Your Digital Footprint is Important
- 87% of Americans can be identified online with just three facts about them: ZIP code, birthday, and gender (Morehouse, 2011).
- In 2009, 45% of all hiring managers used search engines to research the digital footprint of potential applicants - up from 26% the previous year (Cowell, 2010).
- 63% of hiring managers decided not to hire an applicant because they found something questionable about that person on a social networking site (Cowell, 2010).
- Most people don't know what's in their digital footprint: only 3% of people perform a search on themselves regularly, and almost three-quarters have only searched for themselves once or twice (Cowell, 2010).
What Makes Up Your Digital Footprint?
- Your personal information: name, address, phone number, birthday;
- Your actions and uploads: texts, photos, sites you have visited, things you say and things others say about you online;
- Your digital trail, which may be invisible to you: Data collected about you from using your TV, telephone, cell phone, Internet, and other tools that you use in your everyday life. Often this data is used by companies for marketing purposes (Cowell, 2010).
How You Create Your Digital Footprint
How much do you think about and value your privacy? You might feel upset if a parent or sibling went into your room without permission, or checked up on your Facebook profile. But, "in a world where everyone is connected and anything created online can be copied, pasted, and sent to thousands of people in a heartbeat, privacy starts to mean something different than simply guarding personal or private information" (Common Sense Media, 2009). So while you might think a lot about privacy as it relates to the people you know, you should consider that when every time you update your status on Facebook, tweet, comment on something, post a video, or text a friend, you are making a decision about your privacy as it relates to a lot of people you've never even met. You are creating your digital footprint every day.
You make decisions online every day that may seem short term, but could have long term consequences, long after you've forgotten what happened today. Have you ever posted something online that a friend passed along or re-posted in a way you didn't anticipate? Have you ever re-posted something that belonged to a friend without asking them first? Or put "real life" business, like a fight or a break up, online? Who is reading the messages on your Facebook wall? You may think that only your friends would read about it or care, but an adult (such as a college admissions counselor or hiring manager) might see it and think twice about you.
"Everything leaves a digital footprint. Whatever gets created may never go away. If they don’t want to see it tomorrow, they'd better not post it today" (Common Sense Media, 2009).
You make decisions online every day that may seem short term, but could have long term consequences, long after you've forgotten what happened today. Have you ever posted something online that a friend passed along or re-posted in a way you didn't anticipate? Have you ever re-posted something that belonged to a friend without asking them first? Or put "real life" business, like a fight or a break up, online? Who is reading the messages on your Facebook wall? You may think that only your friends would read about it or care, but an adult (such as a college admissions counselor or hiring manager) might see it and think twice about you.
"Everything leaves a digital footprint. Whatever gets created may never go away. If they don’t want to see it tomorrow, they'd better not post it today" (Common Sense Media, 2009).
What is Digital Citizenship?
"Who is a digital citizen? You! A digital citizen is anyone who uses digital tools such as computers, cell phones, or the Internet. You can use these tools in your work, at school or for recreation. Similar to how rules and standards of behavior exist for citizens of a city, those of us in the digital world should also follow rules and policies" (Computer Applications, 2010).
Digital citizenship is everyone's responsibility. You have a responsibility to treat your digital footprint, and those of your friends with respect. Your friends are also responsible for treating your digital footprint with respect, and not to do anything that might hurt you now, or later.
Digital citizenship is everyone's responsibility. You have a responsibility to treat your digital footprint, and those of your friends with respect. Your friends are also responsible for treating your digital footprint with respect, and not to do anything that might hurt you now, or later.
Creating a Positive Digital Footprint
Your digital footprint is an online version of you! It may be the only description someone has of you, particularly potential employers.
Here are some tips to make sure that view is positive.
Here are some tips to make sure that view is positive.
- Google yourself or set a Google Alert. This will let you know when someone has posted something using your name.
- If you are graduating this year, create a LinkedIn account.
- Make sure that you have applied the Facebook privacy settings to limit who has access to your profile.
- Remember that we live in a digital world and digital content can be easily changed and accessed.
- Expand your online network. Connect to friends of parents, parents of friends, relatives and neighbors. Connect with adults likely to recommend you for a job.
For more tips, visit Common Sense Media's tips for high school students. Or, use a search engine to search for "positive digital footprint."
Proceed to Measure Your Footprint to learn more about how your digital footprint compares with others'.
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