Protecting Personal Information Online

Higher education students increasingly use online tools for learning, networking, career development, and community building. Online platforms and AI tools can support learning, but they also ask students to share personal information. They can create digital traces and manage public or semi-public identities. This week’s readings helped me think about how students can participate online while also protecting themselves.

One of the biggest risks for higher education students is that learning activities can leave a lasting digital footprint. A student may write a blog post, comment on a public discussion, upload a profile picture, share a résumé, post about research interests, or ask for advice in an online community. These actions may feel small in the moment, but they can remain searchable and visible later. Dennen (2016) reminds us that digital course artifacts can include not only words and images, but also sounds, clicks, and other forms of learner data. For students, one important privacy strategy is to pause before posting and ask: Who can see this? Could this be connected to my real name? Would I be comfortable if an instructor, employer, family member, classmate, or future colleague saw it? This does not mean students should avoid participating online. Instead, students should make intentional choices about what to share in different spaces. For example, Reddit may allow more anonymity, but information quality and moderation can vary. 

This is especially important for international students. International students may have additional concerns about privacy because online information can affect professional opportunities, visa-related anxiety, cultural expectations, and personal safety. They may feel less comfortable sharing political views, immigration concerns, or personal struggles in public spaces. Therefore, educators should not assume that all students experience online participation in the same way. What feels like a low-risk activity for one student may feel much more serious for another.

Kumar and Byrne (2022) argue that privacy literacy should be understood as an educational issue. I agree with this because students are often expected to use digital tools without being taught how to evaluate privacy risks. Higher education institutions should help students understand privacy settings, data collection, audience collapse, platform terms, and long-term digital identity. For example, students can be encouraged to use strong passwords, turn on two-factor authentication, review privacy settings, avoid oversharing sensitive information, and separate personal and professional accounts when appropriate.

We, as educators, also have responsibilities. If an instructor asks students to use social media, the instructor should clearly explain the purpose of the activity, what students are expected to share, who can see their work, and how it will be assessed. Students should have alternatives if they are uncomfortable using a public platform. For example, instead of requiring everyone to post publicly on LinkedIn or Instagram, an instructor could allow students to submit a private reflection, use a pseudonym, post in a closed course space, or share only with classmates.

There is also an intellectual property issue. Students should know whether their posts, images, videos, or projects may be reused by the instructor, the institution, or the platform. If instructors want to use student work as examples in future classes, they should ask permission and remove identifying information when possible. This respects students not only as learners, but also as creators.

Overall, I think higher education students can benefit from social media tools, but they need privacy literacy and institutional support. Online participation can help students build professional networks, find resources, and join learning communities. However, students should not have to trade privacy for participation. A thoughtful approach to social media in higher education should help students ask better questions: What am I sharing? Who benefits from this data? Who might see it later? What choices do I have? Protecting personal information online is not about avoiding digital tools. It is about learning how to use them with awareness, agency, and care.

References

Dennen, V. P. (2015). Technology transience and learner data: Shifting notions of privacy in online learning. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 16(2), 45–60.

Dennen, V. P. (2016). Ownership of digital course artifacts: Who can access and use your words, images, sounds, and clicks? Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 17(4), 5–19.

Kumar, P. C., & Byrne, V. L. (2022). The 5Ds of privacy literacy: A framework for privacy education. Information and Learning Sciences, 123(7–8), 445–461.