On the topic of safety, security, and privacy; I struggle. I find myself too often clicking, “Accept Terms and Conditions” or, blindly accepting when privacy policies have been updated and not even bothering to check in on what I’m giving away. The moments I do hesitate, it’s to ask myself, “who cares what I’m doing? I’m not famous.” Then quickly moving forward to gain access to the web page, app, program, etc. that I so desperately need. Looking past the possible insecurities masked by attempted logical thought in my hesitation – it’s naïve.
It is no longer just about exposing my own habits, searches, and purchases. My ignorant acceptance now effects the people I ask or require to be a part of those same web pages, apps, or programs. What am I asking my family, friends, coworkers, or even my students to give away? At least I do not have power over my family and friends. They, I hope, feel they are not being forced into these requests. Unfortunately, I agree that young people are an oppressed population. Not only do I have societal power over young people by the mere fact that I am older than them, that power is exemplified by my positional authority as a teacher. My requests are no longer just an optional ask. With power, requests turn into obligations and mandates. Am I thinking of their online safety when assigning submissions within these “free” programs?
As stated in the New York Times article, How Privacy Became a Commodity for the Rich and Powerful, “…privacy costs often become clear only after they’ve already been paid.” Did you know that according to the Terms and Conditions of use for the popular pay-to-use tool, Turnitin, any paper the program reviews for “plagiarism concerns” then becomes the property of Turnitin? By submitting a paper through this program, which is often not a choice but a requirement, students forfeit ownership of their own words so their words can be used against other students in the search of catching cheaters. Although this is not a social media example, it is an example of privacy concerns for students. You can read more on this and critically evaluating digital tools in Sean Michael Morris’ and Jesse Stommel’s article, A Guide for Resisting EdTech: The Case Against Turnitin. Folks have left comments on this article bringing up some cases for the use of Turnitin. As with any app or program, feel free to make your own decision.
Like many of us, I have a lot to learn about these educational technologies I’m using and asking my students to use. Also, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be using these programs or apps, only suggesting we look deeper into what is being monitored and critically think about and weigh the benefits of using the program or app. My concerns with safety, security, and privacy in the online world range from the above stated then begins to spiral to the likes of J’afar from Aladdin where he becomes the “most powerful being in the world” but no one is there to put him in the lamp. He just rules over the world with an iron fist. The rich and powerful will likely use our information to become more rich and powerful and at this moment, we have no immediate way to stop them from manipulating us from afar.
That being said, (and some of you might think I’m crazy at this point – maybe just an overactive imagination) I’m not sure I can offer any new ideas on how to interact with social media and still maintain privacy. Keeping your account private, using false names with incognito windows, limiting programs and apps to only the things you “can’t live without”, and giving students the choice and voice for how they prefer that their digital footprint be displayed and not making any one tool a requirement is a good start. None of these are perfect solutions. However, as educators, when thinking about how we handle our own privacy online, we must also ask how our choices will affect our students.