I have always been more of a private person so did not really spend much time trying to share things publically on the internet. I have periodically done a Google search of myself to see what shows up and as Colleen mentioned in her posts I am more mindful of the digital footprint left for the purpose of employment.
Physiotherapy students under my mentorship are an easier audience to address the issue of digital footprint. Patients who are under my guidance are receptive to information pertaining to their own rehabilitation but in terms of their activity on the internet it becomes more of a challenging. The education revolves more around health literacy when reading information on the internet. I encourage patients to consider the source of the information they are reading and if the author may have secondary motives to gain from the information they have presented.
Our program has recently encountered a case where an injured worker who was suppose to be off work posted pictures of herself attending baseball games and other social events on Facebook. This led the workers compensation board to initiate an investigation into her claim and its legitimacy. In this case, I am not certain what our team’s position would be in terms of educating this patient on what digital footprint she is leaving. It is interesting how in this case, it is not young students who need to learn about their digital footprint but adults.
I do not believe intellectual property is viewed the same with every culture. Certain cultures do not see copying a product to be an issue because they are dealing with much greater socio-economical issues such as low wages and poverty. It really depends on what your life situation is at the moment and your own personal challenges to some degree. At other times, it comes down to money. If someone is benefiting off of something that you have created then the stakes become much higher. An example of this is the lawsuit against Pharrell Williams and Allan Thicke for copyright infringements on their song Blurred Lines. This ties in nicely to last weeks topic on social media 🙂
In terms of teaching, I would need to be more conscious to not make any assumptions when dealing with a multicultural class. I need to ask direct questions about how perspectives may differ in their own cultures so that they can make sense of the concept of copyright in a North American educational system.
Hi Edwin;
Like you, I am mindful of my digital footprint for the sake of my professional career. I also take care in personal posts because I know they will be around for a long time. I don’t want to say anything to a family member now that I will regret saying down the line. So I try to keep things positive.
It is interesting that as a physiotherapist you have to frequently caution patients about what they read online. Do you ever give them reputable sources to search?
Kind regards,
Tanya
Hi Tanya,
This is one resource that is quite reputable in terms of the information that is provided:
“Medline Plus”:
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/aboutmedlineplus.html
Edwin
Hi Edwin,
As someone who is not involved in medical or clinical practices, I sure have seen a lot of my friends try to take matters into their own hands by internet-self-diagnosing their problems. This has been especially prevalent in my friends who are hypochondriacs and literally Google everything their body might do. As a professional, this must be frustrating, but I like your approach to it. You’re right that web articles very well might be published with an agenda and something to gain. Additionally, injury issues are sensitive with so many factors that go into how to treat and rehabilitate them, not to mention if there are comorbidities involved… I hope patients have the sense to ask questions and talk openly about that with you or your students!
Appreciated your insight!
Victoria
Hi Edwin,
You bring up some great points and example of the importance of considering our digital footprint. Teaching our students to stop, take a minute and consider the outcome of their post, and then make an informed decision about posting, seems simple and obvious, but as we can see, not always undertaken. I heard a similar story of a few nurses who were on night shift assignments. It was quiet, so they were having rolling chair races down the hallway. Another co-worker filmed this and posted it online. The two nurses in question were fired, not based on their questionable choice of how they spent their time, but on the fact that on the video was the patient board. They ‘zoomed’ past the board that was hanging on the wall and all that patient data was then online. No one meant for them to get in trouble but the reality is that privacy has become a very strict topic.
Digital Passport by Common Sense media (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/digital-passport) is one resource our school uses to help teach students awareness of digitial citizenship and digital footprints. Lots of great components for students to work through as a class and individually.
Hey Edwin,
I had a good chuckle at the blurred lines reference. You raise an interesting point with that example. When does something cross the line from being inspired by a source to copying a source? I also like your point about digital footprints being an issue for multiple generations. I always laugh when I see someone post a picture online with the caption “sick day” (when they are clearly just playing hookey). You never know when your online activity will come back to bite you!