These days, it seems everyone has a Facebook page or Twitter account. From tweens to baby boomers, most people are part of the social networking scene. But with so much information so accessible, the social media craze raises serious questions about privacy.
On Wednesday, Facebook announced it is adding a location tool called "Places." The feature will let users broadcast their whereabouts to friends, similar to what you can already do on sites like FourSquare.
You will be able to "Check In" to announce you have arrived at a particular location. That information will then appear on that location's "place page," on your profile and in your friend's News Feeds. Read more about it on The Washington Post.
It may be a convenient way to let your friends know where you are, but it is sparking questions about privacy. Facebook says it will not automatically reveal your location. It is up to you to maintain your privacy settings. And it leaves some people wondering whether they need to be careful what kind of information they reveal. How much is too much? And when does it go too far?
A Massachusetts teacher learned that lesson the hard way. June Talvitie-Siple was fired for making some candid comments on Facebook.
She apparently thought they were private, but that was not the case. She told our affiliate WHDH-TV in Boston, "I thought I had my privacy setting set so that I was only talking to my friends and it turns out I wasn't," Talvitie-Siple said. Upset by what she calls a witch hunt involving union teachers gunning for her non-union teacher supervisor position, she posted this: "Residents are so arrogant and snobby. So not looking forward to another year at Cohasset Schools." She later lost her job.
It came back to haunt a Pennsylvania teacher too. Ginger D'Amico, a Spanish teacher at Brownsville High School, south of Pittsburgh, was suspended for 30-days after someone posted a photo from a bachelorette party of her and a stripper.
The American Civil Liberties Union took on this case, questioning the suspension, saying D'Amico's actions were private and legal. The school district later agreed to a settlement in the case.
It is a subject that is sparking debate at schools across the country. In some cases, social media is blurring the lines between teacher and friend. One question being raised is should students be allowed to "friend" their teachers on Facebook?
School leaders in one Florida district say no. The new guidelines are sparking controversy and eliciting strong reaction from people on both sides of the debate. Officials with the Lee County School District are telling teachers to pay close attention to who's "friending" them. They recommend teachers and students not be friends online, and say teachers need to be careful what they post. "We don't want them to be doing things they think might be innocent and then 3 to 4 months down the road, it rises to the point that it's a problem," said Joe Donzelli, spokesperson for the Lee County School District. The new rules are simply recommendations not mandates.
Read more about it by clicking here.
But it begs the question...should teachers and students connect through social media outside of class?
CNY Central has reached out to several local school districts to find out if they have any policies or recommendations for teachers when it comes to interacting with students on social media.
We also spoke with Larry Spring, the superintendent of Cortland Schools. He tells CNY Central they have had to discipline teachers on occasion for inappropriate interaction with students through social media, but he would not say if he has fired anyone for it. He says the district does not have a specific policy in place when it comes to teacher-student interaction through things like Facebook, but that the district expects teachers to maintain a professional relationship with students.
Dr. Jerome Melvin, superintendent of the North Syracuse Central School District, tells us they do not have a specific policy when it comes to teacher-student interaction through social media. However, they put together a committee to come up with recommendations on dealing specifically with cyber bullying. It stems from an incident in which a student created a Facebook page that contained offensive and even sexual comments about a teacher. The district expects the committee to make recommendations next month on how to handle similar cases.
Do you think schools need to police student-teacher relationships on the internet? Are you concerned about protecting your privacy online? Will you use the new "Places" feature on Facebook? Leave a comment below.
