Care and Keeping of your Digital Tattoo

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No matter the age of the online user, I am always amazed at the lack of knowledge around how users share content online and what they choose to make private and public.  I remember when I first started using Facebook and had a public page.  It wasn’t until my husband was looking at the page and commented that anyone can see what I put up on my wall that I reconsidered my settings and decided to close my page to “friends only”.  As a parent, I was instantly aware of the fact that I was offering up information about my children complete with birthdays, school and activities and photos that could identify them on the web.  It was a wake up call. 

The Reality

Like most people who use social media and engage in online content sharing, I still think to myself, “What am I worried about?  It isn’t like someone is going to stalk my kids or take their picture and use it without permission.”  But a little voice inside my head says, “It isn’t impossible.”  I feel like this is the message that we need to put out there to students.  Is it likely that you will not get into the college or university of your choice because of a photo on a wall somewhere on Facebook or Instagram?  What are the chances that the semi-innocent photo you took on the beach last summer will end up on the internet somewhere that you don’t want it too?  Can the content that is online about you be misconstrued?  Is it necessary to educate students about the dangers of not managing their online digital tattoo?  YES.

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Having the Talk

So this brings up an interesting question: what kind of discussion do we engage in with students and at what age do we start?  I think that there is a definite need to be candid with as many real world examples as possible and to soften this discussion with remembering the digital responsibility and online etiquette message that students have been engaging in with their librarian and technology teachers since they took their first footsteps onto the internet.  I don’t think it is necessary to scare kids…they need to be apart of the digital and social media world.  It is where they will learn, work and play. I do; however, think that we need to have this conversation, and before they’re fully engaged in it.  Lets not wait till high school or even junior high.  They will make mistakes and they need to know that it is all right if they do and the steps they need to take to minimize potential damage.   Kids are remarkably savvy.  They get it.  If you tell them why it is necessary, they will care.

What I think is a tough part of this issue is the illusion of control.  Once you enter the arena of social media and content sharing, or someone you know does (like friends, family, people from your past, just about anyone you know with a digital camera) you kind of forfeit your control.  You can ask people not to post your picture or tag you, but it isn’t a guarantee.  All you or students can do is be aware and cognizant of what is online about yourself and know that the worst that can happen isn’t likely, just possible.