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Level: Grades 7 to 8

Overview

This lesson makes students aware of online privacy issues, primarily those relating to giving out personal information on social networking Web sites such as Facebook. Students will learn to assess the various types of information they provide in Facebook profiles, along with the different levels of access. They will examine the potential risks and consequences of posting personal information on the Internet, and become more aware of how to protect their privacy.

Learning Outcomes

Students will:

• learn the risks associated with giving out personal information
• understand the possible consequences of posting photos, personal information and messages
• learn who can view their Facebook profiles
• understand the different levels of access
• learn how to use Facebook security to control who sees their profiles
• create a media product

Preparation and Materials

Review these backgrounders:

• Facebook Privacy: A Primer for Teachers and Parents
• Information Privacy and Children
• mychoice
• myidentity

Photocopy these handouts:

• Privacy Diary
• Tips for Protecting Online Privacy
• WHO CAN SEE ME ON FACEBOOK?
• I Can Build a Secure Online Identity

If students do not have computer access during the lesson, print and photocopy these handouts from the myprivacy.mychoice.mylife Web site:

• myprivacy everyday
• I Can Build a Secure Online Identity (PDF)

If you choose to do the extension activity, print and copy the handout entitled Student Toolkit: Creating a Video Essay.

Procedure

What is privacy?

Begin by asking students what the word privacy means to them. What is privacy? Is it a desirable thing? How does the meaning change between the real world and the online world? Where and when do they have privacy, and when and where do they NOT have it? What are some of the ways in which people’s privacy can be compromised? (Most students will probably comment on privacy in their offline lives in terms of being unobserved by their parents, teachers, siblings and peers.) Ask students how it affects their privacy when someone:

• knows your name or your age?
• knows your phone number or home address?
• knows your favourite snack or TV show?
• looks into your room?
• overhears a private conversation?
• reads your e-mails or Instant Messages?
• follows you around all day?

Explain that although these examples vary in importance, they all represent a loss of privacy because someone—possibly a complete stranger—gets to find out personal information about them. Losing privacy is not necessarily bad, but we need to be aware of when it happens. That way, we have the option of choosing whether or not we want to give up our privacy.

If you have computer access in your classroom, ask students to read the online overview myprivacy everyday. (If there’s no computer access, print out and distribute photocopies of this document.) Have students read the overview and think about which of the breaches of privacy would worry them, and which they wouldn’t mind.

Ask students to mention a few examples from their own lives when they either chose to give up their privacy, or were required to.

Privacy diary and privacy scores

Distribute the handout Privacy Diary, and ask students to reflect on and write down every time in a typical week when they think they give up some of their privacy. Give students 5-10 minutes to complete the diary, and ask how many gave themselves a privacy score of 1, how many a score of 2, and so on.

Now, give the class additional information about the ways our modern electronic society regularly compromises our privacy each time we:

• pass a security camera
• give out information such as name, phone number, e-mail address
• download or upload a computer file
• sign into a Web site
• visit a site that uses cookies (do they know whether a site uses cookies?)
• turn on a cell phone (this sends a signal to the nearest tower, letting the network know where you are)
• send an e-mail, instant message or text message (in the U.S., the National Security Agency is said to monitor all of these)

Ask students to reconsider their privacy scores in light of this information.

Privacy management

Explain to students that although privacy is a concern both offline and online, online privacy is a more important issue for two reasons: it’s harder to avoid surveillance, and you’re less likely to know when you’re giving up your privacy.

Ask students how many are concerned about protecting their privacy, either online or offline. Tell them that surveys show that most young people (66%) would like to learn more about protecting their privacy—yet most are also willing to give out personal information in a variety of online situations. (These statistics are from the Media Awareness Network 2005 survey Young Canadians in a Wired World.) Ask students what could be the reason that people give up their privacy so willingly, despite claiming to be worried about losing it. (Students will likely say that it’s impossible to avoid giving out personal information online, since so many essential services—e-mail accounts, instant messaging services, and social networking sites—require it.)

Explain to students that while it’s nearly impossible to entirely guarantee your privacy online, what is possible is privacy management. This means being aware of when and how your privacy is compromised, and knowing how to choose privacy settings and minimize that loss of privacy.

Distribute the handout Tips for Protecting Online Privacy. Read through the tips with the class, and ask which tips they consider to be the most practical and most effective. (These may be two different categories. Encrypting e-mail, for instance, may be effective but not practical for less technically savvy students.)

Social networking

(Note: The following section of this lesson focuses on social networking: specifically, on the social networking site Facebook. Although some of your students may not yet be using social networking sites, many of the privacy concerns related to these sites are also present in other online environments.)

