Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/apr/24/pupils-facebook-friends-net-privacy-teachers

Pupils are not your Facebook friends, net privacy expert warns teachers

The National Union of Teachers is warning teachers and headmasters alike to be discreet about their activities on the internet. Information they leave on their social networking sites is occasionally not suited nor meant for pupils’ and employers’ eyes.

On top of that employers are increasingly more often also checking the internet for information on possible employees and there are plenty of instances in which an applicant had been denied a job because of information they left on their social networking sites. One should, however, not only mind their internet activities when applying for a job but also when already an employer.

Social networking sites are getting increasingly more popular with schoolchildren and this also results in more cyber-bullying and cyber-gossiping, the latter having its own sites.

I think it’s important to be careful and discreet on what information other people can find when they go hunting for information on you. The NUT informing teachers on the potential harm social networking sites can cause them is a good initiative, especially considering not all teachers are aware of the ‘dangers’. Nowadays teacher training colleges warn their students about being discreet with their online activities, something that teachers who have been teaching for a dozen or so years have not been warned about during their studies.