I have given lots of thought to my use of social media over the years and what conclusions I previously arrived at have been changed by taking this class. No longer am I a ghost on social media. Jeff's advice of creating social media accounts for yourself so that students don't make one for you and get you in trouble was what ultimately changed my mind. Creating them is in fact a privacy check and keeps you out of trouble. I used to think all social media was a trap, but no longer feel this way.
My previous notions of seeing just the highlights of social media on people's accounts and feeling bad about your life have been switched around. Social media is a great way to stay in contact with people and keep up with their lives. As my mental health has improved I've become more resilient to seeing others "great lives" and been able to understand that someone's perfectly curated social media account is in fact an in accurate representation of their life.
I've also learned how to make all of my accounts private so that my students can't find or follow me on social media and get me in trouble. I will also avoid posting anything political, inappropriate, or anything suspect. In fact, I don't really plan on posting much. If someone does a search of me they will likely see the same photo on all my accounts, my basketball records, and chess records. This is now fine with me.
I still have some desire for my privacy to remain intact, so I will post rarely and only use the twitter hashtags to stay in contact with my students and peers to gain valuable insight on best teaching practices.I've learned that pure privacy does not really exist in the 21st century, but there are precautions you can take and paradoxically creating accounts can actually ensure your privacy. This is a total paradigm shift and one that has blown my mind. Thanks for the advice and change of perspective, Jeff!
Hi Erik ... it's true - pure privacy doesn't exist anymore. There are even more tracks on the Internet which are not visible to us easily. What can we do? Let's be very intentional with social media. What digital footprint do we want to have? I think it was also Jeff who asked: "What does it tell about a person if there is no digital footprint at all? Do I even want to hire this person?" It's all about being digital sovereign.
ReplyDeleteYES to all of it. Know it, use it, don't use it, I don't care...just know it's out there and remember...you are going into a public profession, you are now a public person. That is a good thing and a bad thing......learning how to manage it, thinking through it...that's what is important. And remember our job is to teach the next generation about it as well.
ReplyDeleteThis right here:
"I've become more resilient to seeing others "great lives" and been able to understand that someone's perfectly curated social media account is in fact an in accurate representation of their life."
Made my day....we all need to understand this about social media. There is a reason by depression is at an all time high among those over 50 and at the same time those over 50 spend more time on Facebook than any other generation. Problem #1 they do not get nor have they learned what you wrote. That quote....I say all the time in parent workshops and it's mind-blowing....if you tech just that to your students they'll be so much farther down the road of life....teach what you learn, learn what you teach.