My digital footprint. The way that people around the world can see who I am, what I do and why I do it without even knowing who I really am. It can make me or break me in my future job, school and social opportunities. This digital dossier defines who I am on this huge thing called the world wide web, but can also effect my progress and success in the real world. When I googled myself, I was surprised to not find anything about me, especially when I do have multiple social media accounts. I basically don’t exist in the “google world”. I feel like this can be a good and a bad thing. First off, good because there is nothing negative that could concern people who search for me on the internet. I also consider it bad because there isn’t anything positive about me that might make a positive impact on the people looking me up.
How might your digital footprint affect your future?
When I eventually apply for jobs and meet new people, my digital footprint will be a key thing that they will look at. If it is negative, I could not get accepted to jobs that I have applied for or I could get fired from a job when my employer finally finds the negative footprint. More and more of these circumstances have been happening recently, adults are losing their jobs because of something they tweeted/posted when they were teenagers! I hope and plan to always have a good digital footprint so that I will never have to feel like I need to hide things that I’ve done online, instead be confident with my digital footprint and never feel like I need to worry about it. Also, in this day and time, whenever you meet someone new, whether you like them or not, you will almost always look them up on social media accounts/google. The things that you will see on their account can totally change your perspective of them. For example, if you see a lot of hatred posts promoting something that you are against, you may never want to speak to them ever again. If it is the opposite, you might consider meeting with them again. I think that your digital footprint now is something that can change your whole life in the future, for the very good or the very bad.
Describe at least three strategies that you can use to keep your digital footprint appropriate and safe.
1. Remember that freedom of speech comes with consequences. Yes, we live in a free country and yes, we all have freedom of speech, but did you ever think of the consequences? Online seems like the perfect place to project your strong opinions and thoughts/fight with others, etc. because you are hidden behind a screen, but doing so can ruin your life. Businesses and people can associate you with a certain group because of your online rants and opinions, that they don’t want to be associated with at all. Online isn’t a very good place to discuss or fight about things that are completely opinion based, plan that for another time and place.
2. Always keep your personal accounts private. This is a very good strategy for keeping your digital footprint safe and secure. This assures that random people/
online predators cannot have access to your posts and pictures. With that said, you still have to think before you post and always be appropriate,because whatever you post is and will be on the internet forever. This strategy is just to keep your main information hidden from those wanting it and also keeping your personal life separate then your business life.
3. THINK! This strategy sounds like it would be the easiest, but it can be quite hard. Before you post, think about what your doing. Is it negative? Will it benefit you in the future? Is it necessary that you post it?Are you posting it for revenge or are you mad? All these questions and more should pop in your head before you post. I think that if after you have evaluated all of the pros and cons of posting it, you will have a good idea of what to do. A lot of negative digital footprints started with people not thinking before they posted and just going with what they were thinking at that moment.
What information did you learn that you would pass on to other students? How would you go about telling them?
After completing this assignment, I have realized that your digital footprint is basically your online life. Anyone and everyone can access it at anytime, place or day. I would tell students that if they don’t think and acknowledge their footprint now, it will immensely effect them in the future. I hope that students understand the importance of creating a positive footprint and how it will benefit them in the very near future. I would go about telling them if I noticed they started posting things that would negatively effect their footprint. I would tell them a short summary of what I’ve wrote in this assignment.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post,
Molly
Photos:
http://www.englishandculture.com/blog/bid/80758/Can-Cultural-Awareness-Training-Be-Done-Online
https://uoedigitalfootprint.wordpress.com/category/quote/
a few tips and quotes for all of you to "T-H-I-N-K" about 🔎 #Digitalfootprint #Digitalfootprint #Digitalfootprint pic.twitter.com/vH9S8UrREg
— Digital Footprint (@WhatsYourStep_) March 29, 2015
http://technology.onehowto.com/article/how-to-make-my-profile-on-instagram-private-389.html
https://www.pinterest.com/techchef4u/digital-health-and-citizenship/
https://toniobarton.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/screen-shot-2012-07-10-at-4-14-53-pm.png