Digital Tattoos

It's amusing to think that I have a tattoo. I've thought about inking my body. What image would I select-that I enjoyed at the moment and also for my future? Where would I put it on my body?Ultimately, I never ended up with a solid idea that addressed those questions, and so my body remains ink-less. Yet, I know that every move I make online leave an indelible impression. While I am not concerned with my own digital footprint, as I am pretty boring with what I search, share and communicate online (and can't control details that are in the public domain), I am forced to consider the implications of online interactions. As we researched your colleague, Lucy Gray, I knew that we might be able to find personal information like her income and address (which we didn't actually locate) and her picture (which we did), which can be a little scary if someone had nefarious intent. What I wasn't prepared for was having access to her personal information via Facebook. Her page is public, so I had access to her pictures (it appears she has kids - or children in her life she was close to). While I didn't take time to read her posts, that was a little creepy. Plus, it surprised me because her job is as a tech consultant. Perhaps her thinking is that, if someone wanted to find out personal information, it's there to be found, so why bother making it private, but that was a surprise to me, as everything I have heard and read says to use the privacy settings on personal sites.
Since my students are 5 and 6-years-old, their digital imprints are not a concern at the moment, but my 12-year-old, in particular, is involved in social media and needs to make choices that are appropriate and communicate kindness and show responsibility.

He is on Instagram, which was the go-to social media last year when he received his phone upon starting middle school. My husband, mainly, would read his 'feed' and help him steer clear of anyone posting questionable content (off-color jokes, inappropriate pictures/memes) and to consider his responses to "friends'" posts. Friends are in quotes because he was inundated with requests from people he had barely met, or in some instances, a friend or sibling of a friend, wanted to be connected to him. Initially his excitement stemmed from upping his number of contacts, but in time, and with my husband's and my guidance, he has settled down on that front.
I am happy that I get to peek inside his life via Instagrams' lens. It opens up conversation with him and exposes me to his friend's thinking as well. Both great things. This has allowed a number of valuable teachable moments with our middle schooler.
As social media popularity shifts, he now wants to sign-up for Snapchat, which I oppose. I don't understand it that well, outside of the idea that posts/pictures have a brief shelf life and then "disappear." Many of his classmates have made the shift, so he feels left behind and out-of-the-loop, but I am sticking my ground.

Helping my children navigate their online presence will keep me, and, I hope, all parents, on our toes to help our children make wise choices and always put their best foot forward into the digital world.