Your Digital Footprint

What is a digital footprint?

According to google a digital footprint is “the information about a particular person that exists on the Internet as a result of their online activity”, but in reality it’s actually a lot more than just that. It isn’t just your comments, posts and search history, your digital footprint is your whole online identity. Which means that it can affect your relationships, reputation and your career.

 

Who can see your digital footprint?

Nowadays almost anyone can look at your digital footprint, but what’s more important is who’s looking at it. Often times prospective employers will look at your digital footprint to get a better idea of who you are. Do you ever notice how sometimes when you visit a website looking for a particular item you might get ads for something similar later on ? That’s because advertisement companies also look at your digital footprint so that they can tailor ads just for you.

How can it affect your future opportunities?

Here’s an example, let’s say you just graduated top of your class and you’re on your way to a prestigious university, when all of a sudden your acceptance letter gets rescinded. The reason ?, the school looked at you digital footprint and it turns out you had an inappropriate photo posted on your Instagram. Other likely scenario could be that you get denied from a sports team or a prospective job due to your negative digital footprint. Additionally, having a negative digital footprint can ruin your reputation and/or your relationships. On the other side of the spectrum a positive digital footprint can present your identity, your skills and your interests to prospective employers or schools. In these situations having a digital footprint can be more beneficial than not having one at all.

How do I keep a positive digital footprint?

Firstly and most importantly, dont’t overshare, always think before you post, comment or like. The questions you should be asking yourself are “Would I be ok with my teachers seeing this?” or ” Is this something everyone needs to see/ know?”. You need to start understanding that once you post something it’s probably going to be out there forever. Don’t forget to also ask “Could this be taken out of context?” because if yes, it might be a better idea not to post it. Secondly take the time to google yourself. To really understand and manage your digital footprint you first need to know what information’s out there. While your doing that I also recommend keeping a list of all your different accounts and deactivating or deleting unused ones. Another thing you should probably do is turn accounts that don’t need to be public private. I’m talking about things like personal Instagram or Facebook accounts. Last but definitely not least be respectful. Respect is always important, but especially so when what you say can have lasting impact and may never be fully erased.

Things to pass on.

What I think is most important to understand is that a digital footprint isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As long as you stay safe and positive your online identity can actually be a fun and useful addition to your digital experience. Passing on this kind of information to friends alongside the sort of scary facts about our digital footprints can really ease the worry or fear some may get. Personally, watching some of the darker documentaries or videos about our digital footprint makes me want to ignore it altogether. However no matter which way you slice it learning about and managing your digital footprint has never been more important than now.

by Alexandra.

All images from pexels.com.

8 thoughts on “Your Digital Footprint

  1. Thank you for sharing your commentary on how to monitor your online use and how to maintain a credible digital footprint. Below are some observations about your post:

    – Details or explanations are extremely effective in answering the three questions regarding responsible online use
    – Includes appropriate photos or media as instructed, just make sure you source the photos you use!
    – Great job engaging others in your post with commentary
    – Post is completed and is well done!

    Thank you,

    Mr. Barazzuol
    COL Teacher for ADL10
    Riverside Secondary School

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *