Image Source: Ink Match No, that is not my tattoo. I began this week by doing a research on myself and found a very limited digital presence. It is not surprising because as I went through high school and college, professors would always say, "your employer is not going hire you if you have visible tattoos" and "what you post online can come back and haunt you". All of this led to the believe that having a digital presence was bad. I would have benefited from a conversation revolving how to create a positive/professional online tattoo. Not until recently have I understood the benefits of having a digital tattoo.
This lack of digital presence led me to do an analysis of my digital tattoo created by the only social media platform I remain somewhat active in. Below is a table that displays the type and number of posts of my 25 most recent Facebook posts.
If you notice none of these posts involve pictures of myself. I do have pictures of myself on Facebook, but do not post them often. Now in regards to photos friends and family tag me in are not displayed on my profile unless I approve them. I have adjusted my privacy settings to make sure pictures I am tagged on do not appear on my profile without my ok. The majority of my posts tend to be about music and news. I am addicted to music and like to share "old school" hits or music that really speaks to me. News posts were the second most frequent. This is because I am a member of my community's Facebook page and share any relevant news. Do these posts reflect who I am? I would say they reflect only a fraction of who I am. For instance, someone looking at my posts would not be able to discern that I am an educator. I have built a
social media armor that prevents others from truly knowing me and most importantly from finding me. They only get a glimpse of which none of it is fake, just incomplete.
I wish I had gone through a self reflection as the one posted by Rosalind Wisemen on ADL. Wisemen provides a reflection activity to lead students through an analysis of their posts. The goal is to help them develop their self-reflections, self-awareness and critical thinking skills. Tattoos are not bad, they are a reflection of who we are, what we like, and what we most care about. I am proud of my ancestry and the tattoo above would be my tattoo, if I had one.
Hopefully educators of today are helping students understand the importance of managing their digital tattoos. There are enough resources available and activities such as the one that you did that we should be able to help students analyze and reflect.
ReplyDeleteEnrique, I appreciated your take on being hesitant to have any online presence. It made me reflect on how I present digital citizenship to my sixth graders. I want to make my students aware that even now they are creating a digital footprint, but that an online presence is okay and will most likely be a part of their daily lives. Thank you for your thoughts and insight into your digital tatoo.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up we did not have as many social media platforms. It was an unknown. I think that unknown led to my professors being weary of digital tattoos. I grew up with that mistrust. Thus, I was always careful of my digital footprint. You are doing a great job in teaching them to be safe and helping them see the positive side of having a digital footprint.
DeleteEnrique, I can really relate to your minimal presence online. As I have gotten older I have become much more aware about what I post on my social medias and have severely downsized my posts. I made sure to make a conscious effort to expunge my accounts of anything I am not fully happy with. I also have had this mentality since a young age so thankfully there isn't anything out there that I don't still approve of! Were you someone who intentionally limited your use of social media to have a smaller digital tattoo?
ReplyDeleteBefore graduating from College I did everything I could to grow my digital footprint. During this time I was Djing. I intentionally began minimizing my digital footprint once I began my student teaching.
Delete