Digital Footprint
What does your digital footprint say about you?
What is a Digital Footprint?
A digital footprint is the "trail" you leave behind when you participate in online activities. Think about it as similar to walking on a trail in the woods. As you walk, you leave behind footprints. Every time you participate in an online activity, including internet searches, games, and social media posts, you are leaving behind a trail of your activity which is called your digital footprint.
What Do We Need to Know About Our Digital Footprint?
- Think about Social Permanence- What you put online, stays online and can impact your reputation for a very long time.
- Colleges and employers often complete online searches prior to hiring. Consider "Googling" your name periodically to see what is posted online and associated with your name.
- In an internet search, social media content often comes up before professional content. This is called someone's passive digital footprint.
- Continuously check privacy settings in anything you sign into and post information, to see what could post publicly as your passive footprint. *Think- Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, photo upload accounts, etc.
- Keep up with old accounts and be sure to close them out if not used, as these can be hacked and used for not so positive purposes. *Think- MySpace or AOL.
- Take charge and actively shape your digital footprint by publicly posting what you would want to represent you professionally:
- Students: Create- College resume building activities, career-building sites, digital portfolios of schoolwork, blogs, online publishing sites (Teen Ink), social media, Ted-X, etc. The key here is.... everything is positive & represents your BEST you!
- Adults/Professionals: Create- Professional websites and/or blogs, or participate in career-related social networking opportunities such as Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Share online presentations and materials or professional videos via YouTube. The key here is... everything is positive & represents your BEST professional you!
- Company/District Guidelines- Be sure you know your company/district guidelines for digital use, to ensure you follow posting guidelines if posting business or school-related content.
Why is this Important?
- Reputation, reputation, reputation...
- This can possibly impact getting into college.
- This can possibly impact getting/keeping a job.
- Sharing too much information can impact personal safety.
- All online activity can be tracked, including internet searches, gaming, shopping and social media posting.
- YOU have a choice in the digital footprint you create!
LEARN MORE ABOUT...
Kid-Safe Internet Search Engines
Smart Social Media Tips
(Great for teens!)