BTVI students schooled in social netiquette

Wed, Apr 15th 2015, 10:24 AM

Think before you post -- that was the simple, yet thought-provoking message Assistant Superintendent of Police Detective Mark Barrett wanted to impart to students.

The 26-year veteran spoke to an entrepreneurship prep class at the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) during which time he sent a strong caution to social media users.

Detective Barrett, who is in charge of the Business and Technology Crime section of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBDF) warned students that sharing too much information could lead to cyber bullying.

While sharing the pitfalls of social media, the officer urged the class to be responsible when posting photos or comments. He told them that cyber bullying is widespread around the country.

"We have to be careful who we interact with. Do you know your 500 followers -- people who are looking at your photos each day?" he questioned. "Yet you're sharing your life," he said.

"Cyber bullying does not discriminate. Bullying is not just physical in nature. Words do hurt. Much of what we say maligns the reputation of others; it is a form of bullying.

Those words replay in the mind, having a psychological effect," he said.The detective said there is the belief that one will have anonymity after writing disparaging comments, but defamation of character can result in two years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.

BTVI office administration major Jessica King, 17, said Barrett's talk changed her perspective.

"I have over 1,000 friends on Facebook, but it opened my eyes that I need to start deleting some of them. I don't even know a quarter of them," she said.

"Most shocking was the younger girls posting certain photos.It disturbed me knowing they're so young. The wider public needs to know about the dangers involved."

Her classmate, Antonique Munroe, said seminars as conducted by the police officer needed to be held in schools throughout the country.

"From this year rolled in, I decided to deal with social media differently, but after hearing what he said today, I realize it even more," said the 30-year-old.

"If we don't know each other, it doesn't make sense adding each other. I knew things were drastic, but I didn't know they were this drastic. It was very informative," she said.

BTVI Dean of Student Services, Racquel Bethel, said she and her team thought it important to host the seminar, particularly as people needed to safeguard themselves in this technologically advanced world.

"We want our students to properly manage their social media accounts and not become victims. Their information goes beyond their circles.

It was a wake-up call for students to realize the devices in their hands may seem personal, but hitting the send button releases the power from you to the hands of even predators," said Bethel.

BTVI instructor Kramer Taylor challenged his students to delete 100 followers from their Facebook accounts who they did not know personally.

He too recognized that some people share information that is too sensitive."You have folks even in their 30s and 40s sharing information or photos that are unethical or illegal.

It's not the type of culture we want to perpetuate," he said.

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