MY DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

WHAT IS A DIGITAL FOOTPRINT? Each time you log onto social media, you leave a trail behind you, mostly based on what you search up, whose pictures you like, what you comment on your friends’ posts, etc. You may not know its there, but what you do or say online is permanent and accessible to anyone with internet access with just a click of a button. These tracks help companies and universities find out more about you, whether or not to hire or accept you. Sometimes our digital footprints can affect our lives, even if they seem harmless to you.

In this PowerPoint, I will show you how these footprints can affect your future, how to keep them appropriate, and what information to pass onto others.

WHEN I GOOGLE MYSELF…

The other day in class we had an assignment which asked me to google myself and then explain what I saw. Though I’ve already done this many times before, I was still very surprised by what I had seen. All my social media sites were listed on the page, such as Instagram, Twitter and even YouTube which I barely use! I saw pictures I had posted from 2-3 years ago in Images and even pictures of friends I haven’t spoken to in ages! You could see everything I had posted in the past, but then deleted. It really surprised me, as there are many other Karina Makarova’s in the world, but when I searched myself up, I was mostly the only one on the page!

HOW WILL MY DIGITAL FOOTPRINT AFFECT MY FUTURE? Here are a few examples:

•When companies or universities decide they want to hire or accept you, some of them like to dig really deep into your past to make sure you're perfect for them. For example, if a criminal decides they want to work for a company, the employers would probably want to see that persons’ record to make sure they aren’t a threat to anyone. Same goes for social media, you might’ve sent a tweet a few years ago insulting the company or a person who works there, well even if its buried under the hundreds of your other tweets, its still there for someone who’s trying to find it.

•Another way the footprints can affect your life is if you’re putting all your information online, your birthday, address, phone number, etc, someone can easily take your identity or come over, trying to hurt you. You never know what kind of people can be out there!

HOW CAN I KEEP MY DIGITAL FOOTPRINT SAFE?

•Strategy #1: Think before you post. Before putting something out online for everyone to see, make sure its appropriate. Ask yourself, will I hurt others with this post?

•Strategy #2: Don’t post about every aspect of your life. Make sure you aren’t tweeting or posting about everywhere you go, where you live, when you will be at the place you’re meeting some friend. As fun as it is to tell your friends about the great parts of your life, its unnecessary to tell everyone about everything.

•Strategy #3: Pretend you aren’t the one posting online. Take a moment and think, if you were in someone else's shoes, would you be comfortable with this being online? If no, maybe the better choice is to not publish this on the internet for everyone to see.

WHAT I LEARNED… During the past few days of watching digital footprint videos and reading articles online, I learned that the internet can actually be really scary. My parents and past teachers have already warned me about the dangers of social media so I wasn’t as surprised as a lot of people I know, but it still made me think a bit about how I can change what I post and like online. I learned that once searching something up on the internet, there's an invisible file in your device that tracks what you type and then bases their advertisements on that information. For example, if you only ever google things about soccer, you will then start to see the ads in your emails and your social media accounts asking you to buy their soccer stuff. I also found out that every detail I put out online about myself, even after deleted, it is still possible to find. All the pieces of information on my parents’ social media accounts will also stick with me as I grow older, from sharing the date of my birth, to when I graduate and get married! Everyday kids are sharing things about themselves and creating accounts at young ages, they might not think it’s a big deal about what they post then, but by the time they learn about the risks, it will have already affected their future in some way.

WHAT CAN I TELL OTHERS ABOUT THIS DIGITAL FOOTPRINT? If I were to tell others about the digital footprint, I would just tell them to be aware of what they post! I would explain all the risks there are to having their social media accounts especially at a young age, not to share personal information about themselves, and to listen to teachers when they say it’s dangerous.

Thanksforwatching!