(#4) Online Safety and Privacy

Several years ago, when I worked in high-tech and office email was a new thing and became every day occurrences, staff were told to be careful and diplomatic when you wrote your messages. Some information could be misread, without body language, or in-person conversations and discussions. Some people--say staff overseas--wouldn't know who you were, and you may have never met these "stranger" colleagues. Today, I believe that "netiquette," which we learned in the beginnings of online communication, should still apply to new tools, such as blogs, which many of us use so often, and without a second thought, today.

In addition to that care taken in conversations in writing, we now have a larger community, beyond our corporations, agencies, schools or homes, where anyone may read what we've written, and spend time getting to know us through our profile, photos, text and anything else we share on our blogs, spaces, etc.

I'm not comfortable sharing online, except in a controlled situation, as through a workplace project, such as ihcpl2.0. Although I've created my blog, I don't feel comfortable putting it out there for everyone to read. And, as a consequence, I'm pretty reserved about what I'll share--even within this work environment.

Watching the video and reading information about privacy in this second week of ihcpl2.0, gives affirmation to what I've already felt--that our fast-paced, open, online world does provide us both opportunities, but also exposes us to people whom we may not want to be exposed too. I believe, as adults, we can make that choice and should accept any consequences related to our openness. However, children and teens should continue to be educated about safety and privacy issues online. It may be easier for young children to be protected. However, I think the challenge is with tweens and young teenagers. They are more likely to continue to interact, consciously or unconsciously online, and may be oblivious to the harm that is lurking in the bushes of cyberspace.