I have three sons with different online habits. My oldest was banned from the military installation we lived on because of a Facebook post of underage drinking. He now rarely uses Facebook, only Snapchat. My middle son is a computer science major and is constantly warning us of our online behavior consequences. He hates Apple and was using WhatsApp for its encryption service. We considered him slightly paranoid when he ditched his smartphone for a classic Nokia candy bar phone. But when I noticed odd ads on my Facebook feed, he claimed they had access to my credit card purchases. When 'Googled', these two men show no footprint.
My youngest son was not brought up with a smartphone and had become very anxious of social media. Then he became a musician and was told he needed to expand his social media presence. That resulted in a photo shoot and global sharing of his music online. I follow him on Instagram and he is definitely ...'out there'.
I managed to avoid the whole social media scene for years while I lived and worked abroad. Then one day a friend of a friend suggested I should start a travel blog. Before I knew it I was hooked. I had few views (most in Russia), but lots of positive comments. When I got a job as a Media Specialist I was told that I must do much more to both promote myself online, and to follow current tech trends through podcasts, twitter and professional collaboration. On the other hand, I am also told to teach my students to do exactly the opposite: they must keep a low profile, respect privacy and copyright.
This sudden self-exposure to the online digital world had me feeling quite smug about the North Star Digital Literacy assessment. To my surprise, I failed. The areas I need to work on include the importance and consequences of a digital footprint, and the use of cookies. I realize that I have only just scratched the surface of what is really happening. I started expanding my awareness through the readings and some Youtube videos.
4 Reasons to care about your digital footprint (published by The Internet Society) gave me many more than four reasons to be concerned about privacy and unethical handling of our personal information online. At this point I started to get concerned and join my middle son in his approach to minimizing our digital footprint. Then I listened to
Rethinking Digital Citizenship published by ISTE (2018) where Richard Culatta redefines the importance of a digital footprint. He says that technology should be used to make our community better and to connect with others respectfully. Instead of focusing on the dangers, we should be doing good and posting kindness.
This reminded me of a project I involved my elementary students in last February. I suggested they make a Valentine's card using ABCYa Paint. They naturally wanted to hand these out, but I was reluctant to run my printer dry with their messages and suggested they email them. They loved the idea, and sent them all over the school. Teachers and principals were inundated, and friends sent encouraging notes to each other digitally. I then showed them how to save these to the screensavers of the computers in the lab.
And what if someone took an image they didn't create and sent it on? The more sharing the better.
My students and I had stumbled upon the "remix" mentality described by Doug Belshaw in
The Essential Elements of Digital Literacies TEDx. He illustrated this using memes. Memes use other peoples images and ideas to create a new message. The "Hacker Ethic" believes that information and tools should be free in order to provide users with the means to create solutions in the digital world. Do I really need to go out and take my own photograph if I can more easily find an image online? Not necessarily, if I am not going to use that image for my monetary gain, but to better the world we live in. Students need to understand this more than they need to understand copyright laws. And as easily as they find an image online, others will be able to find their ideas and images as well.
Not long ago, I posted this photo on my travel blog during a visit to Croatia. Without my knowledge, a local artist downloaded and edited the photo, adding a comment about hobbits. This was then shared by a friend on Facebook. I was immediately offended that my photo was "stolen" without giving me credit for the photo. Looking back, I realize that, unless I am a photographer trying to increase my professional recognition, it is really a nonissue. If my intent of publishing the original photo, was to provide others with the viewing pleasure, then it served its purpose. The artist enhanced this purpose.
In conclusion, I think it best to compare our digital footprint to gardening. We all have digital space and opportunity to 'grow' information online. We have a choice in what we 'seed'. I should know not to seed 'weeds' because they will not bring me or anyone else benefit. So I choose to seed 'produce' that will feed me and my neighbors, or improve the quality of our lives. If I intend to make my 'garden' a business, then I need to make sure I produce what others want, expand if necessary, and deliver it to them ethically. That being, all gardeners must look out for 'critters' that will steal or consume our produce. There are ways of safeguarding our product from theft and misuse. It is not necessary to become so alarmed that we dig up the garden and pave it over with concrete. It is possible to have a healthy 'garden'.
I will continue to work on creating a healthy online digital presence for both myself and my elementary students.
