CI 4312 Week 4
Our identity in a digital world began when we were young, and is starting even younger for students around the world. We were taught from around age 12 to be careful about what we put on social media. I recall my mom reminding me to avoid swear words, anything controversial, and to always remember that future employers may some day see what I post. I also remember her focus a lot on internet privacy and making sure that my accounts were as private as they could be. As I got older, I started sharing more, on more platforms, but I never forgot what she had said about privacy and presenting yourself to the world via social sites.
When I was watching the TED talk for this week, a couple things really struck me. First, when this was filmed things like Vine and Facebook were still relevant. As I reflect on the topic, I think it is also important to reflect on the way that the internet has changed since then. Though it was only a few years ago, kids now don’t know Facebook or Twitter. Vine is dead. They focus more on Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok. They live in a very different world, only years a part from where we grew up. I think that the point made in the video, that it takes milliseconds for our lives to be changed by social media, is such an important thing to consider. I feel that less and less we talk to kids about cybersafety, cyber bullying, and ways to present ourselves on the internet. Now kids want to have public profiles, their chances of becoming TikTok famous increasing each day, without much thought for the future of their careers or identities.
In regards to the readings, I felt like it was important to address why social media is an important part of adolescent development. While we may not be doing everything we can to teach kids about the way they present their identities on social media, there is something to be said for the way it connects kids. Apps like TikTok can bring kids the same age from all over the world, together to laugh, reminisce, and share in their emotional and psychological challenges. Kids use snapchat to communicate with one another on a more personal level. I am convinced that kids have this innate ability to connect with anyone because of their social media use. They have less fear about connecting with people and have developed a way of connecting with others that would be hard to recreate in another situation. I think that kids deserve to have their access to social media but we are responsible for teaching them the best ways to protect themselves and shelter their identities!
