• Japan Tips

Crafting Your Digital Persona: A Teacher’s Guide to Navigating Social Media in Japan

Japan, digital persona

Introduction

 

Social media is everywhere, connecting people across the globe. In Japan, 98% of young people use social media in one form or another. For high school students, the top category is location services like “Whoo” and “NauNau,” and the other commonly used apps are:

 

  • LINE 82.9%
  • YouTube 76.5%
  • Instagram 69.3%
  • TikTok 49.8%
  • Twitter 47.9%
  • Snapchat 8.7%
  • Facebook 2%

With this in mind, current and prospective ALTs need to consider their social media use and take measures to avoid situations where online activity could potentially have real-world effects at school.

Even if students aren’t fluent in English, it won’t automatically prevent them from inquiring into their ALT’s social media presence. If a student finds something potentially interesting or controversial, you can expect that other students, as well as the school and/or school board, may also become aware of the content in question. This can have an impact on relationships in the school community and beyond, as well as affect your career as an ALT. In this article, we’d like to give you some tips on how to create your digital persona in a way that helps build your status in schools as a professional ALT.

Social Media Etiquette

First Impression​s

 

You can be 100% certain that as soon as you are introduced to the students and teachers at your school, they will look up your name on Google. In Japan, this is called “Pabasa” (short for “public search”) and while initially innocent, it has the potential to give a bad impression very quickly. This situation may be less if you have a very common name, or worse if you have a very unique one. Consider what the students will see by running a Google search of your own name. This should be the first step for any new ALT starting with Interac and teaching in Japan.

Managing Your Privacy

 

Checking your privacy settings should be your next step. Who can see your accounts? Who can see your content? Make sure you check the details as well, like who can see your likes and comments, reposts, shares, and so on. You might want to ask a friend or family member to run a search on your social media accounts and see what they are able to view as a member of the general public. Another option is to make your personal accounts private, and start a new “Japan” account under a pseudonym if possible.

Online Persona Management

Anticipating the Students

 

For most of us, the kinds of things we share on social media aren’t really controversial. What we had for dinner, a favorite song, a good movie, etc. are totally normal and most people make these kinds of posts. So, what kinds of content are possibly going to cause reputation problems if discovered?

Consider the following:

 

  • Adult content, explicit or suggestive photos, videos, or language.
  • Alcohol & drug use/references
  • Depictions of unruly behavior, violence, or involvement in dangerous activities.
  • Offensive or culturally insensitive content.
  • Admissions of criminal activities, ongoing legal issues, or court appearances.
  • Disparaging remarks about students, colleagues, the school, or Japan and Japanese culture in general.
  • Extreme political or religious views that may be offensive.
  • Criticism of the education system, policies, or cultural practices in Japan.
  • Content that contradicts the image of a responsible, reliable educator.
  • Posts about excessive partying or a slovenly lifestyle.
  • Revealing tattoos or body modifications that you keep covered at school.

Give your social media accounts an audit and remove any content that could be considered objectionable. Don’t leave things out there that the students might find and use to question your professionalism as an ALT. You ought to have this audit complete and your social media cleaned up well before your first day of training with Interac.

Digital Professionalism

Things to avoid

 

There are a number of things that you should absolutely avoid to protect your digital persona. Keeping your information security tight once you are in schools is the best way to avoid any issues with students or teachers browsing your content. For example, you should never:

 

  • Give out your social media accounts to students/teachers.
  • Like student/teacher content.
  • Friend students.
  • Follow students.
  • Repost student content.
  • Post any content related to school or students, including pictures of school or school events even if students aren’t in the picture.
  • Discuss where you are teaching, the schools, students, or teachers.

 

You should refrain from contacting students online when using gaming platforms as well. The same rules apply to gaming networks such as PlayStation Network, XBox Live, Pokemon Go, Discord, Twitch, etc. Of course, playing online with students should be avoided , and you should be careful to choose an online gaming name that is not recognizable in a local server that could be shared with students.

Wrap-up

Keeping a well-managed online presence that enhances your professional image and online persona is easy to do with the points we’ve covered in this article. Most teachers never have any trouble by following common sense measures.


For more information about ALT jobs and teaching in Japan, click here. To make an application to become an Interac ALT, click here.

About the Author

Brian McDonough is a consultant at Interac, Japan’s largest provider of ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers). Originally from the US, Brian has lived in Japan for over 25 years, giving him a unique perspective on the cultural differences and challenges people face when moving to Japan. He has first-hand experience of working in Japan as an American.