As
students embark on their academic and professional careers, one thing
that will have been well established is their digital footprint. From
baby photos posted on Facebook and Flickr, to pictures and videos on
Snapchats, Instagram, Pinterest, and others, young people today are
creating a record of themselves from the day they are born. And while
there is fun in that, it can also be quite dangerous if not managed
well.
For those of us from the baby boomer generation, technology
has played a very different role in our lives than it has for the
generations following. We have had to learn to use apps and games in
ways that is more organic to younger people, and they live with the
expectation by their peers that they use the technology as part of their
social network. As a result, not only do they trust it more, but their
constant use of it has given them the facility to manipulate it in ways
that we don’t.
But because our learning curve is steeper, we also
appreciate, respect, and fear, the technology more. This level of
conflicted emotion is needed with young people, so that they understand
how much harm the technology can cause them when they are careless, and
mindless in how they use it. The good news is that it is learned
behavior, and therefore, good habits can be learned. Clara Galan wrote an article, Students Are The New Digital Influencers, that speaks to the issue of adolescents and technology, and the importance of teaching them how to use their technology.
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