Digital Footprints

“Something we view as harmless; ‘Freedom of Self Expression,’ from a professional perspective? You’ll be fired no question.” –  Michelle Sadrena Pledge

With technology and the world in our hands, how many times does one slow down and think of it’s consequences or repercussions and how it can be socially fatal. What are Digital Footprints and why do we care? From applying to post secondary or a job, those interviewing you are also interviewing your integrity.  Leaving a trail of “Digital Footprints” to trace back to moments where posts on Facebook, Instagram, twitter and more can be found, one better hope that where those footprints lead are a proud place, and not a jeopardizing sentence to one’s livelihood.

So, how does it feel knowing there is a trail left of the things you do online? I recently ‘googled’ myself to see what Digital Footprints I have left on this internet/ social media world.  You know what I found? Newspaper Articles written about my accomplishments throughout my youth that I had no idea about. Of course, my Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram etc… comes up, but with the privacy settings adjusted, the public sees that of which I do not mind sharing, and for more personal documentation, I have for myself and close friends. Overall, I feel pretty great knowing I set some provincial javelin records (who knew), my softball scholarship to the states was documented, my short-lived acting career in the paper, major piano and vocal performances written about- how neat is it that those memories live in cyber space and can be accessed just by googling my name?

Flip side: Now imagine being an employer and seeing all those wonderful things about a person when you google them.  Words like “diverse,” “adaptive,” “hard-working,” may come to mind (I’m not just tooting my own horn here- there is a purpose.) So what if you were an employer and googled my name and the first thing to pop up was photos of me upside down chugging a beer keg? What if you saw public Facebook posts I left about extreme political views or degrading a teacher I didn’t like in high school? What if you, as an employer looking to hire me, notice my profile photo is me smoking a bong and blowing smoke at the camera? Now… are you still going to hire me?

Why is this important for our students and youth to be aware of Digital Footprints? Because they are at such an influential age where they may not be thinking about “the future” or “safety.” Never mind the fact that what you post could inflict consequences on your post secondary or job career, but what about safety? In Justin Boyle’s online article of “12 Tips for Students to Manage Their Digital Footprints” he writes tips such as: “Use privacy settings, Keep a list of accounts, Don’t Overshare, Use a password keeper, Monitor linking accounts, Know that sending is like publishing forever” and more.  This list contains the foundation of many questions we should be asking ourselves prior to making comments or posts.  If we can at least put the thought into our students that they should slow down and take a moment to really think if what they are posting should be on the internet, then perhaps then we can make a difference.

The point to drive home is although posting photographs of drinking, smoking or exercising our “freedom of speech” is not illegal, it taints a certain professional expectation and integrity we are expected to uphold as an educated citizen.  Furthermore, it is not for certain that you can get hacked or scammed if you do not follow some helpful guidelines with passwords and accounts… but it is not for certain that you won’t either.

CITED SOURCES:

1. Christensson, P. (2014, May 26). Digital Footprint Definition. Retrieved 2021, Jan 25, from

 https://techterms.com

2. Justin Boyle. (2019, May 10 updated 2020, Jan 22). 12 Tips for Students to Manage their Digital

Footprints. TeachThought. From

https://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/12-tips-for-students-tomanage-their-

digital-footprints/

3. TED. (2014, July 24). Digital Footprints |Michelle Sandrena Pledger [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlGyTp4Nd4M