My Digital Footprint may affect my further opportunities because College admission committees and future hiring job executives, most likely will look up and research your online history. Whats posted online doesn’t often come with any sort of explanation or context and it will never go away. If the first impression of who you are comes from an inappropriate or disturbing post on the internet it could potentially ruin or restrict your future opportunities in being hired for a career choice. It could take away from all the hard work and effort you put in your college/university application or job resume. As you grow older and mature you may regret the content you posted online, and you can’t change what comes up when you research yourself on the internet. On the contrary if your careful and safe about what you post online and make sure all the content is appropriate your digital footprint can positively impact your future opportunities in life. You can look back on the projects, assignments, and memories you completed in Secondary school. You can use the Edublog you created to show college admission committees and future hiring job opportunities, projects and assignments you completed, that you are proud of. Edublog’s demonstrate how you’ve learned and grown throughout the years. Posting things on the internet, like on an Edublog, can be a reliable tool to help give you a competitive edge, as you know how to use and work technology efficiently.
Three strategies that you can use to keep your digital footprint appropriate and safe are: always think before you post. Always be thoughtful of what you post and how it may affect yourself and others, positively or negatively? Always re-think things through before you click the send button. Consider that anyone online can see this post, what is the message that the post is conveying? Is it appropriate for the audience your appealing to? Are you comfortable with your post or giving into peer pressure? Will you regret your post later? Its always crucial to ask yourself this questions before posting on the internet. Your safety is the main priority while online. To insure your safety you can take procedures like using privacy settings, not posting personal details of your life online, using a password keeper, googling yourself online to see what content comes up, understand that what you post online is there forever, and using digital tools to monitor your digital footprint. Be helpful, kind, and understanding online. People tend to act different, more outgoing online since their hiding behind a screen. If you are posting a comment on someone’s edublog make sure its productive and kind. If you have feedback for a post that someone posted on their edublog make sure its constructive and kind. That its not criticizing and mean. Think of how your words impact others, does it help them or tear them down? Make sure the prints you leave are good ones.
I have learned that a Digital Footprint is a trail of things you do online . All your social media pages, information on personal websites, browsing history, all your photos/ galleries videos that you put on the internet, and online subscriptions. Anything that comes up on the internet when you look up your name. Growing up in a digital environment has so many advantages in our modern world. Its efficient for communication (you can communicate with people from around the world), easy access to find information, you can keep up with local events and news, you can share your work and create websites and blogs. But growing up in a technological world does have its disadvantages. For example, cyber bullying is a growing issue on social media, people spend lots of time on their device, and its not always safe to keep all your work, contacts, and private information on your device in risk of it getting hacked into. I would want to share all this information with other students. Reminding them to always be safe and respectful when posting images and content online. That even though having a digital footprint can be great, we have to always think about the possible repercussions of what were posting. Who’s our audience? Do you feel comfortable with your post and have you thought about what impact it may have? and most importantly does it show who you are in a positive light? One day when you look back, do you want to be proud of your influence in the online world or look back in regret? And I’ll tell them that the decision is yours, your footprint and your future history online rests in your hands. Have fun, be creative, interact, but most importantly be safe.
Bibliography:
“Digital Footprint.” Virtual, https://www.virtuallibrary.info/digital-footprint.html.
“How Can We Educate Students on Internet Safety? – Panda Security.” Panda Security Mediacenter, 13 Aug. 2018, https://www.pandasecurity.com/mediacenter/family-safety/internet-safety-for-kids/.
“How to Stay Safe Online.” Bullying UK, https://www.bullying.co.uk/cyberbullying/how-to-stay-safe-online/
“Rawpixel.com.” Free Stock Photos, https://www.pexels.com/@rawpixel.
“Social Media Etiquette: Why Your Digital Footprint Matters.” Registry Partners, 4 Jan. 2019, https://www.registrypartners.com/social-media-etiquette-digital-footprint-matters/.