I do not currently have a digital footprint under my name because that is how my parents insisted I behave online. They do not believe that someone my age should be seen online until they are an adult. I am active online under a made up name in Instagram and YouTube. On Instagram I share photos mostly of nature that do not have my image or where I live attached to them. This is an accurate reflection of me because these pictures are taken on outings with my family. I like photography because I can post and interact with people but I don’t have to show my image. I sometimes do comment on other people’s photos, but those comments are just to say “Nice shot” rather that anything substantial. I have a footprint, but remain anonymous. On YouTube, I make comments on videos that interest me. This is a reflection of me because I only watch videos that interest me and I wouldn’t mind if people know that about me. I would be fine having my family, teachers or future employers seeing my postings or comments. I may one day become some sort of artist and will be showing my work online.
DESIGN AND PERSONAL/SOCIAL COMPETENCY REFLECTION
DIGITAL FOOTPRINT: Showing many common social gathering sites that leave an online trail forever. I use Instagram, YouTube and Skype(when chatting with my extended family online).
I know that my digital footprint can have both positive and negative consequences, including always leaving a trail as to where I have been, what I have said, what I have posted. These stay online forever and can be seen by anyone at anytime. Just deleting something online does not actually erase it. These trails can be seen by future teachers, employers, friends and the world. Employers can decide if they want to hire you by looking at your digital footprint. If you have been selected as one of the finalists for getting a job, the employer may look at the finalist’s social mediums and with everyone having the right skills, they may not give the job to someone who has something unpleasant on their sites. The unpleasant thing could have been posted when they were much younger but it affects them as an adult.
YOU’RE HIRED!!! – because your digital footprint was positive 🙂
Here is some advice to whoever reads this: be careful what you say/post online; it will stay forever. So I adjust my actions to continue to follow my parent’s lead and make sure that I always keep my virtual footprint in mind when I am online and doing any type of posting.
The positive consequences of digital footprints are many. Getting hired/a job. You can always find information easily because it is never truly gone. You would just need to post your name and some specific search words and the information would be retrieved quickly. Another positive is that if there is any fraud/bullying or criminal behavior against you online, the authorities can see it and should be able to track those bad people down and charge them or deal with them.
Negative consequences of digital footprints are also many. Companies track what we look at and buy all the time so they can sell more things to us. We would end up seeing more ads than we would like. If you have posted something that can be considered a bad post, a future partner or employer could see it and decide to not date you or hire you. It can lead to personal information being leaked, and bad people can use that against you. If you are in politics, this could ruin your chances for getting into public office. Reference: discussion with my dad and mom.
I make digital ethical choices such as respecting everybody’s privacy in order to be considered a considerate person who minds their own business. I do this by not searching something they don’t want me to know about. I respect people’s copyright. I would ask for permission if I needed to use something that was copywritten. I don’t pirate video games or music. If I like a song, I buy it online rather than download it for free. The artist has done their job in creating the piece and I should pay for this service. I hope to be an artist who sells work online, so I would hope that people would pay me for my art, rather than stealing it and making money from it and not giving me any proceeds.
I respect people’s feelings and don’t bully them or send hate so that I have my own clean conscience that if I treat others well, they will treat me well.
Some of the ways I work to build and maintain online relationships: I meet current and new friends using the in-game chat. When I am finished for the day, I ask for any chatting network they might have. When I see them again, we continue playing together and I will most likely get introduced to their friends.
I continue to like posts of people I follow on Instagram. There are some people who are live local to me and I have received comments (on my own pictures) from these people. It is kind of like having a community within Instagram. My mom and I have met some of these people in real life because we go shoot photos in the same locations. We have chatted about our love for photography and the people have been impressed that I take such good photos with only a tablet. They tell me they can’t wait to see what I will show when I finally get a “real camera”.
REFERENCES:
https://mediasmarts.ca/tipsheet/promoting-ethical-online-behaviours-your-kids