WOW! Today’s guest lecturer, Jesse Miller, gave me a lot to think about when it comes to my online presence and digital footprint. Fortunately I grew up with my Dad in tech who gave me the low-down of what to post/not to post etc. My Mom was always iffy on me being introduced to social media, but my Dad was all for it, and we used the argument that I could connect with my extended family more easily around Canada-which was true! Although I absolutely recollect becoming mildly addicted and being limited on my time at our family desktop computer, over the years I feel as though I have developed a healthier relationship with the tech world and how to utilize it to my advantage.
After attending today’s lecture, I have never been more grateful that my Grandparents were my first Facebook friends. In hindsight, it almost provided a kind of auto-censor on what I posted online. Anything I posted in my middle-school angst that was at all deemed ‘inappropriate’ by my extended family was immediately reported to my parents. Fortunately my grandparents were pretty chill and I was a (mostly) well-behaved kid. The only thing that remains from those days are some pretty embarrassing quotes and music videos that my friends and I made. Luckily, to be a teacher you need to have thick skin, so that kind of embarrassment is doable.
Video: Video by cottonbro from Pexels
Audio: Internet Archive uploaded by chaos12135
Regardless of having a general idea of the permanency of a digital footprint and data storage by big companies, I (like many others) probably would have been more mindful with what I posted in the past. Was I too immature to have access to social media at such a young age? Probably. Do I regret it? Not really. My main love for the socials has been the ability to connect with family and friends, especially those I am not able to talk to everyday. Although I have pondered the negative aspects on social media and tech (especially on the influence of youth using photoshop and affecting body image etc.), I do think that this technology is an inevitable part of our social structure, so the focus should now be on how we use it and how we teach our children to use it. After Jesse Miller’s lecture, I did go through my Instagram and chose to delete a photo taken at an ABC party several years ago. My Instagram is private and the photo wasn’t anything particularly incriminating, but it is also not worth dealing with an aggravated parent or to have anyone question my credibility teaching kids. This was a good reminder; however, to integrate some more mindfulness into my social presence online.
So how can I help my future learners manage their digital footprints? I remember when I was in school, admin/educators used the fear-based approach where all they talked about were predators on the internet. Although this is incredibly important to raise awareness about, I don’t think this idea alone helps students develop a healthy relationship with technology. Students should not fear technology, but accompanying the positives, they should also be encouraged to question the things they see on the internet, and especially any strangers they come into contact with. Students should be made aware that having private accounts and security are important for their social media, which requires shifting the ideology that likes/followers/influencer culture is not all it’s cracked up to be. Not to mention that most of it is fake anyways. A good way I think this can be integrated is by teaching children how to critically think and analyze. In the past, questioning has been taboo because children were always supposed to believe adults, but that is not reality anymore! Students should be encourage to think critically and question things. Obtaining these skills will hopefully transfer to be used while using technology and social media.
Googling myself was a crazy interesting task to do. I have a common name, so searching just my name isn’t interesting. When I searched my name and added ‘UVic’ all of a sudden my work in a sustainable project done on campus in 2019 resurfaced. I had completely forgotten that ‘Break Up with your Paper Cup’ day made the news-pretty cool! Nothing else has really come up other than my high school alumni list, but I should have some factsheets being published with the UVic history department, so I might have some more academic things related to my googled name. I hope I can keep it that way!
Thank you for stopping by! Please feel free to leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts!
Ms. J
Hi Jamie! I really enjoyed reading your post and your thoughts about last week’s topic on digital footprints and what it means to be a citizen online. Your early experiences on social media are so relateable. Although I kind of wished I had some monitoring of my activities online like you did, I am glad all my angsty, cringy posts from the days of my childhood, I was able to delete, ha-ha.
Your discussion makes me think about how a unit on digital literacy in upper elementary grades could really incorporate BC’s thinking core competency. Jesse’s talk really inspired me to not only think critically about our online presence, but also how critical thinking skills are crucial and neccessary when we navigate the online world. I was especially reminded of one of the profiles under the critical and reflective thinking category:
“I can examine evidence from various perspectives to analyze and make well-supported judgments about and interpretations of complex issues”. I can totally see you weaving in these thinking skills into a lesson or unit on digital footprints! It would make a really cool middle school project and I bet will stir up really thoughtful conversations with your future students one day.
That’s so neat you found a photo from your previous work with UVic! I googled myself too. For the most part, apparently I am a type of whiskey brand (ha), and not much else comes up other than work information when you add Victoria BC to my name. Also, John Mulaney is hilarious! Thanks for sharing insightful post!
Sandy