The phrase “digital tattoos” is much more relevant these days than “digital footprint”. The reason is, that digital tattoos last forever. Kids (and adults) need to understand that what they post online has a lasting effect. A couple of years ago, I dug into my personal digital tattoo on a data mine. This was a great way for me to see what is out there on the internet about me. While I’m sure most of this is the same with some additions, I decided to think about my digital tattoo in a different way. I wanted to look carefully into the privacy settings for one of my current social medias, Pinterest. Pinterest is a social media that I often forget about. While I am very active on there to save things for myself for the future, I do not often use it to interact with others. Unlike Facebook and Instagram, I do not use the direct messaging feature and I don’t even “follow” any of my friends. That being said, I do re-pin things often to remember them in the future. Because I use Pinterest to re-pin, I know that I have a digital tattoo on there. I also know that I have not spent much time “locking down” the settings for this social media because I often forget that’s what it is- another social media! I have always had a very private Facebook and Instagram account, and this was the first time I’ve really dug deep into my Pinterest settings. I decided to make an infographic detailing all of the privacy and security options that Pinterest has listed under “settings” in hopes of helping someone else who like me, forgets about Pinterest.
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Privacy settings are important for both kids and adults to understand. It is important for adults with children to understand the different privacy setting options (and in a lot of cases, parental control options) so that they are aware what their child is able to see, post, comment, etc. It is also important for them to understand what exactly is being shared with others, both people they know and have “approved” as well as strangers on the internet. For children, it is important to have a solid understanding of what a digital tattoo is in order to understand why privacy settings are important to manage. Having a strong knowledge of where things are being posted, who can see them, and who has access to what you share should be required for all kids to know before getting on social media. Unfortunately, that is not the case. So many kids are unaware of why what they post online matters so much and where those posts go. As tech teachers, it is our job to teach students about their own digital tattoo as well as the privacy setting options across multiple social media platforms. Giving them this knowledge allows them to post thoughtfully and safely. It also helps them to understand how to be a good digital citizen and why digital citizenship is so powerful.
I use Pinterest the same way, only by pinning and not interacting with individuals. That is why I call it a “social media,” as it doesn’t require you to interact with anyone compared to other social media. I have seen similar infographics like the one you created for other social media platforms, mostly when they roll out things that users don’t like. I wish social media companies wouldn’t make finding and altering user settings so tricky for us. I wholeheartedly believe new updates (such as data scrapping for AI ) should be Opt-In at the time of update, not Opt-Out after update.
ReplyDeleteMaddie: I loved your presentation. I was able to follow step by step even I have not used pinterest a lot. What I like about it is that I can use the same technique you highlighted to control my privacy settings pretty much with any other social media space. I feel as if it really should become second nature to us and to our kids i.e if you are going to use any social media, the first thing should be to go and implement the privacy settings that work for you. Thank you.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.digitalcitizenship.nsw.edu.au/articles/controlling-your-privacy-settings-in-social-media
This is a wonderful infographic, Maddie. Thank you!
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ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent infographic. I did my Terms of Service project on Pinterest and was surprised to see the personal information we give up by clicking "accept" without reading it. I did not think about the privacy settings of Pinterest. I used Pinterest a lot when I was teaching which made me curious about the type of digital tattoo I left behind.
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