One of the most popular online activities, and one that poses the greatest risk to privacy, is social networking on Web sites such as Facebook. Millions of people all around the world use these sites, posting personal profiles that are linked to the profiles of their circle of friends. As one of the fastest-growing online activities, particularly among youth, this raises particular concerns about privacy.

Ask students if any of them mentioned sites such as MySpace or Facebook in their privacy diaries. (If the subject was already mentioned, you can return to it now.) Ask how many students have Facebook profiles, or are active on other sites such as MySpace or Friendster. (Chances are that most hands will go up.) Ask what they like about this kind of online environment. (The most likely answers will be that it helps students stay in touch with their friends, share photos, and make new friends.) Then ask how many list their birthday, phone number or address in their profiles. (Again, many hands will probably go up.)

Discuss with students the definitions of certain Facebook terms such as: profile, friend, network, poke, wall, newsfeed, notes. You'll wind up with definitions such as like these:

• profile: a Facebook page
• friend: someone who can see your complete profile
• poke: to invite someone to become a friend
• wall: the profile location where visitors can leave messages
• newsfeed: an update of what you're doing right now
• notes: your thoughts and opinions, similar to a blog

For those students who have Facebook accounts, ask the following questions:

• How many of you have been “poked” by someone you haven't met in person?
• How many have accepted friends you haven't met in person? (Whether students are active on social networking sites or not, you can ask them how they would decide whether or not to accept a Friend request. What would influence their decision?)
• How many know how to control who sees all or part of your profile?
• How many have changed Facebook privacy settings?
• For those of you who are active on social networking sites, what information do you choose to include in your profiles?
• Is all of it accurate?
• What information do you make available to everyone?
• What do you make available only to Friends?

“Who can see me?”

Distribute the handout Who Can See Me On Facebook? Ask students to draw three concentric circles to represent three types of access to their profiles: Just Friends, Friends of Friends and Everyone. In these circles, write down anyone they keep in touch with (listing their real names, online names, or contact types: friend, fellow student, family member, etc.)

Give the students 5-10 minutes to complete the exercise, then begin a class discussion about the categories of people (without using proper names). Write these on the board, and see if anyone included these potential contacts:

• parents
• teachers
• potential employers
• advertisers
• retailers
• Facebook employees
• the government
• other countries' governments
• Internet predators who target teens

Explain that any or all of these people have looked at Facebook profiles to gather information about users. Discuss why these people might be interested.

• What about teachers? (They may want to check up on students out of personal concern for their welfare or to gain information for some disciplinary issue).
• What about employers? (They can use personal information from a profile to judge a job applicant’s private character.)
• Advertisers and retailers? (They use Facebook to gather consumer information to better target sales.)

Ask students if it’s difficult to set up a fake account on Facebook. (It’s not hard at all; anybody can do it.) What would they need to do it? (All you need is an e-mail account, even one that’s anonymous.) And why might someone set up a fake Facebook account? (To pretend they’re someone they're not—a younger or older person, or even a specific individual.)

“How do I keep my privacy?”

Distribute the handout I Can Build a Secure Online Identity. Have students read it and then answer the questions:

• What do privacy settings for profiles actually control?
• How should you set your privacy settings? Why?
• What information should you not post on a social networking site? Give at least three examples.
• What should you always consider before posting? Give at least three examples.
• How do you decide whether to make someone a friend online? Mention at least two things you might consider.

When you’ve discussed these questions with the class, make a chart on the board with three headings:

• “Things nobody should see” (information that should be kept totally private).
• “Things only friends and/or your family should see” (information that should be restricted to your family and your real-world friends).
• “Things everybody can see” (information that can be made fully public).

Ask students which profile elements belong under each heading, and discuss which is more important to them: protecting privacy, or having high visibility. What factors might influence this decision? Which aspects of privacy are most important to them, and why?

Based on what they’ve learned, discuss with the class what should be included in a “model” profile. What elements can make a profile personal and interesting, without giving up too much privacy?

Evaluation

Have students create a flyer or poster explaining how to create a fun profile that still protects one’s privacy. It should include what they think is the most significant risk to privacy, and explain what they believe to be the most effective means of controlling the risk. They should also write a brief paragraph explaining why they made those choices.

Extension activities

• Have students use their Privacy Diaries to create a privacy self-portrait. Ask them this question: “If someone put together all the personal information you revealed in a typical week, how much would they find out about you?”
  
  
• Students may adapt their flyer or poster into a short video clip, in the style of a public service announcement. They should get their message across—how to use social networking sites without giving up too much privacy—in just one to two minutes.

(Consult the Student Toolkit: Creating a Video Essay handout for more detailed information. As an incentive for this project, Canada’s Privacy Commissioner will be hosting a myprivacy & me national video competition in December 2008. These student videos would be eligible for entry into the competition. For more information, visit http://www.youthprivacy.ca/en/contest.html.)