Yet by accepting and promoting the use of digital technologies, new opportunities to engage with a technologically proficient generation of young people can be created. As a residential home manager from the original research project commented: We’ve got to get used to this sort of technology; it isn’t going away. It’s about people not being so nervous. (Holly, residential home manager)
This realisation does not detract from the common risks associated with using digital technologies, or from the need to establish sensible risk management practices. In the real world, vulnerable adolescents can often struggle to maintain and discriminate between appropriate and inappropriate personal boundaries. On some occasions this may result in their sharing too much with those who may do them harm, and often too little with those trying to help. With this in mind, the following common risks and sensible procedures provide an insight into ways in which you can help young people negotiate digital boundaries. The list is not exhaustive and the relationship is the ultimate protective factor.
Conversations with young people about the possible implications of posting content need to focus on the importance of privacy settings, potential audiences and the sensitivity of the content uploaded. The following case study illustrates one such occurrence. People other than the facilitator and young person accessing files created during a digital life story work project.
Other people accessing files created for digital life story work projects, regardless of intent, is both undesirable and avoidable. As with the storage of sensitive non-digital material, there are certain procedures and privacy mechanisms that can be put in place. These include inbuilt protection capabilities such as creating passwords for computer profiles and removable storage devices, but also removing content from recording devices once it has been copied and backed up appropriately.
Technological Development of Human Society and Archaeological Ages
