Goodbye:)

Photo by Geralt from Pixabay

It is officially time to say goodbye. The semester is over and I am making my final post on this site! Throughout this semester, I’ve mostly written with my classmates in mind, the people who I think actually had to read my posts and comment on them! I also kept in mind that the general public could possibly see what I am posting! Thinking about that audience actually changed how I wrote. It caused me to slow down and explain things instead of assuming everyone knew what I meant. It also pushed me to be a little more thoughtful and open, because I could have been writing to people who might relate, disagree, or build on what I said!  At first, even when it felt like there wouldn’t be anyone seeing these posts, pretending someone was, caused me to take the work more seriously and actually think about how my ideas might land with someone else. I tried to share relatable ideas and make my posts show some personality! I think it made writing a lot more fun! 

One thing I’m going to do differently as a digital citizen after this course is be way more intentional about how I verify information before I share it or believe it. I honestly didn’t realize how quickly and easily misinformation spreads, especially with the use of AI making everything look believable. Going forward, I want to work on checking different sources before posting or commenting on posts that may not be true. Our society is so quick to buy into anything that aligns and reinforces our own values, so I want to be able to make sure I know and share the truth! This matters to me because I don’t want to contribute to the chaos online! I’ve seen how misinformation affects real people, such as friends and family. Even if it’s just a fake tiktok video:) So for me, this isn’t just an academic change or something I learned in a class. It is a real life skill that I want and need to carry on practicing! If I can slow down the spread of false stuff even a little, that feels like a meaningful way to practice what we learned and be a better digital citizen.

So I guess I’ll end by saying I’m still figuring all of this out, just like everyone else. I hope we all keep paying attention, asking questions, and making sure we use what we have learned. I want to say thank you for taking the time to read my posts and I hope what I have shared helps others in the future to be safe online, because as I’ve discovered there is so much to watch out for.