Having such an unusual last name (if you type my last name into Facebook, I'm related to most of the Canadian ones), I'm easy to find on the internet. No John Smith here. When I clicked over to take a look at what images would pop up, it was surprising to see how many classmates show up. I'm assuming it profile pictures from a shared group? There were random pictures from my Pinterest account- which I'm not grateful that I made a secret folder for the Pins that I find funny, but might be considered inappropriate by some.
I think it is critical to teach digital citizenship to our students and practice it ourselves. This was/is a new problem and I remember feeling when I was 18 or 19 that I shouldn't have to censor myself and should be able to put anything up there (at that point, Facebook was just heating up and it was used just by the young ones), but that's just not true. The internet is a public and global society. I really liked the video we watched earlier in the semester that showcased the girls posting an irremovable picture of herself on a local bulletin board. It is almost literally (save the digital aspect) the exact same thing as going down to the Brodie Building and posting a picture of yourself doing <insert inappropriate activity> and it staying up there forever. The internet is not your journal, it is not a private conversation between you and your friends, it is a public forum. You can and will be found.
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