Today we explored the online word of privacy, safety, bullying and consent with guest speaker Jesse Miller who is a national speaker and educator on the subject of social media. As the speaker for Mediated Reality, he has delivered presentations to school districts across Canada and the US as well as professional development training sessions to various corporate and non-profit groups. Mr. Miller is clearly very passionate about what he speaks about and quite knowledgeable, presenting one perspective on the increasing use of technology in today’s society and the potential risks and benefits that accompany this rise in screen time.

Photo by Sergey Zolkin on Unsplash

As a teacher, these discussions are incredibly important to start proactively since mobile phones, laptops and social media are not going anywhere and are evolving so rapidly. As social sharing has rapidly increased, it has been normalized in our culture and it was surprising for me to realize that most students today have never lived without having their lives broadcasted to a wider audience. Parents today share photos of their children online from birth and make posts about them as they grow up. Students witness their parent’s use and reliance on social media and other virtual platforms as well as their peers’ use and most follow suit. I believe that it is extremely important to support and empower students in their use of online platforms, while also teaching them to find a balance of time off-screens. For example, Mr. Miller suggested that we play video games with our children rather then banning them. In other terms, meet them where they are and teach them how to appropriately engage with online platforms. He explained that by engaging in online platforms with our youth as parents or teachers, we can help kids make sense of their online experiences, teach them to uphold their values, and empower their communication skills in the current social reality, rather than expecting them to conform to the reality in which we grew up 20+ years ago.

Mr. Miller also talked about some of the precautions to keep in mind as a new teacher with both our personal and professional online presence. It was frankly surprising to see how many teachers have made poorly informed or immoral choices when selecting the content to post on personal social media sites. As a teacher, it is especially important to use intentionality when posting images or content online. Privacy and safety are the primary considerations when working with youth and so teachers must be very cognizant of these factors when sharing online. Moreover, as role models and members of our community we must hold ourselves (and will be held by others) to high moral and ethical values.