‘Just think about what you want to share about yourself, and who in your life you deem worthy to have access’

I am a 12-year-old atheist attending a Christian all-girls’ school. Before I joined, I posted an atheist picture on a social media site. I thought it was fine, until a teacher asked to speak with me. Apparently, a few of my peers had dug up the picture and were concerned enough to show it to her. She asked me to delete it. What should I do?

Personally, I don’t believe your teacher should have the right to make you delete your post. She might if you’ve breached the school rules, but it seems unlikely, since you posted the picture before you even joined the school. If you want to make a stand, I’d reference the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that we have the right to freedom of thought, religion and expression. You can read the entire document online and memorise choice bits. (Hint: see articles 18 and 19.)

But here’s something I find interesting: the same document contains another section about the right to privacy. It was important enough to include in this screed, yet it’s something we willingly forfeit every day through social media. This might seem hopelessly old-fashioned, but I can’t help feeling you digital natives are basically consenting to your own surveillance.

No doubt my feelings are coloured by the fact that I lost a great deal of my own private life when I became a public person at a very young age. Trust me, once your privacy is gone, you never really get it back. The internet has only compounded this phenomenon, exponentially.

I use social media myself, with ambivalence. I try to think carefully about what I post, and still end up making dumb mistakes there is no real way of deleting. I’m an adult, however, and I’ve had years to figure out how I want to represent myself to the world.

It isn’t fair that your peers dug up your post and squealed on you, but the same thing could happen years from now, when you’re trying to get a job or a flat. I’m not saying that your opinion is wrong. Just think about what you want to share about yourself, and who in your life you deem worthy to have access.

I confess I wanted to show your letter to my own daughter, to prove there is at least one kid who actually wants my advice. Then it occurred to me that your own mother might feel the same way.

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