An Explanation of why Internet Safety and being Positive is Important
Internet safety and being positive online is important because it can affect whether you get a certain job, get into a post secondary and being safe from blackmail. Being aware of what you put online is really important to keep your identity and personal information hidden. Browsers and search engines are constantly keeping track of what you put out online and what u do online. For example, what you post on social media, the things you write in the comment section of a social media post, subscriptions you signed up for and your banking information. These can all affect your digital footprint crucially because they can be lead to blackmailing or identity theft. A way people steal your private information is you downloading malicious malware, clicking random links and signing into fake websites. To avoid this is to look for clues in the links or websites. Majority of the time something will be off, whether the font or text size is different, the link being different from the real website or sketchy download sites. Another way to stay safe is putting your social media accounts to private or friends only so, you can decide whether you let someone see your post. So being positive online keeps your digital footprint cleaner.
Examples of unsafe and negative activities
Cyberbully is one of the biggest issue online because it causes many children to have emotional problems. This can heavily impact your Digital footprint. Being aware of how much of yourself you put online is really important because if you put too much of yourself on the internet you’ll be phished as and others may be affected from phishing such as a predator situation. Never share inappropriate photos of yourself or others, because it is impossible to delete those photos. Also doxing someone’s personal information is illegal and can be almost career ending if it goes on your digital footprint.
How To Stay Safe
Staying safe online includes keeping all your passwords and personal information safe and only with you. Which can include not sharing your passwords with friends, they could potentially screenshot and mess with your account, and minimizing how much information you put out about yourself on social media accounts.
Personal/Social Competency Reflection
I make digital ethical choices such as (consider commenting on others’ posts, thinking about what you put online) in order to keep my private information safe and digital footprint clean. As well as thinking about what I post on my social media accounts in order to not get phished as.
I think my experiences as a digital citizen, such as social media influenced my choice of course/hobbies/ teams because there are many videos out there of games, sports or potential interest that have inspired me to learn those things. One of the biggest things social media has influenced me to do is start playing volleyball.
My strengths as a digital citizen include helping others that are less experienced, They contribute to my classroom through simple helping people sign into a new website they’ve never used or helping a teacher with technical problems with electronics. I find this is the most helpful way to help a large group of people especially if the teacher is trying to start a lesson quicker.
Work 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 Digital Footprint? How to Manage and Protect Yours.” Malwarebytes, https://www.malwarebytes.com/cybersecurity/basics/digital-footprint. Accessed 21 Sept. 2023.