Code of Ethics and Social Media

Yesterday in class we did some retrieval practices on AOTA's Code of Ethics. This was learned once before, at the beginning of the year, but wasn't quite grasped. Learning about it again helps with the retrieval process and helps me get a understanding of why these principles are appropriate and important for my profession. While the purpose of the code of ethics and all the principles is to reflect the nature of our profession and prevent any ethical concerns, there is one principle that I find really important in today's society. The definitions of autonomy and confidentiality basically say we, as practitioners, should respect the rights of the client. What is important to know is that the word "rights" is such a broad term. This can be anything that describes or identifies a client (name, diagnoses, birth marks, physical looks). It can also be anything that a client possesses, says, wears, or practices. The reason I think this principle is the most important is because of the high use of social media. Social media is basically our "one click" link between privacy and total exposure. As young health professionals who are highly active on social media, I think that it's important for us to understand that privacy isn't something that comes easy in such a technology driven world. As the generation that started growing up without technology and slowly made our way into that world, we need to be the main educators and spokespeople for other health professionals that are currently surrounding us and will come after us. Most of us don't like our insecurities and imperfections to be exposed, so why should be expose others? (Even when we're not meaning to).