Name:
Oops! I broadcast it on the Internet
My Secret Diary…sort of
| Tommy has been writing an online blog about his life that he thought was pretty private because he used a username that wasn’t his real name. But when his parents ask him why he decided not to try out for the basketball team, Tommy figures out that they have been reading his blog, because it’s the only place he describes being picked on for being so short. Tommy is annoyed and surprised because he never told his parents about the blog and certainly didn’t give them his username to access it. His blog is technically public, but he didn’t think anyone could connect his blog with the “real” him. Tommy later finds out that his best friend’s parents told his parents about the blog.
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| What would you say, if anything, to your parents if you were Tommy? (Guide students to consider the various consequences of making information public. Specifically, students should know that such information can be searched; copied and passed on; seen by a large, invisible audience, and can be persistent or even permanent.)
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| How is Tommy’s parents’ reading his blog similar to or different from reading a diary that he’s written in a notebook or paper journal?
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| Do you think it’s fair for Tommy’s parents to read the things he posts on the Internet, given that his blog is technically public? Why or why not?
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| Why might Tommy’s parents want to read his blog? Given these reasons, how would you react if your parents asked to read your email or text messages?
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| Have you ever been in a situation where your parents or someone else has asked to read something that you felt was private? If so, how did you feel? What did you do?
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