Privacy

Privacy is a major concern, and it can be hard to determine how much information is too much. Some services ask for minimal amounts of personal information, while others ask for far too much. As a young child, or even a student in your teens, it can be hard to discriminate between the necessary and unnecessary questions many social networks, websites and Internet resources ask for. I even find it difficult sometimes to distinguish between the two. Knock on wood, I have been fortunate and not lost much of my privacy without my own divulgence. Or have I?

Many young people enjoy the social networking sites Facebook and My Space, they would spend hours chatting and changing their personal settings if allowed. I completely understand the draw to these sites, as I too have a Facebook account. I am aware that everything I post on that site reflects me as a person and anyone in my network has the ability to see what I’ve posted, and so do people in their network and so. The scariest part about it, is that agencies, government mostly are probably storing all my interests, hobbies and connections I have. I can’t image being 13 and already having a government profile based off of adolescent ramblings and conversations.

Again it is our role as educators, parents and loved ones to ensure that we work with our students and children when registering for web resources and web 2.0 applications. Privacy Playground is an online game sponsored by the Media Awareness Network that’s goal is to “teach kids how to spot online marketing strategies, protect their personal information and avoid online predators.” This site would be a good follow up to a classroom discussion on Internet privacy.

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse is a resource guide for parents and other adults on the issue of children’s safety and online privacy. It discusses safety tips, how and what people are marketing to teens, and has a resource section just for teens. The site’s goal is to educate adults, sot that information can be passed on between parents and children in a continuous conversation about Internet and website privacy.