Political accusations... a State investigation ... and college students hoping they're not tagged for underage drinking; all triggered by one blog post.
CMU Public Radio reported earlier this month on a college student's blog talking about wild parties and underage drinking at a Republican State meeting on Mackinac Island. The Democrats called for an investigation after what was believed to be a private blog entry found its way to the public arena.
Experts say they're not surprised. They say "internet privacy" is an oxymoron.
Dr. Lesley Withers teaches Communication classes at Central Michigan University . She also spends a lot of time on the internet.
"More and more I see people posting things that others might not want to have known about them and that ultimately, you might not want to have known about yourself."
Case in point, a recent blog post titled "A Real Political Party" in which a CMU student discussed underage drinking at a political meeting on Mackinac Island. That post prompted news reports, political accusations and an investigation by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission; that's still ongoing.
Shortly after the post was made public, the student password protected and then deleted it. Dr. Withers says the time to exercise caution is before you post to the web.
"Well it's only as private as the people who are allowed to view it. Even if you password protect something, if someone that you give permission to see it then shares it with a friend of theirs or copies it, saves it as a PDF, it can still be pretty easily distributed. Or certain search engines may turn it up even if it is protected"
CMU Public Radio reported earlier this month on a college student's blog talking about wild parties and underage drinking at a Republican State meeting on Mackinac Island. The Democrats called for an investigation after what was believed to be a private blog entry found its way to the public arena.
Experts say they're not surprised. They say "internet privacy" is an oxymoron.
Dr. Lesley Withers teaches Communication classes at Central Michigan University . She also spends a lot of time on the internet.
"More and more I see people posting things that others might not want to have known about them and that ultimately, you might not want to have known about yourself."
Case in point, a recent blog post titled "A Real Political Party" in which a CMU student discussed underage drinking at a political meeting on Mackinac Island. That post prompted news reports, political accusations and an investigation by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission; that's still ongoing.
Shortly after the post was made public, the student password protected and then deleted it. Dr. Withers says the time to exercise caution is before you post to the web.
"Well it's only as private as the people who are allowed to view it. Even if you password protect something, if someone that you give permission to see it then shares it with a friend of theirs or copies it, saves it as a PDF, it can still be pretty easily distributed. Or certain search engines may turn it up even if it is protected"
Dr. Withers makes a point to warn her college students about the dangers of assuming the internet is private. She talks about an airline attendant who got fired because she posted a photo of herself working on a company plane.; a violation of airline policy. She talks about job seekers who are passed over when an employer sees online photos of them drinking or doing anything else the employer doesn't like.
She says a lack of caution on the internet is generational; more common among college students and teenagers.
"I think because they've grown up with it, there's a false sense of security. It's always been there for them, and so they may not question it as much as generations that are more unfamiliar with the technology. I think perhaps being unfamiliar with it helps us have a healthy skepticism that perhaps those growing up with it have never had."
Dr. Withers say a healthy skepticism can be a good thing when you're posting online; where the effects of your disclosure may come back to haunt you years after the original post.
"I think when we look at the political candidates 20-years from now, they're going to be finding out what they shouldn't have posted in high school and in college. And perhaps wishing that they had used a little more discretion at that time."
Dr. Withers says parents should be talking to their students about internet privacy... or lack thereof.
"Set your student down and talk with them about the risks. And really you know, think about the fact that anything you post online is going to be available potentially for an indeterminate amount of time. For years to come. And so it's like putting a resume out there or putting an ad in the paper with your pictureon it. What do you want to be known about you in cyber-space? Because the information that you put out today will be the information that will be the information that will be out there years from now. And you can't take it back once it's out there."
Coming up next week , All Things Considered will examine the issue of internet privacy. Among other things: how marketers are using personal information, and computer researchers who are working on a "kill date" for personal information on the web.
She says a lack of caution on the internet is generational; more common among college students and teenagers.
"I think because they've grown up with it, there's a false sense of security. It's always been there for them, and so they may not question it as much as generations that are more unfamiliar with the technology. I think perhaps being unfamiliar with it helps us have a healthy skepticism that perhaps those growing up with it have never had."
Dr. Withers say a healthy skepticism can be a good thing when you're posting online; where the effects of your disclosure may come back to haunt you years after the original post.
"I think when we look at the political candidates 20-years from now, they're going to be finding out what they shouldn't have posted in high school and in college. And perhaps wishing that they had used a little more discretion at that time."
Dr. Withers says parents should be talking to their students about internet privacy... or lack thereof.
"Set your student down and talk with them about the risks. And really you know, think about the fact that anything you post online is going to be available potentially for an indeterminate amount of time. For years to come. And so it's like putting a resume out there or putting an ad in the paper with your pictureon it. What do you want to be known about you in cyber-space? Because the information that you put out today will be the information that will be the information that will be out there years from now. And you can't take it back once it's out there."
Coming up next week , All Things Considered will examine the issue of internet privacy. Among other things: how marketers are using personal information, and computer researchers who are working on a "kill date" for personal information on the web.
