Creating a Positive and Safe Digital Footprint
With a heightened usage of the internet in today’s modern society, more and more users are able to log onto their search browsers and find anything they can, raising concerns regarding one’s digital footprint and the importance of internet and how some of their activities can put them at risk and how they should become more secure on what they do online. Often times people may be posting more information than they are aware of regardless of if their privacy settings are on private. It is very important to track what you post and the websites that you visit as there may often be more unwanted eyes on them than you think. These eyes can range from future employers and schools to internet hackers and scammers. One can put themselves at risk by participating in risky behavior online such as making public pictures and thoughts that should remain private which can be viewed by an employer and school and used against them. Often times browsing on sketchy websites and clicking suspicious links can allow hackers to invade your personal devices with malware, giving them access to one’s private information such as passwords, bank accounts, private emails, and more. Even by just sharing your name or posting your location, pictures and names of your family and pets even birthdays, scammers may use this information to use against you or others around you gain them thing from them such as money or even guess passwords. There are ways however which one can partake in to protect themselves from the dangers of the internet. One can use a VPN to encrypt their browsing traffic making it harder for hackers to obtain your information on unsecure websites and links. One can also make their social media accounts are private so then only a select few people are able to view their pictures and have access to what you share. Finally, it is important to attempt to delete anything that is irrelevant such as old photos and documents as well as old account you do not use anymore, this is important to ensure one’s safety. One’s digital footprint is far bigger than you may think that’s why it is important for one to know how to decrease and make sure they have a positive one that can be looked a positively without harm, by not posting unnecessarily and staying away from sketchy sites and links one can be safe when scrolling online.
Works Cited
Works Cited
Biggs, Josh. “5 Tips to Protect Your Digital Footprint Online.” Meldium, 29 June 2021, https://www.meldium.com/5-tips-to-protect-your-digital-footprint-online/.
Decker, Fred. “How to Protect Your Digital Footprint.” The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo, 28 Aug. 2020, https://www.spokeo.com/compass/how-to-protect-your-digital-footprint/.
Your Digital Footprint May Be Unflattering. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8C1a2z_cuQ.
Teen Voices: Oversharing and Your Digital Footprint. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ottnH427Fr8.
Personal/Social Competency Reflection
My values around achieving good grades in high school inform my decisions about how much time I spend on devices engaging in recreational activities by limiting my minutes on them. I attempt to do well in school, so to achieve this I limit my time on recreational devices. I try not to use my phone much afterschool maybe just for the first hour I am home from school. I do to not get distracted and waste time scrolling on not important things. I also attempt to place myself in a room where there is no television or gaming console as to not have the temptation to turn them on and waste time on them. By doing this I ensure I am focused to get good marks.
Some of the ways I work to build and maintain online relationships are through social media and video games. These two resources allow for me to be able to connect with friends who are both close distant and far away. Via social media I can interact with my friends’ pages and view what they are up to depending on what they post. I can also interact with them by messages and asking how they are doing and what they are up to, keeping up with them. Social media also allows for me to be able to follow someone I have not seen in a long time and catch up with them. Video games also allow me to interact with others as I may play with friends who are far away from me. It is something my friends and I can bond over allowing for our online relationship to be stronger.
I know that my digital footprint can have both positive and negative consequences including what I post on social media, so I adjust my action to ensure I am safe online. First of all I am careful of what I post online. I try not to give out to much information such as my location and other personal information. I also set my accounts to private as to only allow those who I know to be able view what I post. On top of this I mind what I say online to make sure that it does not come back to bite me. Finally, I delete old and outdated posts of mine which I don’t need anymore.
