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

My digital footprint may affect some of my future opportunities like getting a job or being accepted into different Colleges/Universities. For example, I use my social media as a way to build an online art portfolio so if I want to go art school in the future, I already have my art account for art schools to look at. This is an example of a positive digital footprint. Things you do and say online can affect your digital footprint in a negative way too. For example, if a company is looking at all the social media accounts of people that applied for a job, a person who acts negatively towards others on social media has a lot lower chance of  the company wanting to hire them because they want a positive working environment.

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

1. I can make sure what I post is positive by asking myself, ‘If I was looking at this from someone else’s perspective, would I think my post is positive, or is it negative?’
2. Be careful about what I say on social media platforms. Things commented or messaged on social media platforms are never erased, just forgotten until someone finds it again.
3. Be careful about what I like or who I follow on social media. Things you like and people you follow say a lot about who you are and your interests. So I wouldn’t want to accidently like something bad without knowing, for that might impact my digital footprint in a negative way.

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

Some information I learned that I would tell other students is to make sure you’re not posting, commenting, liking or following anything negative because now with technology being such an big and important part of our lives today, things like your social media accounts become important as well. Your social media is a way people can learn about you without actually having to interact with you, so anything you put on there is a new way they perceive you. If something bad happened on social media years ago involving you, they don’t know the context of the situation, or if you regret it. All they know is what happened, and that could change their view of you entirely. That’s why keeping a positive, safe and appropriate digital footprint is important.

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