~Creating a Positive and Safe Digital Footprint~

I used Microsoft Word to type the paragraph and also afterwards wrote directly onto Edublog afterwards. I used Word art to make the image.

Works cited:

① Hickey, Chelsea. “Teenagers: Why You Should Care About Your Digital Footprint.” Social Media Club, 22 May 2013, https://socialmediaclub.org/blog/from-the-clubhouse/teenagers-why-you-should-care-about-your-digital-footprint/. ② Hickey, Chelsea. “Teenagers: Why You Should Care About Your Digital Footprint.” Social Media Club, 22 May 2013, https://socialmediaclub.org/blog/from-the-clubhouse/teenagers-why-you-should-care-about-your-digital-footprint/. ③ https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/erase/documents/raising-digitally-responsible-youth.pdf

~Personal/Social Competency Reflection~

Something I personally think you should be careful about is checking your social media too much. When you post/say something online, I really get how you want to see what people say about it, and how they react. I really understand that, and this is something that has happened to me before, and it took too much of my time, and also hurt me. The reason I felt hurt, was the “dislikes” or hurtful comments, and people who disagreed. You really should know that while because the internet is such a big place, and is really cool how you can connect with people who are living on the other side of the world, so far from you, that also mean there are many people that will think different than you, and people who honestly are just annoying. You really need to be able to have the way of thinking that “Some people are just different” And think before you jump to conclusions. It is true that it is easier to say bad things to people when online; I think the reason for this is that we are hidden behind the screen, and we think we won’t get caught, or the person we are saying those things to we will never see again, so it would do nothing to hurt a relationship, and think you can just take out your anger on them. Even though you may forget about them, scroll past their account and never think about them ever again, they probably will remember what you said and stay hurt. (I felt hurt by comments online a lot before, just in general with the content that would come to my eyes. When this happened, I took a break awhile from social medias to help my mental health. I think that really helped, and it might help you too..!) You should be careful the same way (how you speak) online the same, if not more than in real life. Because you usually cannot find out the persons feeling by the way they talk the way you could when you are face-to-face, you need to thoroughly explain so nobody takes what you said in the wrong way. (You could also add emojis, or exclamation marks, things like that so the person can tell the way you meant to express your message!) I hope these kinds of “I thought you meant this, though!!” Incidences with this. In conclusion, the internet is a fun, useful thing that should be used with careful thought.

~Some things you can do to keep yourself safer when online~ 

Using an ad blocker, (so you do not accidentally click on fishy links) Having tighter privacy settings (So no one can get in your account and steal your information. Some examples of how to do this may be, having a password that has symbols, numbers, and letters so it is harder to find out, using two-step verification to get into your accounts, using a password manager to keep track of/make secure passwords for you are just some things you can do.  Also, having a private account, and choosing what information is public is good.

~Examples of unsafe activities~ 

・Clicking any links you see without knowing what they are 

You may think that “Nah, that’s nothing!” but this can be really dangerous, as you have no idea where the link could be taking you. It could be taking you to a damaging site that could ruin your device with a virus! ・Using the same passwords for different accounts/linking all of your accounts. This can be harmful because linking all accounts together would mean that if someone was able to get into one of your accounts, they then would have access to all other linked accounts.  

・Posting pictures without checking the background closely 

You may think this is not that big of a deal, but it really is. There was one thing that surprised me recently, and it was that when I took a picture the writing on the paper I took was so blurry and incomprehensible, so I was not happy, as I wanted to find out what it said. Then I accidentally pushed a button and opened a Google tab, which took me to a spot that could read what it said (on the paper) for me. Google did then read for me what it said on the paper, and it was correct (I found the paper afterwards) That honestly scared me, as that meant that if you took a photo outside, or in your room, Google or another app could zoom into it and read it for people if they wanted to see it. That is really scary. So I think you really should be careful of your surroundings when taking pictures, as even a sign that is far off may have a street name, and they could find out where you live.  

I know that my digital footprint can have both positive and negative consequences, including having information you did not want to have shared/seen by people seen, getting your account’s information stolen and all your personal information spread across the internet. Cyberbullying and abuse can also happen online. The internet may create problems surrounding consent with taking photos without asking the people in the picture, too. I can adjust my actions to prevent these problems from arising by taking safety measures to protect your social media accounts.  

One thing to remember when using social media is that all the things you post or write will always be there, and no matter if you delete the posts they still will be there, somewhere in the system the post will stay. And even if the content disappeared from a place where the people can see it, it will still stay in their minds. The effect that your words had on them; the influence will probably still stay with them. So, you really should be careful when posting/saying things online!  

(Image: Internet and some words associated with it ↓Made on Word art. https://wordart.com/）

(Image: When hurtful words come from the internet) <<When this happens, I think taking a break from being online, or talking to a trusted adult would be the best choices!>>

Thank you for reading through this, I hope you learned something.

I wish you a safe internet experience!