Digital Publishing and Youth Education

Cat and I were talking after class today about kids and their naivete in publishing content and information to the Web. There are a huge number of pitfalls along this front, ranging from legal to social and everything in between. We concluded that the youth must be educated on the ramifications inherent in placing one's self on the grid.

The Web provides a great social vehicle for communication and self-expression, but can obviously be dangerous—precisely for that reason. Personal information distribution should be carefully controlled by the given publisher—as subscribers to online activity are indeed publishers. Members of the online youth (the adolescent cyberculture) are especially at risk, as they are not versed in the cautionary lessons of dangerous activity. Think about the risks inherent in driving a motor vehicle— to draw a similar parallel.

We have given thought to starting an organization or collective to educate youth on the ramifications—a sort of web-driver's education. Any input in this area is most welcome. I will create a more organized forum for discussion on this topic at a later date, and post the details to this blog.