Today we Will be going over digital footprints and why protecting yourself is important. There are three topics that we Will be going over in this document, and they are: An Explanation of why internet safety and being positive are important, Examples of unsafe and negative activities, and a description of the steps everyone can take to be positive and stay safe Without further ado, let’s begin.

Internet safety is important. This is a proven fact and should be followed by everyone who uses the internet in any shape or form. There are over eight billion people on the planet, and most of them use the internet. Sadly, even some people who want to do bad are on there as well, people who want to steal, hack, incriminate, stalk, and many more are out there just waiting for a chance to pounce on an unknowing subject to take advantage of. That’s why everyone should make an attempt to learn about their digital footprint and their safety on the internet. However, this is not the be all and end all; just because there are some people on the internet that are there to try to take advantage of you it doesn’t mean everybody on the internet is actively trying to steal your identity, and yes, whilst there might be some people on there who are trying some shady stuff, the majority is all good. You just have to keep both possibilities in mind as you are trying to search and interact with the internet and the sites that it provides. So be positive about searching the web, and just keep that warning in the back of your mind. Be careful!

Some negative activities that one can do on the world wide web are: cyberbullying, identity theft, blackmailing, and much, much more. Some of these things can happen when you are, for example, on an online game and lose to another team, and in your sadness, you say something you shouldn’t, and the other players rightfully get mad about it and insult you back, and then from then on, it’s just an endless cycle of bullying, and that’s toxic. Steps that could be taken to avoid it could be to try to do something to calm down, like switch to another game or do something relaxing, just something that takes your mind off of the loss and saying something you would regret. This way, you don’t feel bad, and the other players are not getting cyberbullied. The other thing that could happen is blackmailing. Blackmailing is tough because it is an endless cycle. If a blackmailer gets a hold of, for example, something you said that was maybe not okay or a picture of you doing something you’re not supposed to do, they can extort stuff out of you, like money, gifts, or even a nude picture. That’s the premise of sextortion. The steps that you can take to avoid this are to only post stuff that you would feel comfortable letting your parents see and only talk to people that you know and trust. This way, you can’t be taken advantage of online by someone who’s just trying to make a quick buck.

So, in conclusion, monitor who you’re talking to and what you say online; it could very well reflect back on you in a bad way. For example, if you’re in a job interview and the manager looks at your Instagram and sees a picture of you drinking a white claw on a boat on a workday from 3 years ago, that could be a potential deterrent for hiring you if they think that could be you on a workday. What you post online reflects who you are as a person, so be careful when navigating the web and remember to stay safe.

works cited

Security, Canadian Centre for Cyber. “Digital Footprint (ITSAP.00.133).” Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, 12 Jan. 2022, https://www.cyber.gc.ca/en/guidance/digital-footprint-itsap00133.

What Is a Digital Footprint and How Can You Protect It – Norton. https://us.norton.com/blog/privacy/digital-footprint. Accessed 19 Sept. 2023.

“Myfuture – Australia’s National Career Information Service.” Myfuture, https://myfuture.edu.au/career-articles/details/building-a-positive-digital-footprint. Accessed 19 Sept. 2023.

“Digital Footprint.” TheFreeDictionary.Com, https://www.freethesaurus.com/digital+footprint. Accessed 19 Sept. 2023.

personal/social competency reflection

I make digital ethical choices, like respecting people’s online work. like art or a video that was made particularly well, and I like or upvote it in some way, in order to encourage the production of good media influences on the internet.

I think that my experiences as a digital citizen being part of an online community or chat group influence my hobbies because the more that you interact with people online or not, a piece of their interests and personalities rubs off on you, changing and/or influencing your own perspective.

Some of the ways that I build and maintain online relationships are to be respectful and not too forward when dealing with people online. Another way to do it is to be yourself and to not put on another character and deceive people that are really trying to get to know you as a person.