After reading the Wired article for this week's class, I fixated on Internet privacy for several hours. There are stories everywhere about security breaches and leaks of private information. The recent iPad e-mail list springs to mind.
So with supposedly secure information getting out, it doesn't really surprise me that Generation M is less concerned about their privacy. The attitude is one of "the information is out there anyway." Frightening stuff.
Focusing solely on user provided information, teens need to be more aware of what they put out there and how it is used by both targeting advertisers and future employers. This past year when I worked for a publication division of a marketing and fundraising corporation, our department hired 25 interns, and everyone helped interview. When we looked at applications, we got their names and looked for them on Facebook. While we brought people in to interview regardless of their Facebook profiles, we did make notes about their public information and no doubt subconsciously considered those notes during the interview process. Other companies might not be so circumspect, and throw applications out when the profile picture is one of an underage kid drinking straight from a vodka bottle. Granted, that example is rather extreme, but that's exactly what we saw in some cases.
Generation M's tendency to be constantly connected presents problems as well in the gossip department. Rumors already diffuse quickly in large groups of teens, the internet has made this process much more deadly. The information, true or not, is stamped digitally and impossible to fully erase. Reminding students that they have a responsibility to keep themselves safe online will hopefully increase their likelihood to be careful about what information they provide.
More on life later,
~Ren
I'm seeing a recurring theme here among a lot of our posts. We all seem concerned about internet privacy, and our duty to inform our students of the sensitive nature of digital information. The story you shared about using facebook profiles in job interviews is one I've heard before, and it really is a good example of digital lives going too far.
ReplyDeleteAll this makes me think to the idea presented in the article of the dichotomy between our real and digital lives, and the ways our generation often blurs the line between the two. I think we might be well served to teach our students about maintaining a difference between those worlds. Encouraging things like web handles is a good way to help students make a distinction between who they are on the internet, and who they really are. I think we've seen some of this with people using different names on Facebook and such. I think that's a good idea, and one we should relay to our students.
My fear with the non-chalant attitude of some of Gen M is that (and their general developmental state) is that no matter what we say or demonstrate or do, we're not going to reach some of these kids. It will take some catastrophic event (cyberbullying comes to mind) in order for them to realize the implications of what they share and to alter their mindset about privacy that goes beyond Facebook's notion of it.
ReplyDeleteYou raise an important point that one's Internet profile might not *consciously* affect our perceptions of potential employees, but they subconsciously do.
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