Should Online Privacy for Educators Exist? (JJ)

Should Online Privacy for Educators Exist?

Social media has been the biggest hit in our society in the past decade. Throughout the years social media has - improved for communication and ease of access. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are some of the most popular apps that many people use today. Some choose to use them for education purposes while others just use them as entertainment or to communicate with friends or family members. The majority of online profiles are created by teenagers, and adults tend to rarely use any social media in comparison with the younger generations. Most of the time elderly people  are not unfamiliar with handling electronics, but on the other hand adults rarely use social media due to work policies. A good example would be teachers, who are expected to have a professional attitude towards their students and co-workers at all times. In this case, some teachers tend to not create any profiles at all due to their standard of professionalism. Some teachers do own accounts, but they are either very private or rarely used. Even though teachers are expected to be good role models to their students in and out of school, it does not mean that their social life on the internet should be restricted. Though it is their profession, they still have the right to use social media for personal use.

It is uncommon for government related professions, such as police officers and teachers, to own  social media accounts. It can be argued that the limitations for these workers can be good for teenagers who look up to them. Because of the expectation of maturity, many students wouldn’t truly know the personal life of their teachers. For example, teachers may act as a professionals only within school, but outside of school they can be inappropriate and cuss when they are with their friends and families. Unaware that their students might be checking their profiles online, they might post something unrelated to education, inappropriate, and mature.. A scenario like this is why it can be beneficial for everyone if educators privately use social media or not own one at all.

    

Even so, teachers are still humans, which would mean that they should have the right to express themselves in person or through social media. Teachers with a Facebook account who use it for personal use should have the right to do what they want and post what they feel like saying. It can be risky, but if it is managed well and is appropriate to the public eye, then I don’t see any more reasons  why teachers have to be so private about themselves online. 

Although there are some cons to letting teachers express themselves through social media as a person outside of school, I still believe that they should not be required to shut down themselves just for the reason that they do not use it for educational purposes. As long as their online account is appropriate for others to see, then I support educators having the ability to use social media for their personal use without having to be private from their students and coworkers.