Positive Digital Footprint: A Reflection
Becoming a digital citizenship has a lot of unknown criterion and information behind it. What this means is that there are unknown parts that regulate and promote online use that a regular user would never realize. It impacts the very existence of an individual and plays a very influential role in their daily lives. The idea that behind screens, search engines, and social media exist another world that operates on learning about a person and their preference in searches is rather dangerous in who controls that power (Pariser, 2011). The power of a digital footprint belongs to the users, but the power of unintentional digital footprint belongs entirely on an unknown entity. Digital footprint has been the most interesting thing that has been learned this week. With the information provided through videos and articles, an awareness of what we search and how information is presented has been open.
When learning about digital footprints, it’s something that all educators have heard. We preach to students about how these can have profound effects on their future. Little do we know that our own footprints are being created by the post and information we provide to the world and the accessibility to it. In checking on my digital footprint, I was surprised to see that I was connected to an obituary of my maternal grandfather that was posted several year ago. This website that housed the obituary is not a website we used in the passing of my grandfather. It will be interesting to know who got that information and posted it to that particular website without our consent. Even after searching for information about myself, I noticed that I am not alone in name, as I have a very common name on social media as well that my social media information is very much kept private for the exception of one social media site that I use particularly for work purposes. To continue to move forward with keeping a safe digital footprint is that I need to ensure that I am providing too much information to the world. I am protecting my privacy, as well as making sure that others are using permission to use my name or my pictures with my approval.
When thinking about this in a student point, students don’t realize the negative impacts they make on social media whether it be a post that degrades a teacher to another student. These post can be left and permanently mark them for life. When colleges that are recruiting or future job prospects search them, their negative post will be the legacy they leave in their digital footprint. To ensure that students are making the right decisions as far as digital footprint goes, we have to teach them to use profiles that have their first names only or doesn’t divulge too much information about themselves. Also to make sure that they keep their social media presence on private to them and their friends as well as away from the prying eyes of dangerous individuals. The big component to teach them is to protect each from negative posting that can contribute to cyber-bullying. That can be taught by teaching them the importance of needing permission from the people that they post about and about themselves as well as what the repercussions can be if they do so without the consent of others. And as always, making sure that they understand their roles as digital citizens, and the contributions they make to the digital world to be a positive one (Stills, M., 2019).
In the efforts to make sure that our footprints are positives ones, we must know that what we do and what we searched is tracked by an online gatekeeper (Pariser, E., 2011). This gatekeeper tracks and records the posting of a user as well as keeps it on the internet that can make a negative or positive impact on our future. Through understanding this problem, we can make clear and smart decisions about our digital presence
References
N.A. [Common Sense Education]. (2014, September 4). Oversharing: Think before you post.
Retrieve from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyjd73tUXig
Pariser, E. [TED]. (2011, May 2). Beware online “filters bubbles” [video file]. Retrieved from
Stills, M. (2019). Understanding the impact of technology: The digital footprint/tattoo that we
leave behind. Lamar Blackboard. Retrieved from www.lamar.edu
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