Topics to talk about

Over the past few years, our Office has engaged young Canadians on privacy issues through presentations and discussions. While it’s true that our Office has a wealth of knowledge about privacy laws and issues, we wanted to know whether Canadian teens care about their privacy while online and, if so, which privacy issues they are most interested in learning and talking about.

We received great feedback. Many young Canadians told us that they want to know more about the privacy implications of technology, so that they can make better informed decisions regarding how to protect themselves and their online reputations.

So we pulled together a series of topics you can use for discussion with young people. Each provides information about the impact of online tools and practices on privacy and how a person can take control to protect their online rep.

Discussion Topic #1: Take the time to shape your online rep

Discussion Topic #2: Putting your online rep to work for you

Discussion Topic #3: What you post on the Internet is not private – and what you can do about it

Discussion Topic #4: Know who your real friends are

Discussion Topic #5: Sexting: Not worth it

Discussion Topic #6: Understand new features before you use them

Discussion Topic #7: Online impersonation: prevent people from hijacking your account and pretending to be you

Discussion Topic #8: It’s important to password-protect your mobile device

Discussion Topic #9: It's important to protect your friends' privacy too (and vice versa)

Discussion Topic #10: When online, think very carefully about disclosing where you are in real life

Discussion Topic #11: Think carefully about how different pieces of information fit together