o What strategies can youth use to maintain a positive digital foot-print online and why is it important
First, a digital footprint is your activity on the internet, be that posts, comments or some of your personal information. This is your active footprint, the things you actively put out there. However, you also have your passive footprint. this is your browsing history, cookies, how you interact with sites, and even sometimes your location and Ip. Now, there are a few easy ways of keeping you footprint positive and clean. first, be mindful of the things you post. You don’t have to post everything you do. be selective and carful, cause once its up, its near impossible to get down and people who want to hurt your reputation or worse can easily get access to these posts. then, whenever you go into a website, first check if its secure. most browsers and devices have a small lock or button you can press and see how secure the site is. Then, you can refuse all cookies. Cookies aren’t as vital as you may think. their main purpose is to enhance user experience. however, they do this by collecting little bits of your data. now, most of the time, cookies are relatively safe, however, hackers can steal this data, potentially reveling your Ip or login data. Finally, don’t sign into sensitive or private accounts on open/unsecure WIFI. Hackers can easily use these networks as a direct tube to you compute, potentially risking exposing important information
o What are the harmful aspects that exist in the use of technology and social media
Technology is great. however, some times if used improperly, it can even harm you. The most prominent of this is some form of addiction . The most common is social media and gaming addictions. Social media addictions include needing to update/post things on social media obsessively, and checking how well or popular something like a post or even your profile is doing. Then there are gaming and Even gambling addictions, The former being mostly adults. Gaming addiction is when you play a game for maybe hours at a time, and start ignoring your surroundings, responsibilities and sometimes even your physical health. Speaking of physical health, Technology can effect things like your sleeping pattern and eyesight. The blue light emitted can trick your brain in thinking that its daytime, stopping the production of melatonin, the hormone that makes you sleepy. The blue light also affects your eyes by causing something called oxidative stress. Blue light has more energy which means it can go deeper, hitting your retina. When blue light hits the retina, i causes an imbalance, and slowly start damaging it.
o What should youth do to use technology safely and positively
I’ve already said quite a few reasons but here’s a few more. Don’t use your phone before you sleep. blue light not only disrupts your sleep schedule, it also strains your eyes. When out in public, try not to use your phone too much. try and reduce the time you look down at your phone as it can strain your neck. try not to click on sites you don’t recognize or is http in stead of https. the s means secure. you could also use sites like sitechecher to check the security of the site. The internet and technology is amazing, but you have to have ways to protect yourself and your information.
Works sited
Computer Cookies: A Definition + How Cookies Work in 2022. https://us.norton.com/blog/privacy/what-are-cookies. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
Does the Light From a Screen Make It Hard to Sleep? (For Teens). https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/blue-light.html. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
“How Does Bright Light Affect Your Vision? In Chicago.” Gerstein Eye Institute, 11 Aug. 2018, https://www.gersteineye.com/blog/2018/08/how-does-bright-light-affect-your-vision/.
Technology Addictions: Social Media, Online Gaming, and More. https://www.psychiatry.org:443/patients-families/technology-addictions-social-media-and-more. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
“Technology in the Bedroom.” Sleep Foundation, 4 Nov. 2020, https://www.sleepfoundation.org/bedroom-environment/technology-in-the-bedroom.
“What Is a Digital Footprint?” /, 20 Sept. 2021, https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/definitions/what-is-a-digital-footprint.
“What Is a Positive and Negative Digital Footprint?” GeeksforGeeks, 21 May 2024, https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/what-is-a-positive-and-negative-digital-footprint/.
“What Is Oxidative Stress?” Cleveland Clinic, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/oxidative-stress. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
Personal/social Competency
I try and avoid most social media and don’t have sites like twitter or Instagram. i also try not to comment much on videos and such in order to try and reduce my digital presence. i know that my digital footprint has both positive and negative consequences, like giving information to hackers, so i try and reduce the amount of information i put out there. I do want to try and reduce the amount of screentime before bed and i can do that by trying to go to bed earlier and even putting limits on my devices