Treading carefully in Stalk Space

Social Media and Risk

Abstract

Universities are enthused by the capacity of social media to engage students, encourage creativity, support collaboration and connect students, teaching staff and industry globally. Without dismissing the very real capacity for social media to contribute to a connected, informed, critical digital citizenry, it is timely to consider some of the risks that social media in a university setting brings. It is a commonplace assumption that, not only are all students 'on' Facebook, but that universities must also engage with students there. This paper does not consider whether to use social media or not for teaching; rather, this paper introduces some legal and ethical themes about the use of external social media for the formal teaching of enrolled students.