A Digital Tattoo: Getting Inked by Social Media

I have two tattoos.

The first tattoo I got when I was 18. At the time, you couldn't get a tattoo until you were 18 unless you had parents' permission, which I never would have gotten. I was rebellious and wanted to prove who I was, so I waited until I was old enough and I went to get inked.

The second tattoo I got when I was 19. I went with my college best friend and we got matching tattoos. It was a spontaneous decision that would be with me forever.

These two tattoos have affected my life in different ways. The first tattoo is a reminder of who I was when I was 18 and is probably still a reminder to remain true to who I am, even to this day: be myself, continue to question rules, and push boundaries.

The second tattoo is a constant reminder of my college best friend who proved to not be a very good friend that spread rumors about me that were hurtful, untrue, and still bother me to this day. Every time I see that tattoo I am forced to be reminded of that time in my life.

The thing about tattoos is that they don't go away. They stay a part of you forever. Although you can't see them at first glance, they are with me everywhere I go.  But the truth is my tattoos can be hidden and no one has to know about them unless I tell them. But life is different for our youth. Social media is the current day tattoo. Every post about yourself is a small tattoo that sticks with you forever. We get to choose what the tattoo says about us. Will it be a positive message that you are proud of or will it be a ghost that haunts you forever? Whether you realize it or not, when I said I had a tattoo at the beginning of this post you formed an opinion about me, whether it was right or wrong, it was your first opinion about me, without knowing my story or anything about me. The same thing happens to our students every time they post something, a picture, a comment, anything. It's not a digital footprint. It's a digital tattoo. Remind your students the next time they post something to consider it a tattoo that will mark them forever. What will it be? What will it portray?

**Digital tattoo is a term taken from Craig Badura and is not my original thought.

Get inked,

~Mindy

#leadwithtaillights