Not just students, but every single one of us needs to know how our actions online - whether on a computer or tablet or smartphone - leave a trail that lives forever.
It wasn't always that way. Growing up in the '80s, we could be goofy with our friends and even foolishly inappropriate with only our memories left to show for it. With today's always-on generation, social media and ubiquitous smartphones have made it easy and accessible for anyone to post anything online, and the internet never forgets.
I've given this talk before to students, as well as business professionals. Everything you record or do online is searchable, and we need to talk to students as soon as possible to make sure they understand that.
Obviously, potential employers and potential colleges will want to see what they are doing online, but the laws have still not caught up to the technology, and some employers demand logins because there is no law against it. So even if you have everything hidden online, it can still be uncovered.
And it's not just potentials, but current employers and current colleges are looking at what people are doing online, and losing a job or scholarship because of a tweet is almost commonplace these days.
The ability to communicate with others in this day and age is an amazing spectacle to have been able to watch unfold, but we all have to be responsible with it, or we reap the consequences.
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