Week 3 - Online Presence

 (September 7th)

This week our class has been encouraged to look at our online presence and "digital footprint". The following readings/articles have really made me have a second think about what people can see about me publicly online.

Article link here: Your Digital Footprint
This article makes us think about what personal information is shared online. How many people can see your full name, address, email address, phone number, birth date, photos, text, personal opinions, any thing you say online? This article also challenges you to google yourself. What information or photos come up? How much information about you is public to anyone and everyone? I have been encouraged to change some of my privacy settings on social media accounts and re-think what photos and media I am posting publicly.

Article link here: 8 Steps To Remove Your Digital Footprint
This article simply gives you step by step tips and guides on how to control your privacy settings on various social media accounts. Again, it challenges us to google ourselves to see what information is out there. We are encouraged to keep our settings private so we know who is viewing our posted information.

Article link here: Protecting Privacy on Social Networking Sites
This article recognizes young people sharing their information online; specifically on social networking sites. I was surprised to find out that a survey done by Oxford Internet Surveys discovered 95% of young teens aged 14 years and older have checked, and are aware of their privacy settings on social media. It suggests that most young people are more safety cautious online than we think. 

Personal reflection:
These articles have really challenged me to have a look at my personal social media accounts. Due to running teen camps twice a year, and photographing various stage plays/performances, I often have photo albums public on my personal Facebook account so the community and people involved who I may not be friends with can still see the photos. Today I spent a decent hour going through each of my photo albums on Facebook re-checking which ones were private and which ones were personal. It is important to make sure that the things you want to stay private and between your family and friends stay that way and are not public to anyone who can search for them.

Another thing that made me think is that I have one public Twitter account, two public Instagram accounts, one public YouTube account, and one personal public Blog. While I am aware that these accounts are public, it has made me question whether I truly understand the larger scale of putting these photos and media online for the whole world to see. I constantly google myself so I am aware of what information is shown publicly. If I do not like it, I go and change my privacy settings. When you google my name, I am aware that various photos from my Twitter and Instagram accounts come up. The link to my personal blog is also in the first top 10 search responses.  This means I must constantly be aware of what I am posting because anyone can see it. I am always cautious of my personal information being private and I am careful of what words, comments, or opinions I am voicing online. 

Yesterday I also took some time to watch the move "Cyberbully" (directed by Ben Chanan, 2015). In this movie, a girls laptop is hacked and over taken by an anonymous user. The hacker gets into all of her social media accounts and starts posting mean comments under her name. The hacker also takes control of her phone, laptop video webcam, and microphone so he can communicate with her, and watch her every move. It is revealed that the girl was a cyber bully herself after setting up an account with a fake name to make fun of other people. While the hacker in this movie was not revealed, the girl was able to see the harsh reality and consequences of her mean words and actions online. It also made me think some more about how easy it is for people to view information about you online. We must be aware of our online presence and the consequences that come with sharing personal information, photos, and opinions online with the rest of the world.

I believe as teachers, we should be made aware of all this information, especially if we are using technology with children. Teachers must be able to promote safety online and know the consequences of sharing information anywhere online. This has given me a lot to think about and I hope I can pass this safety knowledge onto other people.


- Renee O'Sullivan