When I googled myself, I didn’t find much. I found one Prezi done by me in grade 6, this is only affecting my digital footprint tin a positive manner because since it was done in grade 6, it isn’t overly impactful but it is not negative in any way. If I was anyone else, I would not consider this Prezi a deciding factor in anything to do with my future or anything else.

How might your digital footprint affect your future opportunities? Give at least two examples.

            For anyone with a digital footprint, which most people have these days, their digital footprint can affect them in the future [or present]. Whether that is positively or negatively totally depends on what they’ve decided to put out into the world. Society has come up with tons of technology and social media for people to put whatever they want out, when they don’t understand that it’s all permanent, even what you “delete” it. It will always remain somewhere in the system. If you have a good digital footprint, good things will come your way, because people can see that and if nothing on your digital footprint is negative, the effect will be completely positive. However, this can completely go the opposite way.

            For anyone trying to apply for a job, the employer is looking for the best candidate for the job. Most likely someone reliable, smart, and responsible. If your social media is full of things that do not demonstrate these traits [e.g.:  partying, etc.] the employer will most likely not consider you for the job because you do not show the right qualities for the job. If you have all good things, then they have no reason not to consider you. So with this, think about your future before you post a picture that doesn’t represent how you want people in the business world to see you. Post things that you think can have a positive outcome on your future career.

            This also goes for school. When you try to get into a university or college, they are going to evaluate everything. They want to make sure you will be the good, and right addition to their school. It is so easy to put out a good image for yourself just by not putting out the irresponsible stuff. So do it, if you would like to get into the school of your dreams and get the job you want, do it. You can, it’s up to you.

            Having a good digital footprint is up to you. It’s all about what you decide to put out there. You choose how you want the world to see you. Think about the potential repercussions, positive and negative before you decide to put your whole life out into the world.

Describe at least three strategies that you can use to keep your digital footprint appropriate and safe.

It’s important to keep your digital footprint appropriate and safe. Three strategies that I can give to keep it that way is:

1. Learn about your digital footprint: If you don’t know about your digital footprint and the effects it can have on your future, you are less likely to remember how important it is to have a good digital footprint and you will not be as aware and of putting your best stuff out and not putting bad stuff out into the world. The less you know about your digital footprint, the less you will care how it looks to others, if you learn about your own digital footprint, you will know if that’s how you want others looking to hire you, or allow you into their school to see you, just by the looks of your social media, etc.

2. Think before you post: This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but it really works. If you care about your future and how your digital footprint looks to people wanting to hire you in your future then you need to just think before you post. Before you post anything, think about whether it can help you when trying to get into a school or job. A way to make sure it’s appropriate is to ask yourself if it’s something you would show to anyone: the world, your parents, your boss, your teachers, even your grandparents. If you would be embarrassed or uncomfortable showing them whatever you post, it is not a good idea to post it because then it is probably not something that will help you and you can be proud of in the future. Another reason you need to think before you post is that anything you post will be there forever, just deleting something doesn’t delete it from the world forever. It will always be stored somewhere.

3. Keep your account private: Always make sure that all of your profiles are only visible to your friends and family. They are always visible to others too but it makes you much safer online when you only formally allow certain people to see your account. This can protect you from online predators and other people that have a bad interest in you.

4. Stay positive online: Another way to stay safe and appropriate online is to make your social media a positive place for anyone. Don’t make mean comments online and don’t post negative things because that will only affect you in a negative way throughout your whole life. It will be negative in the present but also when you try to get a job or into a university. Everyone will be more interested in someone making positive comments and choices online rather than someone making negative decisions online.

What information did you learn that you would pass on to other students? How would you go about telling them?

Doing this project has taught me many things that are very important and that I will never forget. The most important thing that I have learned is that in order for me to have what I want in life, I need to be very aware of what I’m doing on the internet. This means that I will always think before I post, I will always try to have nothing but a positive influence in the internet and that it is my job to keep a digital footprint throughout the rest of my life. If I could, I would tell every single kid in the world to use the internet responsibly. I would tell other students by giving them a chance to google themselves, and if they don’t like what they see, I’d tell them how they can improve their digital footprint and how to keep it a positive place.

The world we live in is surrounded by the internet and it is inevitable to be a part of it nowadays. So, instead of avoiding it, we have to embrace it and use it to our advantage. The internet is a good place, if we choose to make it one.