuss what is going on in their lives as it pertains to the internet. To some degree, we will not be able to control the way that youth interact with the web. But, we can control the information we provide them and whether or not we make it feel safe and acceptable for them to come to us when they need.
Another takeaway was his dialogue about what teachers should do as professionals when you may see a young person in a corner of the internet they should not be. His example was that if you saw a minor who was your student sneak into a bar with a fake ID you would have an ethical duty to report it. So, if you see a young person in a age-gated portion of the internet your response should match that. Risky behavior in the online world can have the same real world consequences.
Me, Online
Part of our talk today was to Google ourselves. To be completely honest, I was surprised at how little I found. I can remember Googling myself three or four years ago and a ton came up. But, two years ago when I quit digital advertising as a career I also quit a lot of socially media channels. That content is now less accessible on the web. There are still lots of websites and photo results for me, especially from my days working in advertising or doing sports in high school, but there is a lot less.
That activity really made me feel better about my social media use. I can remember that before I deleted most of my social networking channels – Snapchat, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp – I was nervous that the FOMO would take over and turn into actually missing out or not getting invited to things. But, as it turns out, the people who wanted to reach me could still reach me and all was well. I am not sure that this experience would be universal though. For a lot of young people, missing out online translates into missing out in real life, because for some of them their online lives are no less real than their physicals lives. Especially in the world of TikTok where students may not understand references or know songs that culturally important without it, I could see how these channels are a critical place to gain social capital. This is where I have to remind myself that my experience is not necessarily universal and I should not project what I believe onto my students.
The Footprint that We All Leave Behind
Education needs to be done on digital footprints, so that students can understand how technology will play in as life goes on and technology changes. To help children learn how to manage their digital footprint, I think that we need to start from a place of teaching them that whether they decide it or not a footprint will exist. What goes online is forever and you may not be the only person who posts things that include you. From this can come the conversation of consent, what you would want someone to ask before they post and about you and vice versa. Additionally, we should discuss the idea of what is private, semi-private, and public and how to control those settings on different platforms. Another key point would be to ensure that children can identify an adult who is literate in technology to provide them advice and guidance. Not all adults understand technology, so not all adults may be the best to go to when it comes to things that arise pertaining to navigating the web.
Our goal shouldn’t be to limit or advocate for technology when it comes to our students. I believe our goal should be to provide guidelines for using the internet safely, understand how social media works, and make informed decisions about what they go on to post and share on the web.