The world has changed drastically since we were in school. When I was in school if you didn't want something to be known you simply didn't tell someone. It was much easier for me to have a private life because there wasn't a long paper trail behind anything I said. Sure there was still rumors and notes, but rumors died and notes could be torn, lost, or burned.
Today students must be made aware that everything they post on the web is no longer their property. As much as we'd like to copyright photos and other such items, the truth is that once something is out there in the web cloud it's very hard to get it back. Within seconds it is available to not only your friends but to the entire school, district and many other places you never intended things to go to.
I would like students to understand that being a good digital citizen requires you to:
a. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Rumors are easy to start and there's always proof with text messages, emails, and photos if you happen to be the culprit behind them.
b. There is no such thing as private online (this includes your Facebook page). If you don't want something to be known about you then don't post it. It could come back to haunt you years later, say when you're interviewing for a job.
c. Don't believe everything you read online. It can be hard to distinguish credible websites from those that are not. That's why you should read everything with a grain of salt and online rely on credible websites for information.
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