Creating a positive and safe digital footprint
A digital footprint is data that is left behind every time you go online. There are 2 types of footprints, Passive and Active. Passive footprint is made when information is collected without the person knowing. An Active footprint is where the person knowingly shares information online through social media or websites. Now as we know digital footprints isn’t always secure. The internet gets bigger and bigger, and it becomes more and more important to be aware of what goes online. Even if you delete it, it’s still there. So why should you care about your digital footprint? Information travels quickly and it can be taken out of context. Even if you think it’s not there it is. What you do online can affect your future, sometimes in a good way but also can be bad. Now when getting a job, people will search you up and see what they can find. In some cases that can be the reason you don’t get the job. Some examples of unsafe activities online are posting unkind messages or pictures on social media or websites, cyberbullying, inappropriate messages to people over text or websites, and many other things. Fortunately, there are ways to be safer online and protect your digital footprint. One way is searching yourself up and it may seem weird but it’s a good way to see what online about you. Another way is if you see something misleading or inappropriate about you or someone else, ask the person who put it up to change it or take it down. Things spread fast and can lead to some unfortunate things. Lastly, think before you post or send. Once you send or post, it’s out there and it won’t be able to be taken down. What’s online is always online. And that’s a bit on your digital footprint and some online safety.



citations:
Digital Footprints | Family Lives. https://www.familylives.org.uk/advice/your-family/online-safety/digital-footprints. Accessed 28 Sept. 2022.
‘Security Center – How to Protect Yourself’. Morgan Stanley, https://www.morganstanley.com/what-we-do/wealth-management/online-security/online-security-resources. Accessed 28 Sept. 2022.
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/.
Social Media, Online Gaming and Keeping Children Safe Online | Nidirect. 3 Nov. 2015, https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/social-media-online-gaming-and-keeping-children-safe-online.
Personal/ Social competency Reflection
My online support network is helpful to me because it helps me learn and extend my knowledge. It helps me create work that not only shows my understanding but also give information to others. Some strategies for maintain a balance online presence is limiting how much time I’m on my social media. Setting time to do other things that aren’t on my device are especially helpful. My values around achieving a good mark in school inform my decisions about how much time I spend online and what I do online such as school work or games.