Do you ever feel like you lack knowledge about what happens to your data? I want to reassure you of one thing: you probably already know more than your secondary school has ever taught you. As a student in secondary school, I often find myself using digital platforms, like social media and tools such as ChatGPT. And so do my classmates. A recent study also shows this trend: according to CNN, 93% of teens frequently use YouTube, and 63% often use TikTok, even though we technically might not be allowed to use it yet. This digital engagement is a significant part of our lives, yet many of us remain unaware of what happens behind the scenes, particularly regarding our data. Schools should be doing more to teach us about this, but they often fall short.

As students and individuals, we have a right to privacy. Companies are constantly gathering extensive data about us, and while governments worldwide are stepping in with regulations like the EU General Data Protection Regulation to safeguard our data, choices like whether to accept or decline cookies are not important in the eyes of a teenager. Many of us teens do not really understand what it means when we hit “accept”—we just do it without thinking about the impact. When I am looking over the shoulder of one of my peers, they usually all click accept without thinking twice. The only reason why I am aware of the nuances of this, is because I have family that works in the “data world”. I believe schools should step up and teach us more about cookies, digital privacy, and our right to data autonomy.

While schools frequently acknowledge the negative aspects of technology, their responses are often inadequate. For instance, the way schools deal with social media is frequently inefficient. Some opt to ban phones during school hours, but this does not significantly reduce social media usage—students still use social media apps at home. Instead, schools should focus on teaching us about our data rights and what happens to our information online. This might make my peers think more before using social media excessively. 

It is also important to recognize that schools collect a substantial amount of data themselves every day. They take attendance online at the start of each lesson, post grades and homework assignments online, and often ask us to fill out surveys digitally. But what happens to that data? Most students, myself included, are left in the dark. While schools likely use this data ethically, the same cannot always be said for the companies that offer the platforms and services, and which we will come across during the rest of our lives. By normalizing data collection without transparency, schools inadvertently prepare us to accept similar practices from social media platforms without question also in the rest of our lives.

Schools should invest more effort in educating us about data autonomy, and dealing with technology responsibly. If schools do not do this, our generation is left to fend for ourselves in figuring out how to deal with a society that is only growing more digital. In the ideal scenario, there would be a weekly ‘digital’ class in all secondary schools, teaching us about topics such as content on social media, cookies, and data that the school collects. I hope schools will recognise the need for classes such as this in the near future. In the meantime, I recommend spending time discussing this topic with professionals in education. To do my part in this I am actively trying to spread awareness about this. I hope you will do the same.