When I was taught about “Internet safety” at school, I was given an entire list of rules to follow:
1. Don’t talk to strangers.
2. Only use the computer where an adult can see what you’re doing.
3. Don’t upload any incriminating information, photos, or videos.
4. Never share your personal details with anyone.
5. Keep certain things private
… and the list continued on and on.
I was told to follow these rules in fear, else face the drastic consequences that a random online interaction could have on my “real” life. But in my work at School One, I have found that the attitudes towards these rules have relaxed over time. Conversations with students at School One indicate that the younger generation is not only aware of the mistakes that my generation made. They also demonstrate critical reflection on, and consequent internalization of the rules that govern “safe” Internet use.
The group of students that I spoke with today came from a variety of backgrounds: I had a self-taught hacker in my group, students from both levels of computer science offered at School One, and students with a vague interest in technology. Further, the use of social networks differed greatly: there was the self-proclaimed Tumblr addict, the student whose parents prohibited her use of social media, and the student who simply used social media to see what they hype was about. Even with such a diverse group of students, however, I found that their awareness of “Internet safety” remained consistent.
I began the discussion by asking the students how they used Facebook. All students demonstrated awareness of the controversy that the social networking site has caused, but said that this did not stop them from using the site. Most of the students in the group mentioned that they seldom posted anything of a truly personal nature; students said that they limited their interactions over the site, aware that anyone could be “listening” in on private conversations. But perhaps most salient was one student’s response that she deliberately manipulated each of her posts to only be accessible to particular audiences. This demonstrates a heightened awareness of audience and speaks to a sophisticated process through which these students mediate their identities. Students (in this focus group anyway) are aware of who their audiences are and how to manipulate them. In essence, they become gatekeepers to their online identities.
The conversation then led to a discussion about how students interacted with people that they met online. The students did not seem to have any inhibitions about meeting people online. In fact, a student pointed out that she had joined special interest groups online to explore issues inaccessible in her physical environment. But the ways in which the girls acted on these interactions differed. Some students created boundaries around themselves, ensuring that their conversations were limited just to the subject at hand. Others embraced full-on mediated experiences, explaining that they felt freer to express themselves on online spaces. But the consensus remained the same: students were unafraid to meet people online, and were smart enough to stay out of unsafe situations.
These discussions indicate that we need to reconfigure the “rules” surrounding safe Internet practices? Should we keep telling students the same things about online strangers, posting, and mediating identities to set up a framework? Or do we let the structures that seem to be slowly (but surely) forming to do their work?