Over the last few years, more Americans have been joining or using social media outlets at an astonishing rate. Today, nearly 75% of American adults use some type of social media platform. That is an astounding number of people, not including minors, who are regularly accessing these public spaces. Add to that all of the other ways people use and access the internet. From computers, laptops, tablets, phones, internet connected televisions and more. That compounds to a massive amount of data being transmitted every second of every day. There are certain types of information that is public and some that is private whether you are talking about the physical world or cyberspace. The biggest difference is that you typically cannot see or hear what information is shared about you online.  It is absolutely critical to know what information is being broadcast about you whenever you are online.

Students don’t always recognize the difference between public and private information or appropriate actions to control that information.

Students don’t always recognize the difference between public and private information or appropriate actions to control that information. This includes not only updating privacy settings on social media sites, but also best practices for online behavior. In the same way that a person would not stand in a public space wearing a shirt with their home address, personal details, phone or credit card numbers listed, you should not have this information visible or shared when you are online either. Some kids might say, “well, what’s the harm?”, and that is the basis of why we are here. There is always the potential for harm but there are also a lot of things that can be done to reduce that risk.

As a father, I teach my kids rules and behaviors to keep them safe when we are in public and why these rules and behaviors are important. In the same way, we should teach our students rules and behaviors to keep themselves safe online. I know several teachers who have talked through cybersecurity practices with their students and then had students brainstorm a list of rules or behaviors to follow when online which can include how to handle emails and friend requests. Students then talk over each of these with their families and post them somewhere in their home as a constant reminder.

Students need to have a foundation in cybersecurity awareness to base their decisions and actions every time the access the internet through websites, social media, apps, or whatever they are doing online