Delete Day aims to make Windsor students think carefully about their online lives

A local high school is encouraging its students to think twice about some of the information and material they are posting online and to consider pulling it down, in some cases.

At Catholic Central, it's an event they call Delete Day.

Basically, students are being asked to look at their use of social media and various devices and to consider if they are doing so in a safe and responsible manner.

Windsor police Const. Shawn Diotte has been invited to help the school with the event.

"They are encouraging them to delete, say, harmful posts that they put online, or dangerous information that they may be putting out there," Diotte told CBC Radio's Windsor Morning, when describing the event on Wednesday.

Diotte said students are revealing information about their private life in ways that may pose some risks to them.

"There's a lot of people that are out there that look at this information and may use it to either bully or extort or things like that," he said.

Diotte also said that some online postings also carry long-term risks in terms of future employment.

"Social media accounts are viewed as almost a snapshot of who you are as a person and you know, employers look at this," he said.

"Things you may tweet out now or put on your Facebook account now, may come back five, six 10 years down the road, to affect your job opportunities."

Use this link to hear Diotte's full interview with Windsor Morning, or use the audio player on this page.