Photo Source: taken from CBC News Video
Some University of Alberta students have found the transition back to school a little more strained than most, after several of their photos were recently taken from social media sites, altered to include sexually explicit captions, and shared online. A report by CBC News discloses that the students, mostly female members of the U of A swim team, with a few under 18 when the photos were taken, have requested an investigation.
The women believe a former teammate is behind the postings. However, when interviewed, he claimed that the social media account that posted the photos does not belong to him and that he did not add the suggestive captions. Rather, he simply shared the photos through social media.
Student athletes are often seen as ambassadors, or representatives of their respective schools. It is for this reason that social media accounts of these athletes have been a focal point of conversation at many universities, to ensure that student postings do not damage the reputations of the athlete, team, or school. Not surprisingly, issues of privacy versus prudence have shone through these discussions.
In the current case at U of A, could prudent social media monitoring have prevented this scenario of exploited privacy? Since the accounts in question are all of past and present student athletes, yes, perhaps in a perfect world, this could’ve all been avoided. However, it must be noted that it is now very rare for an individual to possess a single social networking account. Most of us span ourselves between multiple profiles and accounts, sharing varying degrees of information. Realistically, can it even be possible for someone to keep tabs on all of these? And what of those students who aren’t student athletes? Who will monitor them?
Another difficulty is that we no longer enjoy the luxury of being the sole creators of our digital identities. Instead, it is a combination of the things that we share and the things others share about us that truly is what composes who we are online.
Unfortunately, the Internet is public space, technically waiving our rights to privacy. So, what now? There’s always the compulsory “think before you ink” (as in, evaluate what you share and post before doing so) and adjusting privacy settings. But is that all we can do? Are we doomed otherwise? What do you think? Share your own social media strategies below.
People said…