Digital literacy Article

https://drvcourt.com/category/digital-citizenship/

Digital Footprints, what are they? A digital footprint is an information viewed by anyone using the internet. When someone searches your name, they are able to find possible unappealing or negative information, maybe something you didn’t want anyone to know. This means you do not take care of your digital footprint and are not careful of what you post/say. A healthy digital footprint is when there is only positive information such as an achievement or encouragement towards someone. If nothing shows up about yourself when searched, it is better because it means there is nothing against you and it will be easier when looking for a job. In my case, I recently searched up my name and was not surprised with the result, nothing showed up. It took me a while to make sure there was nothing about just my name, but I had to dig a little deeper if I really wanted to find something. I ended up searching up my Instagram tag, and sure enough there it was there. A lot of information showed up about my profile, luckily there was nothing negative and I already knew this. There were posts of all my achievements in my cheerleading events. I was in a cover for the “Go! Fight! Win!” cheer page, and tagged in many Ice Queens photos. I recently changed my Instagram name to kianakk.lee, but thinking back, I searched up my old name (theroyalqueen_0201) and there appeared an old profile picture at the top of the page. I couldn’t believe what I saw. How could someone upload the entire photo when it is only viewed cropped and in circle form. This made me suspicious, so I clicked the “visit” button that took you to the website. It was on the Piknu website but said that the page was not found. There was nothing bad about this picture because it was just me, but it would be very hard to find this picture anyways as the title had nothing to do with my name if someone had searched it up. Overall I think that my digital footprint doesn’t impact others in a negative way. The information that came up when I searched my name was good because it did not tell anything about me and showed no negative things.

http://www.imgins.org/theroyalqueen_0201

Questions

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

https://www.thefix.com/content/woman-sues-former-employer-after-being-fired-while-rehab

A typical answer to this question would
be that a bad digital footprint will affect
your chances in a job. In the new age of
technology, most job interviewers will search
up your name or social media account to see if
you bring a positive or negative impact to the
company. They do not want someone irresponsible
outside even if you are a great worker in the
office. This could affect whether or not you
get the job.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140618173704-136958930-you-re-fired-how-to-turn-this-into-a-positive-experience

Another way your digital footprint can affect
future would be connections and friendships
with people. If something on your digital
footprint is dissatisfying it may be harder
to connect with and make friends. Not many
people would want to hang out with you if
you were a bad influence and you’ll soon
have no one, or end up in sticky situations.

http://geektasticpodcast.com/according-to-devin/

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

We need to make smart decisions when it comes
to social media as it can be the reason we
lose friends or don’t get the job we might
have wanted. One example of a smart decision
for your digital footprint is to think before
you post. Sometimes we do not think of who
sees what we post and if it is public or not.
Is it appropriate? Do I really want to post
this? These are the questions we should be
asking before we make our decisions. Maybe
we’re in a bad mood or had a bad day. This
can affect what we post. Peer pressure can
also be the cause of irresponsible posts.
Some websites or social media do not have a
delete button, so when the post is there, its
done, you cannot get rid of it and it will be
there for quite a long time affecting your
future wrecking your reputation.

http://jkb.annaisd.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=5780317&pageId=12393491

Google yourself once in a while. It does not
have to be every day, but I suggest to do
this because then you know if your digital
footprint is still appropriate. Most of the
time your digital footprint will not change
dramatically when you are responsible, but
it may surprise you when you find out what
is actually on the internet.

http://marylandcareerconnection.blogspot.ca/2015/07/google-yourself.html

Don’t overshare. When you do this, it enables
your “followers” or “friends” to see more of
your life, sometimes resulting in a negative
digital footprint. My mom really likes Instagram
and tends to post quite a bit about herself as
well as the family. Although the posts are not
bad, when you share too much about yourself, it
can tell everyone else what you’ve been up to
which can lead to people stalking you. Really
unrealistic, but it could happen.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/19837002/ns/health-mental_health/t/beware-overshare-everyday-conversations/

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

I learned a lot from this experience. Searching up myself helped me learn what the internet can contain. I knew there was not going to be bad things about my account because throughout my years in middle school we have worked on our digital footprint to stay appropriate. It is always good to check every once in a while though and make sure your privacy settings are up to date. If I were to explain this to another, I would warn them that social media and the internet are not always safe, to be careful of what you post, and to make sure your privacy settings are up to date. Of course, there are much more, but these are the three things that helped me when learning about digital footprints.