Gen-Y reinvents Internet ethics

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By Melissa Coulter | Saturday, February 23, 2008 12:22 AM CST | () comments

Ask a group of eighth-graders to distinguish between right and wrong uses of technology and you might be surprised at the answers. It’s OK to pretend to be someone else online, but you shouldn’t cheat musicians by illegally downloading their songs. Mom and Dad should have moderate access to your MySpace page, but under no circumstances should school administrators take tales of weekend adventures into account in school discipline.

Those are some of the opinions voiced by eighth-grade students at All Saints Catholic School in Davenport. Technology Coordinator Amy Kersten created a blog on which the class discusses ethical use of the Internet as part of its technology exploratory. She invited me to take a look at the private Web page and the students gave permission to have their comments reprinted here.

The students seemed pretty savvy about the potential dangers of putting names, addresses and photos on the Web. Many said they tended to only talk with people they know online. Almost all said it was permissible to lie about personal details when chatting with a stranger.

Andrew W. wrote, “On the Internet, it is common to reinvent oneself. In fact, many programs online encourage you to do just that. It is my belief that, as long as they’re not trying to reach people in real life, it is someone’s right to ‘lie’ about who they really are. Besides, such ‘lies’ could make it safer for those who surf the Internet.”

The possibility of false claims on the Internet spilled over into a discussion on whether schools can take disciplinary action — such as suspension from extracurricular activities — if they read about conduct violations on student Web pages.

Megan K. wrote, “I don’t think that the school should be able to do anything because you were off school grounds and it was on the weekend. Also, like almost everyone said, you can’t be sure what you’re reading is true. So if you didn’t see it for yourself, you shouldn’t punish anyone.”

Rachel A. summed it up this way: “The school can’t control the kids’ outside lives.”

These kids are still a few years away from entering the workforce. I’d be interested to read how they think this catch-me-if-you-can attitude would go over with potential employers. Reading their comments also makes me glad there was no such thing as MySpace when I was a teen. It would have been very tempting to recreate myself on the Web or to prove how “cool” I was by spilling the details of weekend parties that could have gotten me grounded for the better part of high school, or worse.

Kersten encourages honest discussion on the blog, and she’s getting it.

“They’re kind of at an age where they’re trying to figure out who they are,” she said. “Trying on different personalities for them is like trying on clothes. It’s just to see how things feel.”

Kersten said she emphasizes two things during the course. One is to make yourself look good. While Internet predators can pose a threat, Kersten said the bigger risk to these kids is “self-inflicted damage.”

“They do think they’re anonymous,” she said. “One of the things I try to drive home for them is that they aren’t.” Even if their Facebook page is only viewable by friends, she said, that doesn’t prevent a friend from sharing a story or a photo posted there through e-mail or other electronic exchanges. That information then becomes part of the permanent online record that she says colleges and employers are looking at more often.

Advice for QCTimes commenters

The other idea Kersten hopes to get across is that there is always a human on the other end of any exchange. On the class blog, her only rule is that when students disagree, they do it respectfully. Kersten asked her students, “What advice would you give to people posting comments on the Quad City Times Web site, especially on controversial topics where opinions differ greatly?”

Tabitha J. wrote, “I would tell them that just because you’re anonymous, doesn’t mean that the words you say won’t affect someone. They should choose the way they express their feelings carefully and make sure that they use the right and appropriate words to get their point across in a respectful way.”

Kersten hopes that by educating this generation on how to use the Internet appropriately, the Times and other sites will have fewer problems in the future with abusive posts.

“I told them,” she said,

“ ‘You guys have the opportunity to teach the adults.’ ”

Melissa Coulter writes on the comments posted online at qctimes.com. Contact her at (563) 383-2243 or at mcoulter@qctimes.com.