This week we had the honour and the privilege to deliver a session on online reputation to the men and women of the Higher Colleges of Technology in Ras Al Khaimah.
The session began with a lovely introduction in both English and Arabic from Dr. Yahya Al Ansaari, the Executive Director of the Ras Al Khaimah campus. His introduction alluded to the generation gap between the students and those of us a little older. Those of us that remember a time before the internet and social media have a point of reference that we often refer to and base our opinions on. The next generation and indeed most of the 300 students in the auditorium don’t have that frame of reference.
The digital world, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and more is all they have ever known from a consumer perspective and yet so few of them seem to really understand the implications of their online actions. Some of the things they are sharing about themselves and how this content may well come back to haunt them at their further education application stages, and indeed potential employment opportunities are not given a second thought.
Two to Three Year Thinking
The reality for these students and those coming up through the ranks behind them is they have no choice but to start consciously thinking about their future and by that we mean two to three years down the line. The content that 14-year-olds are posting is being evaluated when they hit 17 and are looking at university places and employment. 96% of recruiters, employers and application departments scour the internet upon receiving an application looking for evidence of who you actually are.
What do they find? Do you even know?
Some students still think the idea of what we do online effecting their offline lives is something to worry about in the future. This idea of ‘we have time to get to grips with this,’ is mistakenly still believed by many, but we discussed the reality of what is actually happening in 2018 in parts of the world and this surprised a few of them. It’s happening now and the time to take control is right now.
As always the positive feedback from individual students after teh session was the biggest reward we could receive, but we also received a lovely gift and certificate from Dr Yahya at the end to commemorate the honour of speaking at the Higher Colleges of Technology Ras Al Khaimah Women’s College.
Should you be interested in having Barry come and speak at your school or further education establishment then drop us a line at safe@beatthecyberbully.ae and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
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